Welcome to Seydways Acting Studios!

Seydways Acting Studios is committed to the art and craft of professional acting. As a professional acting studio, we strive to create an authentic, intimate, safe and yet challenging environment, which will nurture this depth of exploration. We train actors who want to develop their range and expand their potential. Seydways Acting Studios has been in operation for over 25 years with studios in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. The nature of work for each actor is individualized and unique. We purposely limit all of our classes to ten (10) actors in order to guarantee that every actor works every week. Click here to see what our students have to say.

A Video Seminar: Being "In The Moment"

If you know “Being In The Moment” is a key to good acting, have you ever wondered why is it so difficult to be there and why no one has ever told you how to be there more consistently? If you’ve wondered why always having an “objective” or always “playing an action” makes it feel like you are putting your instincts in a box… If you feel sometimes confused by “sub-text” and whether it is there or not… then this seminar is for you!

Articles & Interviews

Welcome to the Desert

Whether you are a new arrival or have been here for a number of years, I want to welcome you to LA. As a director and teacher it has been my experience that many actors, whether seasoned veterans or enthusiastic newcomers, can make life in LA more difficult for themselves than it need be. Too often actors can get lost when approaching their work, and grow immobilized when striving to remain active and focused. In this first article, I want to offer a personal insight as to why LA makes it so easy to lose your way and become immobilized. Read more…

The Dual Life of the Actor

In my first article Welcome to the Desert, I explored how living in the arid, isolated reality of Los Angeles can often immobilize an actor’s life. Too often that paralysis stifles the actor’s creative soul – both personally and professionally. Today I want to explore another common dilemma for the actor: the dual life actors must lead in order to succeed. Read more…

Nurture Your Imagination

Remember when you were young and play included imaginary games of Cops and Robbers, Hospital, Spaceship or whatever? Whether with friends or by ourselves these games would seem more real than regular life. For many of us, our childhood was the peak of our imagination. We were able to slip from reality to fantasy, and then back again effortlessly with total commitment and enjoyment. Read more…

How To Be “In The Moment” Without Really Trying

The experience of being in the moment is real. Many times it’s what provides the true joy in acting. Every actor who has been in the moment while performing knows this, as only then does the work become effortless, spontaneous, and utterly creative. Unfortunately, this experience is mostly accidental. Once you’ve been told how important it is to be in the moment, it immediately becomes harder to achieve, because it cannot be achieved by trying. Welcome to the actor’s Catch-22. Read more…

Upcoming Classes

To find out more about how you can join our classes, send us an email or give us a call. Here is a list of our current classes:

Los Angeles

Seydways Master Class

Thursday Nights
7:00 pm to 10:30 pm

Saturday Mornings
10:00 am to 1:30 pm

San Francisco

Seydways Master Class

Monday Mornings
11:00 am to 2:30 pm

Monday Afternoons
3:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Professional Acting Lab

Monday Nights
6:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Acting for Singers

Tuesday Afternoons
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Wednesday Afternoons
12:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Testimonials

“Richard Seyd knows what he’s doing. Like the best of his British counterparts, his tips, approaches and directions push the actor’s character development always in the service of the script. He’s the perfect antidote to indulgence and lack of discipline while being warm, perceptive and very funny. You cannot do better.”

Peter Coyote
Erin Brockovich, Jagged Edge, Brothers and Sisters


“Working with Richard completely changed the way I approach acting. In all honesty, he made me a true actor. Through his classes and working with his Trigger Approach, Richard has helped me find my own method that allows me to listen, react and relax in the moment – simple but often elusive tasks. His insightful critiques and illuminating Stretch Work have proven invaluable to my continuing career as an actor.”

Lorenzo Pisoni
The Good Wife, Last Dance (Broadway), Henry IV (Lincoln Center), Much Ado About Nothing (New York Shakespeare Festival)