On October 10th, two dedicated East Grand Rapids musicians, Joey Collins ‘25 and Monica Doyle ‘25 performed at a fundraiser concert in the Little Auditorium at the high school. Though this was part of fulfilling their required IB CAS project, it was also about giving back to Grand Rapids Civic Theater, which has played an important role in both of their lives from a young age.

“I’ve had the idea of doing this concert for most of highschool. I always thought it would be really neat to do a fundraiser concert for friends and people of the community,” Collins said. “And the IB requirement for CAS projects gave me a reason to finally do this, with the idea of it being a service project but also being something I love to do and would wanna do on my own.”

Joey and Monica often work together, as they are both aspiring musicians and very involved within the high school’s drama program.

 “Monica and I have been collaborating in music for the past year, so having someone to do the show with me makes me even more inclined to pursue it,” Collins said.

Joey and Monica have both been involved with Civic from the beginning of their musical careers. This show gave them the opportunity to give back to the drama community that has shaped their lives today.

“Civic Theater has really helped me become a better performer, “ Doyle said. “I’ve been going to their shows forever and it’s super inspiring to see their performances.”

Following in the footsteps of Civic, they were able to produce a multifaceted show, including varying songs and unique covers. One of the duo’s favorite pieces was their acoustic adaptation of “I See the Light” from the Disney movie, Tangled. 

“Monica and I have been able to make a lot of these songs our own,” Collins said. “It’s been very fun to adapt the songs to our own styles and voices.”

The duo was able to see their hours of hard work and dedication come together on performance night, along with the audience.

“Being able to perform the show, after rehearsing just Joey and I, and having the lights and sounds all come together at our own concert was very cool to see,” Doyle said.

After the success of their show, Joey and Monica are hoping to lead a senior spring concert next year, with more participants and an even bigger audience.