Awards Evening

It was a special occasion for a number of reasons; firstly, it was Mr Dickinson’s last Awards Evening as our Headteacher; secondly, our special guest was Miss Kelly Sweeney – a former Archbishop Beck student and sixth form graduate, and finally, of course, a time to celebrate our student’s hard work, ability and determination.

The following is a transcript of Kelly’s speech:

I’d like to start off by saying thank you to Mr Hicks and Mr Dickinson for asking me to do this and considering me as somebody to be honoured at the Awards Evening. I’ve sat at many of these during my time at Archies and I never thought I would be standing here. It almost feels undeserving as I feel I have so much still to achieve and I’m still learning everyday, but maybe thats the point?

When I was a student here I had my whole life for the next 50 years planned out, I’d go to drama school for a bit after getting in on the first audition, I’d be discovered early and head straight off to broadway to start a long career as the next Idina Menzel or Ruthie Henshall and I’d have an Oscar by 25. I’m still 25 for another 6 months so lets keep our fingers crossed.

Nothing I thought I had planned precisely happened and yet Im a working actor, singer, writer and dreamer and if there is one thing I can instil in our young people today it is that life is never what you expect and you can’t and shouldn’t always plan it out – but if the goals and hard work are still there you will still get what you want and you may find more dreams along the way.

From a young age I was no stranger to performing and trying to steal the spotlight. I started music lessons while at St Francis De Sales under the watchful eye of Mr Hicks. Now I don’t know if Sir knows this but I was actually completely against learning an instrument. My mother had took me along to the school where sir was showing off all the instruments we could learn and how to get involved and I kicked and screamed on the way home begging her not to make me do it. But my mother has always been a genius at negotiating so she said ‘I’ll give you 6 months and if you still hate it by then you can stop.’ I agreed as long as I could choose the instrument. So for my punishment I chose the loudest and heaviest instrument that they would have to endure and I ended up with the saxophone. A couple of months in and I thought I was winning this bet until Sir arranged a showcase for the parents and school for them to see how we were getting on. From the practise to perfection, rehearsals and pre show jitters I started to enjoy myself and then came the applause. I had no idea that it would feel as exhilarating as it did and also didn’t know I was the greatest player of Hot Cross Buns in the world. So it’s safe to say my mother won that bet, and many more, and I had officially caught the bug to performing. So when it came to starting Archies in 2007, which was actually the first year Mr Dickinson started as Headteacher, I knew that I wanted to be performing for most of my life, but in what capacity I wasn’t sure just yet.

So band was going well, we were winning music festivals and taking solo exams and we were jet setting around Europe at the end of school years to perform with other bands and learn more about music. But of course I wanted more. I had been dancing since I could walk but mostly in my bedroom and the occasional dance school until I left because I had no mates. Up until that point I didn’t know you could actually learn and study any of the things I was interested in and get qualifications in them. So when Miss Forster joined the school and we were given the chance to take dance as a BTEC in Year 9, everything changed. I was dancing, choreographing and training in new techniques almost everyday alongside learning algebra and grammar. I started high school terrified I was going to hate it and that I wouldn’t amount to much but everyday I was virtually running in the door excited to learn anything. Algebra and grammar didn’t seem so hard anymore, so Maybe there is space for the arts and creativity alongside academics and maybe they go together? I know for me it certainly helped.

Then came Art, now I’m not going to stand here and tell you I’m a fantastic painter. However, the outlet to create and get messy was a massive part of my school life, I’m sure Mr O’Brien didn’t enjoy the amount of time I spent in his class but I hope he knows how much of a stress relief learning how to paint and draw was to me and how it helped me get through the rest of school when it got hard. I got an A in GCSE art and still to this day it is one of my proudest achievements. And of course I left this part till last as it probably was the catalyst for everything I have achieved up to this point. I didn’t really know I could sing, I used to mimic my favourite singers at home but I thought I was just good at doing a Britney voice, I had been in choir at St Frannies but so had everyone. So when a few friends asked if I wanted to join the choir in Archies I said yes because I thought it would be a similar vibe with just learning a quick song, usually a hymn and then we’d go home. But my expectations were quickly changed upon meeting Mrs Newton. Instead of hymns and a quick singalong it was intricate harmonies and songs by Muse, Simon and Garfunkel, Claude Michel Schoenberg and more. We learned songs in an entirely made up language, I found out that I could sing soprano (and sometimes tenor) but I adored singing the alto parts because it was always weird harmonies and less stress on the old vocal chords. I’m not actually sure if I asked for private singing lessons or Miss suggested it but it wasn’t long till I was at the music rooms every Friday morning for an hour of scales, Improvisations and performing. I was learning arias, jazz, rock and musical theatre. In fact some of the songs that I first learned in that room with Miss are still part of my usual rep folder now that I use for auditions.

By the time I was 18 I had a diploma in singing awarded to me by the London College of Music all because Miss Newtons passion for music and singing was insanely infectious. And once I was in singing lessons you couldn’t stop me from singing, I was always willing to take a solo and have a go at something new so when Miss Allen finally announced she was going to be directing Annie when I was in year 9 or 10 I was beyond excited. I’d wanted a school musical since my first day and here it was. I auditioned for the role of Grace Farrell and genuinely couldn’t believe I got the job and was buzzing to get going with rehearsals. So Much of what I know about script learning and rehearsing and stage work I started in that show with Miss Allen, she again had so much passion for this art form and it was infectious and I think after Annie that was it I was sold on a future of playing roles and singing on stage. I went on to perform in Oliver as Nancy and Fiddler on the Roof as Hodel during my time atArchiesand still to this day I owe a great deal to all of those experiences.

I owe a great deal to all of those teachers I mentioned and others that taught me as well throughout my years here. It was never a secret what I wanted to do with my life and I was never forced or encouraged to go down an easier or safer route and I’ve always appreciated that. You may know that I graduated with a Masters in Musical Theatre from the Royal Academy of Music in 2018. But what you may not know is that for three years before hand I was training, preparing and auditioning for drama schools. My first year auditioning was while I was here in sixth form and as you know from my plan I thought I would get in in my first year. It didn’t take me long to realise that I wasn’t ready. The first audition I went to down in London confirmed that. I was good I knew that but I was green and young and not prepared for what drama school can ask of you. So when the No’s came through one by one, of course I was disappointed but I was grateful, they had given me feedback, they had let me know what I need to work on. It didn’t discourage me in fact it lit a fire under me and I was ready to do that work. Every ‘no’ I have received through my time working in this industry has done exactly that. I learned quickly that people on panels and at auditions weren’t praying for your demise but sparing you to be the one they are looking for. So when they say ‘no’ and tell you its not the right fit this time maybe try working on your technique, its them actively willing you will be the one they choose next time because the work has been put in. That also helped to learn that talent does only get you so far, commitment and hard work take up the majority of the space and so I never wavered on that, each year with each drama school audition I worked harder and smarter until in my final year I had received a place on every musical theatre course I had applied and auditioned for.

Since leaving RAM I have been so fortunate to have worked almost constantly, its only now as theatre crawls back to life after the pandemic that I’ve had longer time between gigs. With each of those shows and performances new experiences and opportunities have shown themselves. For instance my first professional show at the Southwark Playhouse was written by Bill Russell someone I had loved and studied and performed his work throughout my Masters and I was starring in his brand new musical and he was there in the rehearsal room giving me notes. Performing in a UK tour meant I’ve seen almost all of the places around my own country, some great places some not so great of course but in each city or town I learned something new. Performing in a show like Hair, a show about the summer of love in New York and the drafting of young American men to fight in Vietnam. Before then I had a limited amount of knowledge on that part of history and by the end I was fascinated and reading books on it in my spare time.

So the learning never stops after school and honestly that’s one of the funnest parts of the job. Talking of history lessons and Hair, one thing I guess I never expected was to be dancing on stage at the end of that show in the Liverpool Empire with my wonderful history teacher Mrs Howarth. Part of the end was we needed to bring people from the audience up to sing ‘Let the Sunshine In’ with us and of course I had to get her up on stage to dance. But I guess you never expect to be dressed as a hippie from the 60s belting a well known song in the face of someone who taught you half the things you were now telling to others.

I’ve also been so fortunate to travel the world on a cruise ship performing in the Musical Six, which is essentially a pop concert in where the Six wives of Henry VIII tell the real stories of there marriages to the king. I don’t think anybody expected Anne Boleyn to be played by a loudmouth scouser but there I was to tell the notorious queen’s story and get some laughs along the way. So I’ve worked in London, I’ve worked across the UK and across the world and people always want to know what’s next? I guess the honest answer is… I don’t know. I’ve learned that planning ahead only pushes you in a different direction. What I do know is, is that I wish to continue to inspire, to work hard, to learn and to perform. Opportunities never stop in this business or quite frankly any business you just have to be ready to grab at the one that’s right for you. For example during the pandemic when I couldn’t do anything creative I started creative writing classes and I discovered that I have a voice people like to read and I’ve almost completed my first play and hopefully I will be able to get it out there to be performed in the near future.

So to the kids of Archies and the parents and teachers, if there is something you dream of don’t ignore it. Navigate your way through school so you leave knowing you have what you need to get you to the next step. Learn from every ‘No’ you get because there will be many of them but they only push you further. And if something unexpected comes along that intrigues you, follow it. It may just be exactly what you dreamed of.

Miss Kelly Sweeney, former Archbishop Beck Catholic College student