Meet Dylan Page

We recently connected with Dylan Page and have shared our conversation below.

Dylan, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?

I’ve always been one to throw myself into the fire. If I spend too long deliberating, I drive myself crazy so when it comes to big decisions – especially the risky ones – I dive in head first. While that doesn’t always allow me the most time for preparation, it has served me well. Not every choice ends up being ‘the right one’, but I always learn something from having made it. So historically, for the “big” decisions, I haven’t allowed myself to linger too long on the deciding.

How did I develop this tolerance for risk? The only answer I can find is in performance. As a little kid I was incredibly theatrical. I put on shows with costumes and vivid imaginary worlds with my friends and parents. Nothing pleased me more than getting up in front of people and delighting them. My mom loves to tell the story of when I, at four years old, marched down the aisle mid-show during a theater performance in New York City, determined to be a part of it. She crept after me, hissing my name, until I spun around dramatically with my hand raised: “Don’t worry mommy, I know what I’m doing.” I was ready to climb right up onto that stage. I knew I could do it. Putting myself out there never felt like a risk. Or if it did, somehow the risk was its own reward.

This instinct has shaped most of the major decisions in my life. Two years into my BFA acting program, I decided to drop my major so I could broaden my scope of study and go abroad. I loved the work of acting but felt limited by my college program’s restrictions. I had always had an expansive view of what my university experience would be like and this wasn’t quite it. I dropped out of the program, switched my major, and the next year signed up to spend a semester in Guatemala. At the time, the political situation there was mostly stable but tenuous. During my short stay, we had a nearby volcanic eruption, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake and violent political unrest. I hadn’t given much thought to my safety there when I decided to go. I wanted to explore and expand and I knew that putting myself in a situation that I could not yet comprehend would do something to me that I needed. And that pursuit of some intangible alchemy has continued to pull me forward. Years later, after less than a year of dating, I suggested to my then-boyfriend that we get married. His US visa was expiring and I decided that I wanted to go back with him to his native Germany. I was ready again to explore and throw myself into the unknown. At first he balked: we’d barely been together a year and my proposal was more pragmatism than romance. But I wanted to stay together. I wanted to explore Europe and I thought: plenty of people are completely sure and prepared when they get married and end up divorced anyway. What’s to say our chances won’t be the same or better? So far, almost ten years later, I’m happy to say that bet has paid off.

We spent the better part of five years in Germany. I spent those years learning a lot about myself, about the world, becoming an adult and a good partner. But what had fallen away in the meantime was my art; my devotion to creative and contemplative practice. My life in Germany was comfortable, safe, and good, full of so many things that I wanted. And yet. I felt the itch. I had spent a lot of time in the outer world and had started to neglect my own inner one. It became clear to me that something had to change and I knew it was again time to throw myself into the fire. For the first time, I decided to make a leap that did feel like a risk – a big one. I was going to uproot the life I’d built with my partner in Germany and take us back to the wild and unpredictable turmoil of New York City. I was going to pursue acting professionally. Piece by piece we picked up our life and have figured out how to assemble it here, in New York. It’s taken some time to adjust, but I know I made the right decision. I’m doing something that terrifies me and exhilarates me and I think that little four year old Dylan would be proud.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

As is to be expected, my life in New York City is busy! By day, I teach Pilates at several studios and work with my own private clients. I specialize in helping people of all ages and fitness levels find joy and empowerment in movement. This work keeps me actively engaged in studying the body and the mind which has fed my work as a performer tremendously. My main focus outside of teaching remains acting across theater, film and television. Beyond auditioning, I work as an acting coach, helping performers elevate their self-tape performances.

Being back in New York’s rich artistic ecosystem has been the creative catalyst that I was yearning for. I love meeting new people and gathering inspiration from all the of the incredible art-making taking place around the city. This year my goals are to continue cultivating artistic community, to deepen my own artistic practices, and to find acting representation here. I’m particularly excited about an upcoming short film project where I will get the chance to explore several of my artistic passions in one project!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Learn to know what you want. This took me a long time and remains an ongoing project. If you can cultivate your ability to trust your instincts and ensure your path aligns with your goals and values, you’ll be less distracted by others’ paths. This is no easy task, and I’ve learned that for this to be realistic in my life, the next point is essential.

2. Develop a grounding practice. This will look different for different people and will likely evolve as you grow and life changes. While it’s hard to prioritize when life is full, I’ve found that staying on track requires focusing my mind. My practice has shifted through seasons – from meditation to journaling, varied movement, and dedicated solitude for processing and recalibrating. Whatever yours may be, give yourself time to ground and connect with yourself.

3. When approaching big decisions, I’ve found this adage – however clichéd – to be true: take it one step at a time. We have far less control over outcomes than we think. Do the next possible thing in front of you and proceed from there. It’s easy to extrapolate the consequences of our decisions far into the future (as I’m very guilty of), but this approach often yields plenty of reasons not to act. Besides, it’s arrogant to think we have that much influence or that life won’t intervene and change our plans. There’s another saying: “man plans and God laughs.” Control what you can in front of you, knowing you can’t hold anything too tightly. Do your best and let go.

4. One last thing: when you can, seek out things that feel beautiful. This may seem like trivial advice, especially now, but despite how harsh and vile the world can be, meaning and beauty persist. Find the things and people that make you feel more whole, more bright, more human. Try to fill your life with these things. We only get to do this thing once.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

The challenge I have been grappling with this year is how to manage my time to make sure I’m prioritizing the things that I value. The familiar artistic struggle of how do I balance my life with my work with my finances. That has been the biggest hurdle that I’ve been wrestling with this year. To earn enough and work out enough and eating well enough and artistically train enough and see my friends and my family enough – and on and on. How to find balance.

What I’ve come to realize is that my physical space is a crucial part of this equation. Having an organized home where I can maintain routines and reduce my day-to-day mental load had been a missing piece since moving to New York. So my major project of these last few months has been finding and moving into a new apartment. Creating an organized home base has been my first step toward better balance, letting me build the routines that make space for both artistic growth and practical needs.

I’m learning to accept that it isn’t possible to prioritize everything at once, but that priorities have seasons. In those moments when the noise falls away and the next step becomes clear, I recognize something familiar. Whether I’m teaching movement, performing, or navigating life’s next big decision, I’m still that child in the theater aisle who knew instinctively that the most meaningful paths aren’t always the safest ones—but they’re the ones that lead us toward becoming more fully ourselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dylanrpage.com
• Instagram: @dylanrpage