Liam leans toward creative communications--on stage and on the page

WVHS student Liam Kevins is wrapping up his junior year with a current streak of achieving Honor Roll status for five out of the past seven marking periods, and he says the fourth marking period this year is “looking good!” Liam was recognized as a 2021 NYS Scholar-Athlete, and he was just inducted into the National Honor Society. This year, he challenged himself to pursue a new passion – acting – and has been making the most of his high school opportunities.

“I can definitely say that high school has been one of the happiest times in my life,” said Liam. “It’s definitely been a very pleasurable, happy, evolving time.”

Liam has broad academic interests, but he leans toward the humanities. His favorite study areas are English and his communications class.

“English, that’s a great one because you get to be expressive,” Liam said. “I’m in language and composition, and that class promotes a lot of creative thinking; thinking outside of the box.”

This year, Liam is in both AP English Language & Composition and AP US History. His interest in social studies led Liam to get involved with Students in Government, the WVHS club in which students get involved in mock local government, running for office, passing legislation, and job-shadowing local officials. The group recently spent the day at the Orange County Government Center, and Liam enjoyed picking up firsthand experience with area legislators.

“It was a great, really fun real world experience – the desks, the official microphones,” Liam said, adding with a laugh, “I was, like, ‘Whoa, it’s like we’re at the Supreme Court!’”

Liam’s interest in acting grew from his love of watching films and television shows – both live action and animation. Being a fan of physical comedy, he enjoys the work of actors like Jim Carrey and Ryan Reynolds. He is also a big fan of animator/director/screenwriter Rebecca Sugar and her show Steven Universe.

“And Steven Spielberg – he innovates art, everything,” said Liam, adding that he always gravitated toward the idea of a job as a creative. “Putting something out in the world; something fun for other people.”

Liam played the part of Otis In the WVHS Drama Club’s fall production, Sweet Surrender. Liam felt it was a good first role for him.

“It wasn’t like I was going to be a tree,” he joked. “It was an engaging role that I enjoyed being in. I felt like there was a lot of me reflected in Otis – energetic, kind of comedic.”

Liam was also cast as the narrator for the spring production of Little Shop of Horrors. He works on his craft with Warwick Performing Arts and recently performed his first monologue at the Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center. He portrayed a gamer at an arcade, delivering lines interspersed with onomatopoeia like “Shabam!” and “Bam!” He enjoyed peppering his lines with humor, while still getting at the core of the story being told in the monologue.

“As an actor, that’s your job, to find the story, find what connects to you the most, and bring that out,” he said. Liam shared that he also enjoys the absence of hierarchy he feels when working with other actors and creatives, and how everyone interacts as equals, from freshman to seniors.

With his outstanding academics and his passion for performance, Liam has been looking at different colleges that offer acting and film programs – maybe a minor in politics – including NYU and a couple Ivy League options. But, at the moment, Liam is glad to still have another year left at Warwick Valley High School, with the friends and mentors he values so much.

“(High School) has really brought out the best in me,” Liam said. “It brought out the part of me that always wants to keep on improving myself, and encouraged me to do the things I love.”