TEACHING
Stefan has been teaching at the college/university level for over 25 years. He is on the adjunct faculty at George Mason University's School of Theater, teaching Movement in Musical Theater, Musical Theater Workshop, Musical Theatre Dance Audition Portfolio Unarmed Stage Combat and Advanced Stage Combat.
He is also on the adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland (Global Campus) teaching Acting I, Acting II, Seminar in Shakespeare Studies, Intro to Theatre and Intro to Humanities. He is a four time recipient of UMGC's Professional Achievement Award and has been nominated three times for the Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award.
He has also taught Movement for the Actor I & II, Stage Combat, Musical Theatre Dance, Jazz I & II, Tap I & II, Physical Theatre, Introduction to Stage Performance, Exploring Theatre, Discovering Acting and Effective Speech at The University of Virginia (SCPS), Virginia Commonwealth University, Messiah College, The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts (NCDA) in Georgetown, The School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC), Arlington Center for Dance (now BalletNova) and the Escuela de Comedia Musical in Montevideo, Uruguay. In addition, he has taught master classes, workshops, coached students, and created choreography and stage combat for theatre productions at Montgomery College, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and James Madison University.
Stefan serves on the Board of Directors for Virginia Theatre Association. As Chair of the College/University Division, he created VTA Career Jumpstart, an on-going series aimed at helping college/university students connect, network, and learn from award-winning theatre professionals.
DIRECTION & CHOREOGRAPHY
Internationally, he has directed and choreographed Trabajadores, the World Premiere of the Spanish version of Stephen Schwartz's musical Working in Montevideo, Uruguay and Changing Hearts in Montreal, Canada.
Stefan is an Associate Artist at MetroStage, where he has directed, choreographed or appeared in several productions including Poetry & Tango (featuring Broadway regular Natascia Diaz), Jason Odell Williams’ fast paced dramedy Church & State, Terrence McNally’s Mothers & Sons (Broadway World Award nomination for Directing) and Frankie and Johnny (Broadway World Award for Directing) and Sheridan Morley’s musical Noel & Gertie.
Other directing credits include Cole Porter’s Anything Goes and Red Hot & Cole, Jerry Herman’s Jerry’s Girls and, the 60’s revue Beehive.
In the DC area and regionally, he has created choreography for several productions including Man of La Mancha for the Washington Savoyards, Polaroid Stories for The Studio Theatre, Jesus Christ Superstar for Open Circle Theatre (4 Helen Hayes Award nominations, including Outstanding Resident Musical), The Wiz for Atlas Performing Arts Center, Flora The Red Menace for 1st Stage (DC Theatre Scene Award nomination), Dorothy Meets Alice and Winnie The Pooh for Adventure Theatre, The Mystery of Edwin Drood for Workhouse Arts Center, Hollywood Pinafore for The American Century Theater, and Bee for A.S.I.A. Theatre, among others.
Stefan has choreographed over 100 productions in a wide range of styles including: Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, Follies, Into The Woods, Assassins, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Bob Fosse's Chicago, Pippin, The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees and Sweet Charity, classics of the Golden age of American Musicals like West Side Story, Show Boat, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, South Pacific, Kiss Me Kate, Bye Bye Birdie, Annie Get Your Gun and Once Upon A Mattress.
He has also choreographed many popular Broadway/Off-Broadway shows from the last 50 years like The Addams Family, The Producers, Legally Blonde, In The Heights, A Chorus Line, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown, Gutenberg! The Musical, The Pirates of Penzance, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror Show, Urinetown, Evita, Victor/Victoria, The Secret Garden, The Drowsy Chaperone, Big River, The Nance, A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder and Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida.
His choreography has also been featured on television and in film, most notably for DC Lottery's Rolling Cash 5 promos, featuring the legendary Chuck Brown and in NYU film school's Two Floors Down.
FIGHT DIRECTION
Stefan has staged fights and violence for several productions in the DC area including Man of La Mancha for the Washington Savoyards, Polaroid Stories for The Studio Theatre, Falling Water for The Kennedy Center, North Shore Fish for Actors Repertory Theatre, Jesus Christ Superstar for Open Circle Theatre (4 Helen Hayes Award nominations, including Outstanding Resident Musical), The Wiz for Atlas Performing Arts Center, The Mystery of Edwin Drood for Workshouse Arts Center and Luv, The Sign In Sidney Brustein's Window, Hollywood Pinafore, Hotel Universe, Picnic, The Seven-Year Itch and That Championship Season for The American Century Theater.
Stefan served as Fight Assistant for David Leong, Broadway and Hollywood Fight Director and Fight Master of the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and he trained with some of the most notable teachers in the SAFD, including Fight Directors Colleen Kelly and Michael J. Johnson. He has been a member of the SAFD for more than 25 years and his training has focused primarily on Rapier & Dagger, Quarterstaff and Unarmed combat.
PERFORMANCE
As a professional actor, Stefan has worked for many regional theatres including: Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, The Studio Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Theatre Virginia, The Barksdale Theatre, Theatre IV, Heritage Repertory Theatre and Actor's Theatre of Washington. In over 25 years as a performer, he has worked with several Broadway and Hollywood notables, including Angela Lansbury, George Hearn, Tina Fey, Christina Hendricks, Savion Glover, Marvin Hamlisch, Baayork Lee, Florence Lacey, Judy McLane, Natascia Diaz, Jason George, Zachary Knighton, Betty Ann Grove and Helen Carey.
AWARDS
Stefan received a Broadway World Award for Best Director for Frankie & Johnny, as well as a Broadway World Award nomination for Mothers & Sons, both at MetroStage. Both plays also received Broadway World Award nominations for Best Play of the season and the entire adult casts of both productions were nominated in their respective categories.
Stefan is also a two time recipient and eight time nominee of the DC area WATCH Award.
He received the WATCH Award for Outstanding Stage Combat for West Side Story and the WATCH Award for Outstanding Choreography for In The Heights.
He has also received WATCH Award nominations for Outstanding Direction for Anything Goes and Outstanding Choreography for Anything Goes, Legally Blonde, West Side Story and A Chorus Line as well as a WATCH Award nomination for Outstanding Stage Combat for a gender-reversed production of Hamlet.
MODERATOR AND PODCAST HOST
Stefan is also a seasoned moderator and podcast host, having led dozens of theatre themed panels on various topics including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation, Devising Theatre for Social Action, and LatinxPerformance and Leadership. He has interviewed many leading figures in theatre including Tony, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winners and nominees as well as many well-known Broadway designers and performers.
His podcast, American Theatre Artists Online, has been entertaining theatre lovers for four seasons and can be found on iTunes, Podbean and other streaming platforms. The podcast has listeners in over 30 countries and across 6 continents and was listed as one of the top theatre podcasts by DC Metro Theatre Arts. To listen click HERE.
Half-Uruguayan, and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Stefan is a native Spanish and Portuguese speaker and is fluent in French. He lives in the Washington, DC area.
Biography last updated 01/20/2022
