Teaching Staff
Head of Discipline: Stephen C Buckwald - Lecturer
Stephen has spent thirty years as a director (stage and television), teacher and actor in both the UK and USA. The theatre companies he has been part of include Contemporary Works Theatre Company (London), Roadhouse Theatre (USA), Actor's Repertory Company (USA), Company One (USA) and The Philadelphia Company (USA). He is also the founder of the New Actors Workshop in London.
The educational institutions he has worked at include Penn State University, Weber State University, University of Salford, Arden School of Drama and the Guilford School of Acting. Stephen has a Masters Degree of Fine Arts in Directing from the University of Connecticut.
Gillian Lemon - Lecturer
Gillian trained at Queen’s University, Belfast and worked as a teacher for nine years directing student productions as far afield as the National Theatre, prior to training as a director at Mountview Academy. Directing credits whilst training include Under the Blue Sky, Ashes to Ashes, Playhouse Creatures and The Play About The Baby. She has recently produced and directed Far Away and the world premiere of a new musical for the National Student Theatre Company at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Gillian was the Assistant Director on the UK tour of the Olivier Award-winning play Heroes by Tom Stoppard and her directing credits at LIPA include Uncle Vanya, The American Clock, The Memory of Water and The Skriker.
Onur Orkut - Lecturer
Originally from Turkey, Onur completed his degree in Physics before starting his training in theatre. He graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) twice, with a master’s degree in drama and another in musical theatre. In training, he received a full scholarship and an award for TV acting.
He has worked both in the UK and in Turkey as an actor (stage and TV), director and singer. He has also worked as a drama coach, script-writer and dancer for the contemporary dance group [laboratuar] and founded and directed his university’s student musical theatre society “Company”.
Onur has taught as both a teacher and course leader for various institutions including The RSAMD. He has also developed and lead workshops for application of acting technique in professional and personal development. In 2011, he completed his Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education with distinction at the Liverpool John Moore’s University.
His credits include The Abduction From the Seraglio (Ankara State Opera), Hamlet and Cikisyokland Cumhuriyeti (Arts Institution Award - Oteki Tiyatro), Playback (Musical Theatre Coach – VeDigerSeyler), a TV series in Turkey and many concerts, including some for international charities and diplomatic missions. He also took part in international festivals including Fabbrica Europa in Florence and (as a choreographer) in International METU Contemporary Dance Days. Onur also wrote the lyrics for the musical “1453” with A. Sahin, performed in concert with a symphony orchestra in 1998 in Istanbul and as a production in 2003 in Ankara.
Dr Nick Phillips - Senior Lecturer
Nick performed and was musical director with the Bloolips, a gay clown troupe for many years, touring the world and winning an Off Broadway Theatre (OBIE) award in the process. Nick has written several award winning musicals, two chamber operas and the Red Ribbon Requiem, performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. He also became the first person in the UK to gain a PhD in Musical Theatre.
Sally Rapier - Assistant Lecturer
Sally trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Previous credits for LIPA include; A Chorus Line, Sweet Charity, Broadway & Beyond, Time and the Conway’s, A New Brain, Privates On Parade, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Nicholas Nickelby, And The World Goes Round, and Exquisite Agony. Positions held include Artistic Director for Global Search for New Musicals, Cardiff International Musical Theatre Festival; Assistant Director for The Festival of New Musicals, The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), New York; Resident Assistant Director, Kings Head Theatre, London; Director and choreographer for Stage Door Manor, New York; Director, choreographer and sessional lecturer for the Royal Scottish School of Speech & Drama (RSAMD) and for the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Other credits include; Sunset Song (His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen and Scottish tour), Falling Off Broadway, One Touch of Venus, A Night with John Mortimer and Marlowe (Kings Head Theatre, London), Princesses and The Ballad of Little Pinks (NAMT, New York), First Lady Suite, Jerry Springer The Opera, The Spitfire Grill, The Jonah Boy, Zanna Don’t and August: Osage County (RSAMD), The Shakespeare Review, Babes in Arms and The Secret Garden (Stagedoor Manor, New York).
Max Rubin - LIPA Teaching Fellow
Max’s professional experience includes work for Northern Broadsides; The Liverpool Everyman; Ken Campbell; The Royal Court Liverpool; Lyric, Hammersmith; Harrogate Theatre; The Dukes Lancaster; Theatr Clwyd; Manchester Dancehouse; Deptford Albany; Oldham Coliseum; The Rude Mechanicals; Chester Gateway; Theatre in the Quarter; Walk The Plank; BBC and Granada Television.
As well as teaching at LIPA, Max runs Lodestar Theatre Company, which produces site specific versions of classic texts. He was educated at the University of Manchester and LAMDA.
Ruth Alexander-Rubin - Visiting Staff
Ruth Alexander has worked as an actress and musical director for over 12 years. Her recent credits include: Blonde Bombshells of 1943: West Yorkshire Playhouse, Hampstead theatre; the world premiere of Jerusalem, West Yorkshire playhouse; A Comedy of Errors and Sweet William for Northern Broadsides; Les Miserables National UK tour company.
Ruth has worked extensively as a freelance lecturer in musical theatre for over 10 years. MD work has included: Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well at the Kings Head, Dames at Sea at The Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch and several shows for Mountview Theatre School and Rose Bruford.
Peter Darney - Visiting Staff
Matt Ryan - Visiting Staff
Jacqui Somerville - Visiting Staff
Keith Woodason - Visiting Staff
Nickolas Grace: Industry Associate
As an Associate, Nickolas Grace regularly delivers practical classes and contributes to reviewing the appropriateness of the acting curriculum.
Nickolas was born in West Kirby, Wirral and trained at the Central School for Speech and Drama. After repertory experience he appeared in numerous London Stage Productions as well as Shakespeare at Stratford and in New York. He has been in innumerable films, television, plays, radio dramas and musicals. He is also an experienced stage director.
Nickolas has played opposite Sir Lawrence Olivier, Honour Blackman, Terence Stamp, Rupert Everett, Kathleen Turner and Robert Lindsay, amongst others.
Film and TV credits include Brideshead Revisited (for which he received a BAFTA nomination); Robin of Sherwood; Birds of a Feather; Two Deaths and Sharpe.
Theatre credits include, Sport of My Mad Mother; The Taming of the Shrew; The Comedy of Errors; A Midsummer Nights Dream and Dracula.
As a director his productions include: A Hawk's Well, The Sea, The Ghost Train, The Ruling Class, Helping Harry, Erpingham Camp and the Betrayal of Nora Blake.
Joe McGann: Industry Associate
As an associate, Joe McGann also regularly delivers practical classes and contributes to reviewing the appropriateness of the acting curriculum.
Joe hails from Liverpool and has had a long and varied career, both in theatre and in television.
His TV credits include the long-running ITV sitcom The Upper Hand and Night and Day.
His many theatre credits include The Water Babies; Guys and Dolls and Fiddler on the Roof. In 2009, he appeared in Lost Monsters by Laurence Wilson at the Liverpool Everyman theatre.