The Charles Henderson High School creative writing classes and the drama department showcased their work at the Johnson Center for the Arts on Tuesday. The CHHS Interact club sponsored the event to help raise funds for the fine arts program.

The drama students performed monologues they have written while the creative writing students showcased their most recent work. Their monologues were written after the students who toured the Johnson Center, gaining inspiration from the artwork that is displayed.

“This year we decided to partner with the drama students, and the Interact club wanted to host a fundraiser for the fine arts department,” said Karla Johnson, the creative writing teacher at CHHS. “The student artwork is up for TroyFest this weekend. They [came to] look at the artwork and the drama department [performed] for about 45 minutes.”

Raquel Cole performed a movement piece call “Map of Your Life,” showing the journey from birth into the future.

“A lot of my movements showed happy times and even times not so happy,” Cole said.

Johnson said that she loved incorporating dance into the showcase and that every levels of students can be successful in fine arts.

The CHHS literary magazine was for sale for $2 each, with all the money going toward the fine arts program.

“My goal is trying to get them to think creatively and express themselves through their writing,” Johnson said. “Sometimes students can’t draw, paint or perform, and they express themselves beautifully through their writing.

“The arts are an important part of what students do at CHHS,” she continued. “The band and drama get showcased a lot, but a lot of times people don’t realize that students are writing their own plays and monologues to go to competitions. Our creative writing students have a showcase, too.”

According to Johnson, the Troy City Schools Education Foundation provided a grant for the students to have their showcase at the Johnson Center this year, and they also paid for the magazines to be printed.