Upon graduation, Acterian enrolled at both the University of Bucharest Faculty of Philosophy and the Conservatory of Dramatic Art, where he studied drama and comedy under Lucia Sturdza Bulandra. He completed courses at the Conservatory in 1926, and made his debut in poetry, in 1929, with a selection titled "Agonia" ("Agony"). Acterian also completed work on a short play, "Dialog între închipuiri" ("Dialog between Apparitions"), in which he reinterpreted the "Meșterul Manole" legend, one of the central pieces in Romanian mythology, from a Christian perspective.