Artist of the Week: Liam Lowe

Warwick Valley High School sophomore Liam Lowe is a committed creative writer, actor and musical theater performer. In just his second year of high school, he has already built an impressive catalog of writing, including a developing trilogy of novels.

Liam has written avidly since sixth grade, but his creative journey began with another discipline: piano.

“I’ve actually played piano longer than anything else. Longer than writing or acting,” Liam explained.

Liam began piano lessons in first grade at the Orange County School of Dance in Monroe, where he lived up until the summer before his freshman year in Warwick. That same year, inspired by his older brother’s performance in “Seussical” at their elementary school, Liam found himself also drawn to the stage.

“So, I started getting involved in theater productions pretty soon after that,” Liam said. “After that first production, I kind of just kept going. I’ve been doing shows ever since.”

Finding writing in middle school

Liam’s interest in writing began to take root in middle school. As a young writer, his early efforts were marked by ambition and bursts of inspiration. He set an ambitious goal for himself that he remembers now with some humor.

“I tried writing a novel, and I really thought it was,” he said, shaking his head. “Um... it wasn’t; it was really short, like 20 pages.”

Liam always wrote down the good ideas he had, ones he really liked, and would begin a chapter or two before stopping.

“Then I couldn’t go on because I didn’t have a lot of writing stamina then,” he reflected. “I couldn’t possibly have written a whole novel.”

Working his creative muscle

Persistence, however, paid off. By eighth grade, Liam had completed a longer work that would soon become the foundation for his trilogy. Liam has completed and published one so far, “Dear, Alexandria,” which is available at the Greenwood Lake Library or by request anywhere in the Ramapo Catskill Library System. He wrote the book during his freshman year, which was also his first year in the district. He credits much of his productivity to the unique environment he found at Warwick Valley, particularly in the school’s Creative Writing Club, advised by WVHS English teacher Danielle Debella.

As Liam prepared to move into the district, he spent time browsing the Warwick Valley website. One of the many things that stood out to him was the club that fit so well with his personal interest. He joined as soon as he could and just as quickly became one of the club’s more prolific writers.

“The club met on Thursdays, so I would try to write a chapter within a week, so I had it to take back,” Liam said. “Then, at one point, Ms. Debella told me that I could come in more than just Thursdays. I started going every day.”

Not only that, he also got into a rhythm of writing a chapter every single day and taking his latest draft to Debella during lunch for workshopping.

“That’s probably part of the reason why I finished that last novel so quickly,” Liam mused.

Liam’s writing process is very plot-focused, often starting with the sequence of events before layering in character development and descriptive settings. He continues working on the other two books in his trilogy and workshops drafts with Ms. Debella. Although it didn’t fit into his schedule this year, he looks forward to taking the formal Creative Writing class offered at the high school next year.

Musical theater also remains an important part of Liam’s creative life at Warwick Valley. After moving here, he sought opportunities to perform and got involved with the WVHS Drama Club. He was in last year’s production of “Les Misérables” and is looking forward to participating in this year’s spring musical, “Urinetown.”