Olympia is known for having a unique theater scene, and soon, well-known local actor and musician Jaron Crawford will be taking his talent on the road. He’ll be taking on life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.
Crawford, a senior at Olympia High School, grew up surrounded by the vibrant arts 
culture of Olympia and shares that it has definitely affected his acting. “After meeting other actors from the east coast, I can immediately tell we have different styles,” he explains. “There is a very laid back and quirky attitude on the west coast, especially in Olympia, that can be seen in the way I work.”
The theater business is very competitive, but Crawford has had big dreams from the beginning. However, he still didn’t want to get his hopes up. “I think every young actor wants to go to Carnegie Mellon or Julliard but it was never really a reality for me [until I got accepted].”
The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama is a separate school from the main Carnegie Mellon campus, making it much smaller than a regular college. “It’s very small. In fact, in my graduating class of twenty, any two students will share mostly the same classes.” Because it is a school strictly for drama and theater, Crawford and his classmates will take classes pertaining only to acting such as voice, movement, dialects, and dance.
With many similarities in their courses and schedules, the students will be one big happy family for the next four years, so it’s not surprise that a bit of variation is welcome. That variation comes in the form of a split with half the students majoring in musical theater, and the other half majoring in acting. Crawford falls into the latter group and will earn a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts in acting.
“I’m honored to go there, and they made it really realistic for me so it’s really a dream come true,” shares the 18–year–old. “I’ve been given an amazing opportunity.”
In addition to his local theater work, Olympia High School has also had a very large impact on Crawford’s theater accomplishments, as well as his life. “The arts and music department is fantastic. I owe everything to my director Kathy Dorgan,” Crawford says. Dorgan has been a part of the Olympia High School faculty for nearly nineteen years, and last summer went to Carnegie Mellon herself. Dorgan was one of twenty high school educators selected to participate in a directing fellowship. “On a daily basis, Kathy encourages me to be the best that I can be and I love her for that,” he says.
While you wouldn’t guess it now, he was a bit of a trouble maker as a kid. Growing up in the suburban neighborhood Madera, he made friends quite easily and they spent a lot of time outside. He and his buddies would explore the woods surrounding the neighborhood, and loved to pull pranks, including “ding-dong ditching” and anything that might irritate the grown-ups in the neighborhood.
In addition to his neighborhood antics, Crawford dabbled in athletics while growing up. Baseball, soccer, basketball, and football to name a few. “[Sports] definitely influenced my skills in physical acting and dance,” he said. “My parents encourage me to do whatever makes me happy, which is why I’ve tried so many different things throughout my life.”
Crawford’s sister Carlene shares that along with theater, Crawford is a gifted singer and songwriter. “His lyrics and music (guitar) are WAY above average,” his older sister says with a smile. “Jaron has always been creative in so many ways, and we’ve been lucky to grow together and support each other’s dreams.”
In addition to theater and music, Crawford is active in a program through OHS called Freedom Farmers. Freedom Farmers embraces a different approach to learning in which students spend four hours a day at Muirhead Farm off of Yelm highway.
“Not every student thrives with 35 other students sitting at a desk in a traditional learning environment,” program coordinator and Olympia High School teacher Blue Peetz says. “That learning style doesn’t work for everyone. We’ve had a lot of success with students who don’t succeed in the traditional setting and out here they are doing fantastic.”
Students are earning credits in biology, American history and horticulture, as well as important life lessons, and cultivating food their classmates will eat. The food grown is served in cafeterias all throughout the Olympia School District.
Crawford is looking forward to making new friends from all over the country when he heads east this fall to Carnegie Mellon. He’ll be pursuing his passion full-time among others who share his dream.
