Stephen Temperley

Born in London, Stephen Temperley first came to the U.S. as a teenager. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, going on from there to act in several plays for New York’s Public Theatre, including 2 Henry IV for Shakespeare in the Park, before returning to London. There he performed in the West End in Very Good Eddie and the Brecht/Weill musical Happy End, on television in a drama series for Granada TV, in plays for ITV and the BBC (including a comedy pilot and a David Frost Special), and in in repertory companies around the UK. Since returning to the U.S. in the late 1970s, he has worked extensively in regional theaters (including a 4-year stint as Scrooge at the McCarter in Princeton), in stock, Off-Broadway and On-Broadway, and was in the original company of Crazy for You.

The first of Stephen’s plays to be produced was Beside the Seaside (Hudson Guild - Off-Broadway). His play, Money/Mercy, was produced at the Chelsea Theatre Center, and then as part of the first HBO New Writers’ Workshop in Los Angeles. The play Dance with Me was performed Off-Broadway at the 18th Street Theatre, and later at Centenary Theatre Company in New Jersey. The Pilgrim Papers was produced at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Stephen’s workshops include a musical, That Kind of Woman (Dodger Productions), In the Country of the Free (The Mint), and The Weight of Tears (TheatreSounds). His most recent plays are Songbook, now also a novel, and Nine Day Wonder, a solo comedy that he performed himself at CSC. His best-known play, Souvenir, was produced on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. Recently, he has completed a novel of Songbook and blogs on his website.