Dwyer has worked in the performing arts for more than 25 years. He was most recently managing director of Houston's Alley Theatre, which has an operating budget of $10.7 million and 72 full-time staff members. Previously, he was managing director of La Jolla Playhouse for twelve years, where he raised $44 million for a new theater complex and educational programs.

Prior to joining the Playhouse, Dwyer held positions as managing director of New York's Off-Broadway Circle Repertory Company and Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians; he also worked at the Mark Taper Forum, Yale Repertory Theater, and Circle in the Square Theater. He has a masters from the Yale School of Drama's theater administration program.

The Orange County Performing Arts Center, which opened in 1986, offers orchestral concerts, ballets, Broadway shows, opera and jazz in its 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and 300-seat Founders Hall theater. The Center will celebrate its 20th anniversary this September with a $200 million expansion that includes the opening of the 2,000-seat Ren_e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and the 500-seat Samueli Theater.