`Beach Blanket' selects finalists

Every year, the Steve Silver Foundation and Beach Blanket Babylon present $10,000 scholarships to three talented high school seniors from the Bay Area.Jo Schuman Silver, producer of BBB, announced the nine finalists today, who will then go on to perform at Club Fugazi on Monday, June 9. The winners will be selected that night.Finalists in the acting category are:SAIRUS GRAHAM-THILLE - San Francisco School of the Arts, San FranciscoSHAYLIN HOYE - Novato High School, NovatoKEELIN WOODELL - St. Ignatius College Prep, San FranciscoIn the dancing category:CHELSEA McLAUGHLIN - Eastside College Preparatory, East Palo AltoTAL OPPENHEIMER - Lick-Wilmerding High School, San FranciscoERIN STAHMER - Homestead High School, CupertinoIn the singing category:ALEXANDRA AKIN - School of the Arts, San FranciscoSARA LEMESH - Terra Linda High School, San RafaelERIN SUTH - Redwood Christian Junior/Senior High School, San LorenzoSchuman Silver said in a statement: "I'm really impressed by the quality of the performances that we've received and the dedication of the students to their craft. It wasn't an easy task to narrow down the field to just nine finalists."The June 9 master of ceremonies for the evening is Star 101.3's Don Bleu. The celebrity panel of judges scheduled to appear includes: San Francisco's Mr. Nightlife Harry Denton, Composer Gordon Getty, San Francisco Opera's General Director David Gockley, KMEL's Chuy Gomez, Alice Radio's Hooman, 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, KRON4/KCBS Radio's Jan Wahl and ODC/Dance's Artistic & Executive Dance Director Brenda Way.For information visit www.beachblanketbabylon.com.