St. Francis High senior awarded for acting ability and talent

special to the town crier Uher performed in St. Francis High School’s production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Jessica Uher, a Los Altos resident and fourth-year drama student at St. Francis High School, placed in the top 10 percent of the national Arts Recognition and Talent Search (ARTS) program. Jessica was selected from more than 6,500 registrants to the 2006 ARTS program for her exceptional artistic accomplishments, and was among 650 award recipients nationwide. She received a certificate and a $250 cash prize.

Watching a program on KQED that showcased the winning artists from the previous year’s ARTS competition inspired Jessica to apply. She sent in a video clip featuring her performance of two contrasting monologues, one classical, one modern. She delivered one monologue from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” and another from a play called “Catholic School Girls” by Casey Kurtii.

During fall semester, Jessica played the female lead in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.” She has been involved in every production on campus since her freshman year - eight in all.

“It’s a great community of people and the department has given me the freedom to grow as an artist,” Jessica said. She is currently working on the spring musical “42nd Street,” slated to open at the end of April. She is the choreographer, student director and lead role actress.

The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts’ (NFAA) ARTS program offers cash awards and scholarship opportunities for high school seniors in the literary, performing and visual arts as well as the opportunity to be named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. A young artist may be nominated to the Commission on Presidential Scholars.

NFAA ARTS awarded St. Francis High School with a Certificate of Recognition for inspiring young artists.

For more information, visit www.artsawards.org.