Meet Jessica Courtney Leen | Director West End House School of Arts, Filmmaker & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Courtney Leen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, what are you inspired by?
I’m inspired by kindness and people who do things to help other people. I’m inspired by the glimmers and silver linings that come in harsh realities, and the sense of hope they bring. I’m definitely inspired by the amazing creative people I’ve surrounded myself with and their constant ‘can-do’ and ‘will-help’ attitudes, there’s such strength in that support. But I’m mostly inspired by how extraordinary the ordinary can be when I look hard enough and appreciate it, they’re the big inspiring moments and they’re every day for me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Artistically, I’m a filmmaker who also writes music. Professionally, I’m the director of an Arts School in Killarney, Co.Kerry in Ireland. Most recently in my artistic work I’m in the development stages of a feature film script, and I’m releasing my debut album this coming Autumn… the second single from it, “Think I’m Gonna Love You”, is out Friday May 3rd.. Rewinding back a little further however… I started out as a journalist working in print media and radio. I had my own 70s themed music show for a year and freelanced for some newspapers until I bit the bullet to follow my creative dream, which was an easy decision because it was all I ever harped on about! I did a two year professional acting degree and then began writing and producing my own plays for theatres around Ireland. I moved to London in 2019 and lived and worked there in a bar and flower shop to fund my dream of becoming a filmmaker. I produced, wrote, directed, and acted in my debut short film ‘Bronagh’, which means sorrow in Irish, in London in 2020… and then came the pandemic. I flew back to Ireland for what I thought would be a few weeks, but I ended up never moving back to London. Throughout the pandemic I lived back at home with my parents. I turned thirty, became a morning news broadcaster and had about seven existential crises. At the same time, I wrote, recorded and released new music, did a masters degree in Screenwriting for film & Television, debuted my one woman theatre show “Waiting For Wifi”, and made my second short film which went on to screen at Newport Beach Film Film Festival as well as winning two awards at home in Ireland. It was the most fruitful time in my artistic life as for the first time I had the time to be creative whilst living at home. In hindsight, I was very lucky to be in such a position. I also found the time to pause and recalibrate. I did a lot of deep soul searching and spent a lot of time with myself, finding out who I was and what I wanted. Towards the end of the pandemic, my uncle Donie who was my mentor in the industry contacted me and asked me to join the creative team at West End House School of Arts in Killarney, a school for the arts founded by his good friend Michael Fassbender. Donie was the director of the school and I worked closely with him in tutoring students in writing and acting for screen and stage. He was my tutor when I was in drama school, and my constant support and friend thereafter so I was delighted to be working with him professionally. Donie died in May 2022, and I continued working at West End House with the hope of keeping his dream there alive. In January 2023 I became the director of the school. We currently run 17 classes a week for adults, teenagers and kids. We’re not a stage school as such, we’re an explorative creative space that allows people to discover their own authentic artistic voice through acting, writing and other art forms. We also work with local schools and corporate groups in providing drama and wellbeing workshops and confidence training, as well as welcoming international students every year from Italy and the US in Spring and Summer months for week-long cultural performance programmes. It’s a privilege to get to watch our students flourish in the school Michael and Donie built. It inspires me every day. I hope I’m doing him proud.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m going to focus this question on my hometown of Cork City (Cillian Murphy’s stomping ground!). I’d take them to see a show at The Everyman Palace on MacCurtain Street, into The Crawford Gallery and The English Market to soak up some local Cork culture, and then to Mutton Lane after for a hot port! I’d definitely take them to west Cork for a few days of R&R on the coast – beach walks at Inchydoney and Red Strand, we’d of course make a Pitt-stop at ‘Some Dose’ first for a takeaway coffee for the road. I’d bring them to Debarra’s in Clonakilty for an acoustic session in the evening, and the next morning maybe take a coastal drive to Schull, Glandore or Ahakista (or maybe all three!) and get some fish and chips. I’d then cheat a little bit by venturing into Co.Kerry and showing them around Killarney and Dingle for a day or two – small pubs and fires and coffees by the lakes and mountains, what more could you ever want.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people involved in my story. There are the family members and friends who’ve cheered me on and supported all of my creative endeavours from day one. There’s my creative community who are cinematographers, musicians, actors, artists of all kind. There’s my uncle and aunt who taught me everything I know about the industry I work in. There’s the entire team at West End House in Killarney who are so wonderful at what they do and make my job so enjoyable. There’s my boyfriend Ethan who is a constant encouragement. And there’s everyone who’s ever gifted me a notebook knowing I’d fill it with lyrics, stories and poems.

Website: www.jessicacourtneyleen.com and www.westendhouse.ie

Instagram: jessicacourtneyleen

Linkedin: Jessica Courtney Leen

Other: Spotify: Jess Leen

Image Credits
Celeste Burdon Photography