Scholarship for the Arts

Scholarship for the ArtsJo Schuman Silver, producer of Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon, announced today the selection of nine Bay Area finalists for the Steve Silver Foundation and Beach Blanket Babylon “Scholarship for the Arts.” One winner in each category will be presented with a check for $10,000 towards their college education.

“This year we received an overwhelming number of entries from high school seniors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Schuman Silver. “It is really wonderful to see so much local talent. Picking the nine finalists was not an easy task! The judges definitely have their work cut out for them.”

Master of Ceremonies for the evening is Star 101.3’s Don Bleu. The celebrity panel of judges scheduled to appear include: San Francisco’s Mr. Nightlife Harry Denton, KGO Radio’s Jerry Friedman, Smuin Ballet’s Artistic & Executive Director Celia Fushille, Composer Gordon Getty, KMEL’s Chuy Gomez, Composer Jake Heggie, Actress Rita Moreno, California Shakespeare Theater’s Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone, American Conservatory Theater’s Artistic Director Carey Perloff, ABC7’s Don Sanchez, Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Artistic Director Tony Taccone and KRON4/KCBS Radio’s Jan Wahl.

The nine high school seniors who will perform live on Monday, June 7th are:

ACTING
ANNA CRIVELLI – Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland
TORIE LAHER – Miramonte High School, Orinda
MARCUS THOMPSON – Oakland Technical High School, Oakland

DANCING
CHRISTOPHER BABCOCK – Abraham Lincoln High School, San Jose
HANNIE DONG – Mission San Jose High School, Fremont
ALEXANDRIA VIERNI – Half Moon Bay High School, Half Moon Bay

SINGING
RACHEL DAVOREN – San Marin High School, Novato
FRANCESCA FERRARI – Saint Francis High School, Mountain View
PATRICIA ST. PETER – Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, San Francisco