Westwood Teen Snares Theater Scholarship

Westwood resident Gabrielle Frankel was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship by the Skyline Theatre Company, a Bergen County-based professional theatre company.

"It feels awesome," Frankel said. "I didn't expect it at all."

Frankel is a senior at the Bergen County Academies. She also interns at the Norman A. Bleshman Regional Day School in Paramus, which caters to children with disabilities.

Frankel said the experience has helped her focus her future plans. She wants to create a theatre company which will help teach disabled children.

"It's been amazing," Frankel said. " Beforehand I was interested in working with kids with disabilities, but I didn't know exactly how I would do that."

According to Sam Scalamoni, the artistic director of the Skyline Theatre Company, Frankel's work with children at the Bleshman School made her stand out from the pool of students who applied for the scholarship.

The company's Harry K. Berkheiser Scholarship is named after one of its founders. After Berkheiser died, his family wanted to provide a legacy in his name, so they donated the money for the scholarships, Scalamoni said. The scholarship program has been running for five years.

The scholarship is open to Bergen County high school students who intend to pursue a career in the arts. For more information, visit the Skyline Theatre Company's website.