We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sabina Demidovich. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sabina below.

Sabina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

I like to tell myself that even with my “worst” investments, whether it be in new projects, collaborations, or just taking a chance on something different, I have learned lifelong lessons that made me a stronger human being and artist. But as for my more successful investments, I would say it has to be shifting into the role of producer and co-founder of M96 Productions. In 2024, M96 Productions came to fruition with my writing partner, Madison Coyle. Since starting, we have produced sold-out cabarets, Off-Broadway concerts, community events, film screenings, and even holiday spectaculars around Manhattan. It has been the most rewarding, life-changing experience of my career. Madison and I have been writing together since college. I was studying at The New School with Madison (Go, Narwhals!) getting a degree in theatre and writing. I was a working singer, actor, and dancer outside of university. I was lucky enough to already have representation going into college, so auditioning ate up a lot of my free time. Madison and I would meet everyday before and after class to write as much as we could. We wrote pilots, sketches, feature films, short stories—anything. Whether they were any good is between me and my garbage can. We dreamt of creating our own female-driven production company where we could provide space to other actors, collaborate with other writers, put on cabarets, experiment with new works, anything we could get our hands on. My career later shifted into a stage and screen performer (musical theatre is my one true love), and those dreams of starting a production company came to a halt. Which honestly, I was okay with! I grew less attached to taking myself seriously as a multi-hyphenate artist. But over time, I always felt that there was something missing in my work. I love performing, and I hope I am lucky enough to do it for the rest of my life, but it always felt like there was more to be done in my artistic journey. Madison sat me down and she seemed to be in the same spot. Being in your early twenties in NYC and working countless hours to afford rent and pursue your dreams as a performer is not for the weak. I also had the most talented, hardworking friends and fellow artists around me. How can we remind ourselves to make art FUN in between booking contracts? To remind ourselves that we do what we do not only because it is our life’s calling, but because storytelling and artistic expression is vital to the human experience? And that’s when it hit: it’s time to go back to that original dream. Create M96 Productions. Work with other artists. Build community. Provide opportunity for not only yourself, but the artists you want to grow up with in this industry. Creating M96 Productions helped me rid myself of that nasty little voice inside my head saying, “You can’t do it”. The truth is, we can’t predict the future. But opening up my world to becoming a performer AND a producer has helped me see that there is nothing you can’t do. Our very first show, Sunday the 13th, completely sold out and we had an incredible lineup of over 15 professional performers from around the city! Amazing things happen when you believe in your work. There are a million roads that lead you to who you are, don’t be scared to follow what feels right for you. This investment in myself helped me learn more about myself, my goals, and how collaboration is at the core of who I am as both a person and aspiring artist.

Sabina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a singer, actor, dancer, and producer based in Manhattan. I was raised in Pittsburgh and at 16 I would take a 9-hour bus to New York City multiple times a week for auditions and UCB improv classes while balancing high school. I fell in love with performing at a young age, and nothing could really stop me from there. If you were to ask my mom, she would tell you I watched Hannah Montana and started crying because I wanted to be her so badly. I became the Hannah Montana of the Pittsburgh to New York Megabus route, living a much less glamorous double life. So I graduated high school early, ditched the Megabus lifestyle, and moved to New York on my own. I had representation when I moved, so a lot of my time was auditioning, training, and working for minimum wage at a bakery. I knew my goal was Broadway, but between you and I, it’s not as easy as people make it seem! Crazy, right? All I wanted to do was sing, act, and dance. I ended up at The New School and balanced auditioning and working as a professional performer while getting my degree. I came from a performing arts high school where it was very competitive, and collaboration was seen as unimportant. Your goal was to beat out everyone around you, be the best whatever it takes. But college changed everything for me—it made me see firsthand how much collaboration fueled my soul. All I wanted to do was work with others. Create shows with others. So that’s what I became more focused on. And that’s where I found more success, double win! I have since worked in voiceover, commercials, regional theaters around the US, and plan to continue working as hard as I can towards what I love, and I hope to do so with the other artists that make this industry so beautiful and vibrant. I booked a contract where I starred as Ariel Moore in <i>Footloose</i>, while working simultaneously full-time on an AEA world premiere of a new play, <i>Country Girls</i>. Barter Theatre is one of the best places to work if you are seeking inspiration, collaboration, and pushing yourself beyond your limits. The people at Barter Theatre are some of the best in the business! I later co-created M96 Productions with Madison Coyle as a way to provide myself and others a space where they can perform new works, experiment with things they don’t usually get to sink their teeth into, and to serve as a source of safety and exploration in our craft. We all come from such various backgrounds in our careers. I want to celebrate that! I am a musical theatre performer and I wear a lot of different hats in my own career, and I am so proud to have further found my voice through producing. It has made me a better stage performer, collaborator, friend, and artist. It’s even made me more brave! I am currently working on recording an EP with my good friend and music producer, Emily Charash. She owns Charash Sound, which I highly recommend checking out. She is so incredibly talented, and I don’t know if I would’ve been brave enough to share my music with the world had I not taken a chance on myself as a producer (and with the help of Emily’s absolute genius). I perform in a private concert series with my friend and fellow creative, Sydney Stephan around Manhattan. See the theme? Collaboration is the theme of 2025 and beyond!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am certainly still working on having a stronger social media presence. Social media sometimes scares me a bit, it’s so personal yet impersonal, it’s such a strange feeling. But as an artist, it’s important to share your work with the world. It’s an integral part of our industry now. I think the best way to approach it is being honest with the content you want to share with your followers. Think of it as an extension of your work, not something you have to prove. It can be quite daunting to put yourself out there, but you are also in full control of your online presence! You don’t have to share every single aspect of yourself, but your work should be celebrated. Your voice matters. Always. Focus on having a positive online community where you feel safe to share your work. If you find yourself really proud of something you’ve filmed, created, etc,, don’t be scared to post it! It creates an online portfolio that can be accessed by industry professionals, as well. In the real world, being yourself is one of the best things you can be. The same applies to the online realm. Have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously, and post things that remind you of why you love what you do. You never know who you can be inspiring from afar.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

See shows!!! Support small theatre venues!! Interact with your friend’s social media content when they are putting themselves out there as a performer!! Anything helps. We are living in very, very scary times in the theatre industry. Support is needed now more than ever. Community is needed now more than ever. I highly recommend creating a TDF.org account and taking a look at all the incredible Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway shows that exist in the city right now. It would mean the world to artists to see you there. And guess what? If it’s awful, you never have to go again! Easy! But showing up and supporting performers that put their time and money into projects, attending your friend’s shows, is such a simple way to validate artists and give them the help they need to continue creating.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.sabinademidovich.com
• Instagram: @sabinademidovich
• Youtube: sabinademidovich
• Other: M96 Productions Instagram: @M96Productions

Image Credits
Becky Thurner Photography Garrett Houston Photography