Meet Marion Stenfort | Actress, Singer/ Songwriter and playwright.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marion Stenfort and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marion, what role has risk played in your life or career?
For some reason, I’ve never been scared of taking risks, and I think that’s mostly because I believe everything I do in my life, every decision I make, is somehow dictated by love. To me, loving, falling in love etc. is the riskiest thing I can do, and in perspective, a career seems safer. I took a risk by deciding to move from France to NYC, but it only got scary when I had to say goodbye to loved ones, and when I started falling in love with the people in New York. Writing, releasing songs and performing on stage doesn’t scare me because that’s what I love to do, and the most thrilling part of it is performing in front of people I love. Because I live for them and the way I decided to show it was by creating. Another reason is I’m terrified of dying insignificant, death in general, and in my opinion, not doing anything feels like more of a risk in the long run. If I decide to put myself out there and try to do anything, I have a greater chance to look back and be happy with what I’ve accomplished, whereas if I don’t do anything at all, I’ll have regrets and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The first movie I ever watched was The Sound Of Music, the first live performance I ever saw was The Sound Of Music, and my gay awakening was Julie Andrews. I always sort of knew I wanted to do Musical Theatre but I didn’t know much about it, because I grew up in France, where the Broadway culture is pretty much inexistent. So I started doing other things. Writing songs, poems, novels, pretty much discovering every form I could use to tell a story. But what made musicals special to me was the combination of music and story telling, so I started focusing on that and after a few auditions, ended up in NYC, at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. I always loved literature, but I thought I had to make a decision, people usually choose one career. During my senior year of high school, I met an English teacher who changed the way I see myself and the things I can do. He pushed me to write more and now I don’t ever want to choose anymore. I perform in musicals, plays, concerts, I write songs and plays, I’m trying to finish my first novel.
So far, the proudest moment out of school was booking my first musical contract even before graduation, which was also the discovery a musical that changed my year for the better, ONCE. I didn’t think I could ever use the fact that I could play accordion (yes, really) in American musical theatre, but turns out I can, and I did, twice already this year.
In parallel, I released my first album, By The Sea, this summer, and that made me really happy, so much that the second album is on the way and I’m really excited about that as well.
What excites me most about the future couple months is the production of my first play, Ordinary. I wrote this play based on what is going on in my brain most days, so let’s just say it’s a beautiful mess. The play got selected for the New York Theatre Festival, and we’re performing it in June, which I can’t wait for.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would hang out at Strand Bookstore, which wouldn’t be a great idea because I’m a menace when it comes to buying books. On Sunday we would go to the Grand Bazaar in the Upper West Side, and in the evening we would go to the Craftman, a bar on 125th and Broadway that has live jazz on Sunday nights.
I would obviously take them to a Broadway show, because any excuse to go is good with me. If budget isn’t a factor, we’d see Merrily We Roll Along, because it’s the best thing that ever happened to entertainment, fight me on this if you want, but I won’t change my mind.
I’d take them to Paddy Reilly’s Music Bar on Tuesday night, because if they want to meet interesting people, that’s the place to be.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people in my life that deserve recognition, it’s hard to pick even just a few. I have my whole life to give credit to my family and friends, but who knows how long I have left in this this country so I will dedicate this shoutout to every person I met during each production I was a part of this past year, that against all odds became the ones who make me want to stop time. Whenever I’m with them, I don’t want it to end. When I moved here, I thought I had already met my people, I didn’t think I would get so close to others in such a small amount of time. They go through the same insane journey of being young out of school actors, we help each other, love each other and they’re part of the reason why I want to do this performing thing for the rest of my life. So thank you Evelina, Romy, Sophie, Melani to name a few:)

Instagram: @marion_sft