Upcoming Workshops
“Steve teaches with heart, wisdom, empathy, and unbounded love of the craft of improvisation. His classes are thoughtfully organized with warm-ups and improv scenes structured to allow students to develop the exact skills that they are interested in learning. He is superb at letting students discover and expand their improv strengths. He is the Yoda of improv.” — Louise Ritchie (MEX)
“Step by step Steve was guiding us into a group which can find the flow. He taught as technical aspects and initiated a deep group experience. It is this combination which makes the improv experience with Steve so rich. As a teacher, one of Steve strong points is the use of gentle coaching. In the scene work his concepts are deeply present, but he interferes only at the crucial moments. Just a few soft words. Kindly spoken. And every thing changes.” — Martin Bödicker (GER)
"I have taken a lot of improv workshops and courses and I have to say that Steve is one of my top picks among improv teachers anywhere. He really understands how to facilitate a student's growth by providing a supportive atmosphere, concise explanations and pertinent feedback. He manages to pack a lot of practical scene work into each two-hour session, and I always come away feeling that I have a much better understanding of how to improve my performance. Thanks so much, Steve, for all you do!” — Basia Pavlik (ESP)
"I had the pleasure of attending two 6-weeks online courses with Steve. I particularly loved his instincts when side-coaching scenes. He knows exactly what scenes and actors require to take the next step and has a very pleasant and determined way to make his point.” — Arne Zwirner (GER)
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“I love working with Steve. His talents and skills as a teacher a belied by his young age. He has energy, drive, an unrivaled enthusiasm for the theatre, and a cornucopia of magical gifts to give. If you are looking for a workshop or think of inviting a teacher, “Think Thornton!” — Sam Katz (NYC)
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“I’ve worked with Steve both as a fellow improviser and as his student, and it has always been a positive experience. He is extremely giving as a scene partner and equally as attentive and invested as a teacher. He always facilitated extremely helpful and meaningful exercises as well as provided constructive and supportive feedback. He cares very much about his craft and is all around a delight to work with.” — Catherine Santino (NYC)
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“Steve is a wonderful instructor who is clearly passionate about what he does. He uses positive reinforcement and thoughtful feedback to help shape his student's learning experience. On top of being a really nice guy he really knows his stuff, I'd happily take a course with him again.” — Amanda Bigford (CAN)
“I’ve taken classes with Steve and he’s the real deal. He has such a keen eye and doesn’t miss a beat! He’s refreshing and not repetitive, he really coaches the individual and supports in a very giving way. He lets you find your unique quality and he brings a lot of good topics to discuss and think about. He has a great way of speaking to his students. He cares and it shows in the best light!” — De Stewart (NYC)
“I’ve taken a few improv classes with Steve. He make improv fun and safe to explore. Thoughtful and supportive, he really helps you find where you can thrive.” — Amy Rosenberg (NYC)
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“Always fun. Very knowledgeable. I always felt safe in his classes, which is always important to me. I highly recommend studying with him.” — Sherri Rosen (NYC)
Coaching
“Steve is great. He is not only an excellent coach by traditional standards (knowledgeable, patient, respectful), he also helps teams and individuals to focus on things that very few coaches seem too. Steve will make you into a good and truthful actor, as well as a good improvisor.” — Logan Lampton (NYC)
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“Steve is fantastic. He’s a thoughtful coach who comes prepared, but also can shift depending on the needs of the team. He is thoughtful, and really listens and pays attention to every scene. He really is an improv nerd, like really. He should be embarrassed.” — Michael Poole (NYC)
“Steve is an amazing coach. His approach is a very actor-centric, moment to moment based with ensemble building thrown in. You’ll get a complete workout with him as well: his attend to physical play is bar none. His approach is also very adaptable to your group’s needs. He’ll build his sessions based on the group’s feedback and what the group needs. He’s NO bullshit; about pure playing and finding the truth. Hire him!” — Michael Coyne (NYC)
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“Steve has been an amazing coach for my team He pushed us to be truthful and interesting over funny. He keeps practices light, but isn’t afraid to zero in on issues that need work and will call you out if that is necessary, but not a way that makes you feel bad.” — Dustin D’Addato (NYC)
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“Steve is one of my favorite coaches! He’s really good at challenging you to try new things and pushing you out of your comfort zone, but still makes you feel at ease and relaxed. If you are struggling with being in your head too much, I couldn’t recommend a better coach!” — Kevin Tully (NYC)
“Steve coached my team Supermodel UN for many months and helped us become the crazy team we are today! Steve is glorious in every possible way. We learned a ton, laughed a ton, and loved a ton with him as our coach. Stephen for King!” — Evan Zelnick (NYC)
“Steve is great at helping your team assess and work on what your goals are both as a team and on an individual level. He leverages his considerable experience in both improv and theatre in general to work with your team on developing a style/form that plays to your group’s interest while also creating a fun expense to present your audiences. He also listens to each of your teammates’ goals as individual improvisors and offers challenges to help them grow and achieve those goals while working within the great group vision. Strongly recommend.” — Mark Guinn (NYC)
“Stephen is a fantastic coach. Patient, informative and fun. He can help cure what ails you and your team.” — Matt Schimkowitz (NYC)
“Stephen love improv. LOVES IT. He brings a really great theatrical point of view to improv that I don’t see with may other schools and coaches in NYC. He helped our team re-evaluate how the entire stage picture looked, helped us activate the entire playing space beyond the stage, and encourages us to play more physically instead of in our heads. This is just a small list, but it helped our team break away from some of the typical stuff you in the NYC improv scene. And lead us to develop our own style and taste.” — Andrew Ontiveros (NYC)
“Steve is an absolute joy to work with. He is attentive, insightful, and creative. He helps teams turn their weaknesses into strengths and make their strengths even stronger. Steve coaches teams to focus on many of the same things that actors focus on - - emotion, reactions, and physicality. This focus lead to fully embodied characters and shows that are like mini plays - - weird, highly, physical, enormously fun mini plays.” — Emilia Horn (NYC)
“Stephen is a delight as both a person and improv coach. He’ll tailor his coaching to your teams needs, in order to get everyone working together in hilarious harmony. If you’ve ever seen him perform, then you know that he’s an exceptionally honest and captivating performer. He has the insight as a coach to instill that kind of honesty into you teams performance.” — Matthew Schrader (NYC)
“Steve is a gem of a human being. He lives and breathes improv. He knows what he’s doing and knows what you need to help you succeed. He’s a fantastic coach and is amazing at understanding what a team needs. Do yourself a favor and work with Steve. You won’t regret it!” — Katie Lazarus (NYC)
“Stephen is a very thoughtful coach, and really takes the time to get to know individual improvisers and the team as a whole. He comes to every session prepared and keeps the team moving forward and growing together. He really, really listens to your personal concerns, and your team’s goals – as well as each and every scene you perform in front of him. He gives careful and thoughtful notes and is so knowledgable about all things improv.” — Ali Mierzejewski (NYC)
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“Steve is a fantastic coach, who gets you to come from a place of honesty and really knows how to hone in on the things that make you better. He takes an actor’s approach of being honest and vulnerable, and not going for laughs, and that helps make the laughs you do earn that much deeper and richer. He’s businesslike, but can have fun with your group too, and has a kick for honing in on exercises that address your web spots and challenge you to be a better improviser and performer. The best compliment I can give him is that after he coached us a couple of time, some folds said we had some of the best sets they’d seen in a while. His influence definitely helped us reach that point. I can’t recommend him enough.” — Dave Buscema (NYC)