From the living room to the limelight..

From modest beginnings teaching drama lessons in her mother’s living room, Rois has grown the Much Ado Stage School into a powerhouse of creativity, now based in the Enterprise Centre.

“It has been a massive draw for young people,” Rois said.

“Having started out in my mum’s living room in 2008, it only took three weeks until we had 200 children signed up, and we haven’t stopped since.”

To date, the stage school has resided in ten different premises in the locality, having had to constantly move and upgrade due to much higher demand for drama and music lessons in the area.

Their latest premises in the Enterprise Centre boasts two dance studios, a recording studio, a costume department and a singing room.

But what inspired Rois to pursue her passion in the first place?

“From a young age, I had no doubt that this was what I wanted to do… I had such a passion for theatre and music,” the Castlederg woman
said.

“When I was young I was involved in a lot of local pantomimes.

“My mum, Maureen Kelly, always directed them. She was such a creative person so there was no chance of me escaping or avoiding those sort of interests. She was always taking us all over Ireland and even to London to see shows, so it was ingrained in me, really.”

With plenty of experience in pantomimes under her belt as a young girl, Rois took a role in a school production of ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’.

By the age of 12, she was offered a role in the Lyric Theatre’s production of ‘Joseph’ in Belfast – and there was no looking back.

After her success in the city, Rois joined Hazel Wand Theatre School in Omagh where she spent a number of years honing her craft before going to study Theatre Studies at Ulster University in Coleraine.

“I absolutely loved it in Coleraine,” she said.

“I volunteered in the Riverside Theatre and just couldn’t get enough of the whole setting when it came to theatre.”

classical music

Following her graduation in Coleraine, Rois moved to Strathclyde for postgraduate studies.

Upon returning to Tyrone, she studied her grades in classical music under the guidance of Andrew Batchelor in Omagh.

It was around this time she made the ambitious decision to start her own stage school.

“When it came to theatre and music, anything I ever needed to do growing up involved travelling to Omagh twice a week with my daddy,” she explained.

“So I decided to set up a place in Castlederg after returning from Scotland.

“There was a big demand for it as there was no weekly classes or lessons in this sort of capacity for children in the area.”

Thanks to her passion and hard work, Rois, and the team at Much Ado have seen many of their students blossom over the years.

“The whole thing really took off when wee Chloe Coyle from Castlederg won series two of ‘The All Ireland Talent Show’ on RTÉ.

“She had started in Much Ado as a young child and we couldn’t have been more proud of what she achieved.”

Rois said that there must have been something in the water in those days, as a short while afterwards, another one of her students, Janet Devlin, became a household name after making it into the final ten on the hit TV show ‘The X Factor’.

“The school got a lot of media attention around then and it only helped things grow even more,” Rois said.

“It was amazing to see two young girls from a rural area starting to make a name for themselves.

“It just goes to show that anything is possible.”

Rois has since stayed in touch with Janet and even recently performed alongside her ex-pupil at the wedding of Janet’s brother.

As Much Ado Stage School continues to grow, they have recently introduced adult classes on a Friday night.

“We have had ex-pupils who attended the school as children coming back now for the adult classes,” Rois said.

“It’s just been incredible!”

inclusive

Their adult classes are fully inclusive and cater to everyone with an interest in building their confidence, forming friendships and taking to the stage.

“What we have built here is truly phenomenal and has made way for so much opportunity,” Rois explained.

“There was nothing like this in the Castlederg area when I was young. These sort of opportunities simply weren’t there and I saw a gap.

“I knew there was great talent in the area, but young people often need a collective with experience and expertise to assist them and help them in finding it within themselves.”

Last year was quite the year for Rois and the school as they won two awards at the Mighty Women NI Awards.

“I won ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year’ in September and we were invited back in December when Much Ado won the ‘Women in the Arts’ category.”

Remaining busy all year around whether it’s with the stage school or singing at ceremonies, Rois is showing no signs of slowing down.

“Ultimately, my big aim for this year is to write a play,” she said.

“I’m currently working on one called ‘The Girl at the Hiring Fair’, so that may be another big project coming up in the neat future.

“Ideally, I would love to eventually turn it into a film and take it a step further as, so far, there has been a lot of interest in the concept of it.”

Never one to shy away from opportunity, the hard-working Castlederg drama teacher simply concluded, “There just isn’t enough hours in the day, really…”