Oleg Stefan

1. Full name – Oleg Dmitrievich Stefanov
2. Date of birth – February 28, 1965
3. City – Kiliya (Ukraine)
4. Occupation – theater and film actor

Becoming an artist

Oleg Stefan is the theatrical pseudonym of the Ukrainian theater and film actor, Honored Artist of Ukraine Oleg Stefanov. The future star of the big stage was born in the city of Kiliya in the Odessa region. Already in childhood he was looking for his calling. And one day while playing in the yard he suddenly heard a confession from a neighbor girl: she dreamed of becoming an actress. This idea sunk so deeply into the soul of little Oleg that he also began to seriously think about the stage.

In the second grade, the boy first declared his desire to become an actor. And then his parents reacted with a smile and asked him to read a poem. But with each passing year their enthusiasm faded. In the seventh grade, the family already called the desire for acting "teenage fantasies". And at the graduation - they even advised him to choose a "normal profession".

The first attempt to enter a theater university was unsuccessful. The boy's mother was very happy about this and suggested that he enroll in another institution, in particular in Odessa. But the young man did not listen - instead he got a job at a shipyard. Then there was the army. But the desire for the stage did not fade. And in the end, Oleg entered the Ivan Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv State Institute of Arts. It was this period that the actor calls his "return": then he got on a course with Oleksandr Bilyatsky. Oleg Stefan remembers the artist as a great theater reformer.

Studying with Bilyatsky was a real turning point for Stefan. Here the young actor not only mastered acting skills, but also began to rethink himself. He truly thought about who he was. He discovered the Ukrainian language, culture and history. It was then, according to the actor, that everything in his life began to fall into place.

Creative path

While still a student, Oleg Stefan made his debut on the professional stage. He began working with the creative team of the Kharkiv Drama Theater, where he served from 1987 to 1990. It was then, as part of his graduation thesis, that the actor played in the play “Myna Mazaylo”. With the same work, he visited Lviv, where Volodymyr Kuchinsky noticed the charisma and talent of the young Stefanov. The head of the creative team suggested that he join the newly created theater-studio, which later became the Lviv Academic Theater named after Les Kurbas.

At first, Stefanov refused. After all, in Kharkiv, he worked under the guidance of a strong artistic director, Oleksandr Bilyatsky. But when Bilyatsky stopped working with the theater, the actor decided to look for a new creative center and eventually moved to Lviv. In the Kurbas Theater, Oleg Stefan truly revealed himself as an experimenter, a thinking actor and a philosopher. He gained popularity and recognition among a wide audience.

It was in Lviv that the actor discovered Plato's philosophical texts, which became a spiritual and creative support for his professional career. In particular, the play "Banquet" became symbolic for the artist - since then Oleg Dmytrovych considers himself a Platonist.

However, the love of experiments prevailed again. And in 1991, Oleg Stefan returned to Kharkiv and joined the troupe of the Taras Shevchenko Academic Drama Theater. However, in 1996, Oleg Dmytrovych returned to the Les Kurbas Theater, where he remained an actor of the main cast until 2019. It was here, in a creative atmosphere of constant search, that the artist spent a significant part of his life, realizing his deepest stage ideas and giving his talent to admirers of high art. Among the most famous roles are Mokiy ("Myna Mazaylo"), Golokhvostov ("After Two Hares"), Bonaventure ("Money"), Rodion ("Nailed"), Don Juan ("The Stone Master"), Eric Larsen ("Mysterious Variations") and others.

Theater on the Left Bank

Oleg Stefan opened the 2019/2020 season as part of the acting troupe of the Kyiv Academic Theater of Drama and Comedy on the Left Bank of the Dnieper. And today the actor's repertoire includes performances and roles:

1. "Father" (Father Andre);
2. "King Lear" (King Lear);
3. Halt – ;
4. "Draw me a plane" (Werner);
5. «Family Album / Album di Famiglia» (Grandma);
6. «Albatrosses» (Melvin, Samuel).

Filmography

Oleg Stefan made his film debut at the age of 47. He played Cyril in the film «Such Beautiful People». Later, directors and producers of the Ukrainian film industry continued to collaborate with the actor. So the artist's filmography was replenished with works of dramatic and historical genres:

1. «Red»;
2. “Hutsulka Ksenya”;
3. “Zakhar Berkut”;
4. “Mirny-21”;
5. “My War and I” and others.

The actor’s professional style

Despite many years of stage experience, Oleg Stefan approaches each new role with maximum dedication and internal discipline. According to the actor, it is the deep text that causes the most excitement.

Throughout his career, the actor has had the opportunity to work with both classics of the Ukrainian stage and beginners. For Stefan, each partner is a separate world. And the key stage in the theatrical process, Oleg Dmytrovych considers the construction of a living, sensual contact on stage. Oleg Stefan is convinced: only when the actor completely surrenders to the moment, forgetting about himself, and dissolves in the atmosphere and partner, the magic of the theater is born. This is what captivates the viewer and makes him come back again.

Teaching

When solid experience is accumulated behind his shoulders, it is time to share it with those who are just beginning their creative path. For Oleg Stefan, this moment came in 1995. Then the performer of bright roles in theater and cinema first tried himself as a teacher at the Ivan Kotlyarevsky Kharkiv Institute of Arts.

After returning to Lviv, the actor continued his teaching activities. In 1998–1999, he taught at the theater studio at the Les Kurbas Theater. Later, in 2005–2009, he worked with students as an associate professor at the Department of Theater Studies and Acting at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.

From 2012 to 2017, Oleg Dmytrovych headed the acting course at the Faculty of Culture and Arts of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv as an artistic director.

Awards and distinctions:

1. International Prize of Ukraine named after Yosyp Hirniak (2001);
2. National Prize of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko (2006);
3. Jubilee Medal "20 Years of Independence of Ukraine" (2011);
4. title "Honored Artist of Ukraine" (2019).

Interesting facts about the actor:

1. is a participant in international theater festivals held in Ukraine, as well as in Romania, Poland, Germany, Egypt, Italy, Moldova;
2. in the summer of 1991 he underwent an internship at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski in Pontedera, Italy.