Dillan is an Anishnawbe Ojibwe storyteller from Garden River First Nation in Ontario. Dillan has always had a passion for storytelling since a young age. He got his first taste of storytelling when his parents would take turns reading the book Ojibwe Legends by Basil Johnson, before bedtime. Dillan was raised in his community of Ketegaunseebee (Garden River), surrounded by stories from the land.

Dillan has a passion for exploring stories with a re-Indigenized lens. Dillan believes we have a responsibility as storytellers and artists to seek out stories that share truths that have been kept from us as a result of colonization. Over the past decade, Dillan has been redefining his artistic practice by incorporating Indigenous teachings and cultural knowledge into his practice as a professional storyteller.

Dillan received his professional training at Sheridan College, in their Music Theatre Performance program. He then furthered his training and obtained his Masters degree in Musical Theatre from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, ranked in the top 3 of arts schools in the world.  

Dillan was awarded the prestigious Musical Stage Company's Syd & Shirley Banks Prize 2020-2021. The prize came with career/strategic planning,  masterclasses from leading industry professionals, and a cabaret performance with the co-winner.

Dillan was awarded the Aubrey & Marla Dan Fund For New Musical by the Musical Stage Company for his first writing project, The 7 Fires: A New Musical. Dillan is the concept creator & Book writer. Music & Lyrics by the multi award winning composer, Landon Doak.

After a nation wide search in Canada, The 7 Fires was selected for the National Center For New Musicals,  the show will receive further developmental support !

https://theatreaquarius.org/ncnm-2024-selections/

He was nominated for a Dora award in 2023 for Outstanding Performance by an Individual for his performance in Bentboy by Herbie Barnes that had its world premier at Young People's Theatre Toronto.

Dillan, over the past few years, has started taking up space in the education field. Dillan first taught Indigenous Education at McGill University in their D.I.S.E. department, in Montréal, Canada. The course was focused on helping future educators incorporate Indigenous histories, knowledges, and pedagogies, in an appropriate and respectful way, in their classrooms. Dillan taught three semesters of this course with over 50 students in each class.

Dillan has taught, at his old school, Sheridan College from 2020-2022, in their Music Theatre department. Dillan is the program's very first Indigenous singing teacher. He was also appointed to a Sheridan advisory panel, where he and several others gave recommendations on how the program can evolve to be more inclusive, accessible, and equitable.

Dillan has also guest lectured at Sheridan, Etobicoke School of the Arts, George Brown College and Mount Allison University.

In these lectures, Dillan highlights the laws Indigenous peoples were forced to live under during the boom of "The Golden Age" of Broadway. He has been on several panels discussing issues in performing arts, arts education, Indigenous storytelling, and more.