Despite a love for theatre, Dylan Crawley pursued a more typical career path. This November he is getting back in the game, performing in School of Rock at National Theatre Melbourne. He spoke to Matt Hewson about his passion for the stage and balancing life and dreams.
Dylan Crawley has always loved performing, be it on stage in musicals, in the school choir or on the debating team.
But when it came time to make the step from his high school, St Ignatius Geelong, into the big wide world, he decided to follow the more well-trodden path and forge himself a more mainstream career.
Dylan successfully applied for a cybersecurity degree at Deakin and worked hard toward financial independence and stability.
“My dad was in IT, so that was one of the paths I definitely wanted to take because I admired him; he was a real inspiration to me,” he said.
“I knew my passion also lay in musical theatre, performance, being on stage. At the end of the day, I chose a more traditional path, with the mindset that I could then afford my hobbies.”
That passion was ignited when Dylan was in primary school. When he was nine years old, his teacher wrote his own original musical and needed cast members.
“One of the moments I specifically remember that began my love for theatre was during that show,” he said.
“I wasn’t a lead, but there was a scene where I was playing air guitar on stage, and all my family and everybody else had been really supportive.
“But my dad always gives honest, realist critiques. When we were leaving one of the shows he was talking about how everyone had done a great job, then he said ‘but you absolutely owned the stage’.
“Everybody always wants to congratulate, but I knew his feedback was real, I guess. And when he said that to me at nine years old, that was the spark that lit my fire for musical theatre.”
That fire, which had lain dormant since his last high-school role as Wilbur in St Ignatius’ production of Hairspray, was reignited when, while still studying his degree, he travelled to Orlando, Florida, as part of Walt Disney World’s cultural exchange program.
“Essentially, they recruit all over the world trying to get international employees so that when guests from other parts of the world come to the park they can relate to somebody,” Dylan said.
“It’s all part of them trying to build the ultimate experience.”
In 2019 Dylan worked for six months as a ride attendant at Disney World, but learned some unexpected lessons on performing along the way.
“They run their business like a theatre, so when you’re working you’re on stage and when you’re not you’re backstage,” he said.
“Employees, even ride attendants, are called cast members. It’s their mentality, their technique of making sure you’re putting on a show for every single guest that comes through.
“People pay tens of thousands of dollars, travel from the other side of the world to be there. I might be having a bad day, but it might be their only day ever that they’re going to be at Disney World. You have to be on.”
Dylan returned to the Bellarine to finish his degree, then began his career in earnest, commuting to his job in Melbourne or working from home.
When the commute got too much, he moved to Melbourne in 2023. Immediately, his thoughts turned to theatre.
“As soon as I moved up I auditioned for a show, the American Idiot musical,” Dylan said.
“I got a call back but I wasn’t successful. But although I didn’t get it, I had such a positive experience auditioning that I knew I was always going to come back to it.
“I got into singing lessons, tried to get back into it, but the cost of living in Melbourne on my own hit me pretty hard. So I just had to focus on my career for a couple of years.”
That initial audition experience was with Theatrical Inc, a not-for-profit production company that is regularly lauded by critics for punching above its weight.
Dylan kept his eye on the company, and when Theatrical announced its 2025 shows one in particular grabbed his attention.
Jack Black’s film School of Rock was released in 2003, when Dylan was four, and he remembers watching it over and over through primary school.
“The movie, the music was an inspiration to me,” he said.
“It’s essentially about one person bringing all these kids out of their shell and helping them find their passion.
“I always put myself in those kids’ shoes, it was always my dream to be able to perform in a rock show like they did at the end.
“So I had School of Rock pencilled in on my calendar as soon as Theatrical announced it. I began practising audition material even before the auditions were announced.”
From the get-go Dylan had his “heart set on” auditioning for Ned Schneebly, the off-sider of Jack Black’s Dewey Finn.
“I feel like I can really connect with and relate to the character of Ned; we both have a passion for music and love performing, but we both chose traditional paths,” he said.
“In the movie, Ned chooses teaching, and I’ve chosen IT, so I feel a deep connection to that. And there’s a lot of aspects to him, he’s a complex character. He’s afraid and stuck in his shell, too scared to be himself.
“His roommate Dewey is still living his dream, while Ned’s being pressured by his new girlfriend to stick to the straight line, put music away, focus on his career.
“And yes, he’s shy, anxious, but there’s another side to Ned – the rock star, the performer. So I’m basically trying to build that character so the audience can empathise and begin wanting and waiting for him to finally break out.”
Dylan’s connection to Ned’s anxiety has an obvious source; while he’s comfortable singing and acting, Dylan also has to play guitar live on stage for the show.
“I’ve always loved music, always had guitars around, I never started learning guitar until 2020, the pandemic,” he said.
“So I’m hitting the books in terms of trying to master that craft. It is a slight source of anxiety, but it’s also a source of passion.
“I’ve started proper guitar lessons…and I’m getting better quicker than if I didn’t have this reason to, so I’m able to learn aspects that I missed, being self-taught.”
But that kind of pressure is exactly the reason he loves performing.
“It’s a positive trait in the cybersecurity industry; it’s pretty high pressure, where a lot of things can go wrong, so I feel like I can switch on pretty quickly,” Dylan said.
“Being on stage, with the spotlight pointed down on you, the adrenaline rushing…that’s where I feel at home, that’s where I feel alive.”
Theatrical Inc’s School of Rock is at the National Theatre in St Kilda from 1 to 9 November.
