Since graduating from George Brown Theatre School last
year, Dylan Taylor has been working nonstop.
He was recently
cast in visionary director Terry Gilliam's new project,
Tideland. Based on the critically acclaimed book by Mitch
Cullin, the film stars Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Tilly
and commenced filming this
past September in Saskatchewan.
In addition, Dylan has
landed work in TV pilots and commercials, and has a role
in a short film called A Dying Fall that
will air on CBC later this year.
Like many students, during
his final year of high school he was undecided about
what to do after graduation. After
a run of impressive amateur acting performances, he was
recruited to perform at the popular
Sears Ontario Drama Festival in Never Swim Alone, a play
written by renowned Canadian playwright (and GBC Theatre
School graduate) Daniel MacIvor.
At the festival, Dylan
had a conversation with CanStage dramaturge Iris Turcott
that helped make up his mind about
the future.
"I was lucky enough to get to meet Ms. Turcott, who casts
all the CanStage productions," he remembers. "She told me
that when she's casting new actors she primarily takes
George Brown Theatre School grads, and that if I wanted to seriously
pursue acting that was the place to be. So I decided that
I had to get into George Brown."
After making it through the extremely competitive
audition process as one of 32 students chosen from more
than 2,000 applicants, Dylan thrived in the immersive environment
of the Theatre School.
"All the courses pertain in some way to your career," he
explains. "You
learn a great deal about acting and performance, but you
also learn the history of theatre, and how to handle the
business side of the profession,
which is indispensable for someone just starting out."
In 2003, Dylan
was nominated for a Dora Award for his performance in Bluffer's
Moon, an innovative play performed outdoors on the Scarborough Bluffs.
He was cast during the Theatre Ontario auditions - a
chance for all third-year Theatre School students to perform
monologues in front of local casting directors and agents.
"The producer of Bluffer's Moon cast me after seeing that
audition," he
says. "And I got my agent through a GBC performance as well - she's
one of the best in the city, and she took me on after seeing
one of the third-year productions I was in."
Dylan credits the George
Brown Theatre School instructors, who are all working professionals
with extensive industry
experience, for playing a major part in his own success.
"The faculty is the reason it's the most renowned acting conservatory
in the country," he says. "We were being trained by actors
and directors from Stratford, Shaw, Soulpepper, and other
top places, and they always made themselves available to us. I think that
kind of
dedication is why everybody from my class has been doing
so well."
Read more stories from George Brown
Graduates...
To learn more, visit the George
Brown College Alumni page. |
