Meet the Actor: A Theatre33 Interview with Sergei Stern

Tell us about yourself.

A music composer for film who one day found himself being an actor!

What is your earliest memory of wanting to be an actor?

It was exactly in March 2025 that I first felt the urge. I've been scared performing in front of people, but decided to finally face the fear and couldn't be happier since.

Which actor—past or present—do you most admire, and why?

I enjoy watching all the roles that Daniel Day-Lewis does because of his total immersion and dedication to the character. He is also starring in one of my all-time favorite movies, "There Will Be Blood".

What’s the most challenging role you’ve played, and what did you learn from it?

The recent role of Paulo in our play we've shown at the BitFest2026 was the most challenging, as it is much easier for me to play evil, strong, and dominant characters who Paulo was obviously not.

How do you approach developing a character?

I need to understand the motivations, the arc of the character, and his relationship to other characters, as well as his environment in general. Usually, the script gives all the answers if I dig enough. The director is there for me to give me the right shovel.

What’s your process for preparing for a role, from first read to opening night?

I read the script a great deal of times and discuss it with my director, so the story and all the characters become clear to me. Then, brainstorming character ideas process begins. I make suggestions to the director, we tweak together. Physicality experiments like movement, posture, voice manipulation and face expressions help me a lot as well.

Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions?

Eating dark chocolate is essential. Also, a brief but extreme body and voice warm-up always helps.

How do you handle stage nerves or performance anxiety?

I enjoy the light, nervous state of mind and body, and use it as the fuel for the performance.

How do you memorize lines and stay in character throughout a performance?

For memorizing lines I use the advice of Evelyn Rudi who I've been working with for the last year as the music composer and actor for her plays: standing with the paper script in hand and reading each of my lines loud and clear over and over again with a full understanding of the place and context of each line. Another thing that helps me is recording all the audio of the lines of my character as well as the other characters I interact with, removing my part and speaking to the audio recording of others. If I am well prepared, there is not much difficulty of staying in character throughout a performance. And if I forgot a word or two, I just improvise based on the material.

Have you ever had a major on-stage mishap? How did you recover?

Not major, but minors for sure. Improvisation and just staying in the character helps : )

What’s the most unforgettable moment you’ve experienced on stage?

I started having tears, which I thought could never happen to me, during one of my tragic scenes in our performance at Bitfest2026 - that was my first performance tear in my life, and I'll remember this one for good.

What’s a dream role you’d love to play one day?

It will probably be something I write for myself. It will be a strong character with a flaw, so there is a dynamic range to play out, and probably it will be a historical or alternative-history figure as I love history so much and theater gives such a wonderful opportunity to live through any historical periods live.

What’s the biggest lesson theatre has taught you?

There is a lot in each of us, including myself, that is still to be discovered, and theatre is a perfect tool for that.

How do you balance rehearsals, performances, and the rest of your life?

I still don't understand how that works.

What advice would you give to someone new to acting?

Fear is good - embrace it.