A typical HHS Fine Arts Showcase would be held in the auditorium with a live audience admiring every movement on stage. Unfortunately, this year, the final showcase was live streamed online instead of being in-person due to the circumstances of the pandemic. 

“While it is sad to see 4 years of academy being put into a video, I’m glad I now have good documentation of the final product that I will be able to continue to view,” Senior Faith Evans-Haywood said. 

Even though an in-person event would be preferred, Evans-Haywood talks about the positives of the showcase being online.

“The virtual side helped me step back and really evaluate how important each aspect of my showcase was. I also learned how to edit audio and the complications that go along with it. I have a deeper appreciation and understanding for music that I wouldn’t have gotten if this showcase was live,” Evans-Haywood said. 

To plan the ins and outs of the event, the students had to cooperate online to figure it out. 

“[The] showcase was our Quarter 4 grade so it wasn’t hard to get people to participate. Everyone in FAACL wants to be in FAACL so we all held ourselves accountable and created our showcases with a few strand meetings along the way,” Evans- Haywood said. 

Evans-Haywood had been planning her piece in the showcase since the beginning of March, but due to the movement to an online showcase, changes had to be made. 

“My original idea was much more powerful because I intended on having live music along with dance in front of my animation. I had to dial it back but thankfully I could still do my animation with videos of the musicians. I wanted to show the process of moving on with the guiding hand of others. I chose the song, “The Chain”, by Ingrid Michaelson because it conveys that message, [it] was my Fine Arts audition piece and holds a special place in my heart,” Evans-Haywood said. “I’m still very proud of not only my piece, but everyone in the academy for accommodating to the current situation.”

Though the movement to an online showcase was not ideal, the overall event still held its value. 

“This showcase is a really cool way for anyone to understand the academy. To anyone who hasn’t been able to physically come see a showcase, this is a great way to support your peers. Skip two episodes of your favorite show, sit down for an hour and a half and watch many interpretations of ‘Roots’ come to life on your screen,” Evans-Haywood said.