The Arts Fair, Homecoming and the Fall Play are all events that bring the CHS community closer together. They are times when students can bond with their peers, and learn something new about themselves and others. These valuable moments are not forced onto the students by teachers, but because the students willingly come together.

The Performing Arts Department at CHS has always been a strong center of student-oriented extra-curricular events. They host the fall play, spring musical, Student Run Musical, Jazz Band, Show Choir and, in past years, the 24-hour Musical.

The 24-hour Musical was a tradition first started four years ago and was an immediate hit for the performing arts. But, for the past two years the musical hasn’t happened.

“Last year we did not have enough students sign up for it,” Theater Director Kelley Ryan said. “Really, it’s a pretty big event, and we have to have at least 80-100 kids to do it well, and it’s a lot of time and effort on everybody’s part.”

Last year the Musical was cancelled due to lack of interest in the student body, but this year there just was not enough time.

“It has been a problem of interest historically,” junior Ian Miller said. “Last year it didn’t happen because of lack of interest. This year we didn’t even have a chance to publicize it because we couldn’t get a date for it.”

Although the Musical only takes 24-hours, it was difficult to find a time where there wasn’t a conflicting event. Because it takes such a large part of the school to put it together, the Musical has to be scheduled a time when everyone is free.

“It’s also difficult to find time in the schedule,” Ryan said. “Because there’s hardly a time where the theater’s not being used or we don’t have a football game where all the musicians are gone.”

Miller and junior Sarah McAfee were planning on running the 24-hour Musical this year. They both had great experiences of the event from their freshman year and wanted to share it with the rest of the student body.

“I wanted to co-run the 24-hour this year for a couple of reasons,” McAfee said. “For one thing, Ian Miller wanted to run it as well, and we’ve known each other for so long, I felt like we’d be able to come up with some fun ideas together. Secondly, I had so much fun doing it freshman year, and it fell through last year, that I wanted to be able to make an environment that was welcoming and make sure it was fun for everybody.”

In the past, the Musical has been extremely successful. The theater department hopes to bring it back better than ever.

“Its first year was probably the best,” Miller said. “It’s kind of gone down hill since then, but hopefully we can revive it.”

The theater department is hosting smaller activities and shows to replace the 24-hour Musical this year. These smaller events don’t require such a large amount of time and were much easier to schedule around the master calendar.

“We’re planning on replacing [the 24-hour Musical] by doing a series of Friday activities nights and improv nights,” Miller said.

The 24-hour Musical allows students who usually aren’t in a musical or play to get involved. Students can make a production in 24-hours instead of six weeks. It also allows them to step out of their comfort zone.

“It gives you the chance to work with people your own age in settings where you’d normally be directed by an adult who’s had more years of experience,” McAfee said.

The benefits students receive from the production are enormous. They share lasting memories and experiences, and the musical ties the students together.

“It’s a great kind of team building project that gets kids working together creatively in a real way with end results and an audience,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t work as a teacher driven event; it has to be student driven.”