Rapattoni Drama Scholarship Fund

Tiffany Silvas

2021 Recipient

Tiffany Silvas with Brian Barnhart, Chair of the CHS Visual
and Performing Arts Department and Director of CHS Drama

ONTARIO, Calif., May 4, 2021 – Chaffey High School 2021 graduating senior Tiffany Silvas has won the Rapattoni Drama Scholarship; the awardee will receive a $1,500 scholarship for Outstanding Performance and Dedication in Chaffey High School Theatre. Due to the suspension of school for Covid-19 concerns, the award will be presented online by the Principal of Chaffey High School (CHS), Christina Martinez, via a virtual presentation in May.

According to Brian Barnhart, Chair of the Visual and Performing Arts Department and recently installed Director of CHS Drama, “Tiffany was selected for this recognition due to her scholarship, theatrical talent, commitment and dedication to the productions at Chaffey High School.” Tiffany ranks as 47^th of 828 seniors at Chaffey High School and has a 4.4 grade point average.

Brian continued by recalling, “Tiffany’s first role for us at Chaffey Theatre Company was in the spring of 2018, in the ensemble, as a farm girl in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma (3,900 patrons). She followed that show as the lead playing Jovie, Buddy the Elf’s love interest in the fall of 2018 in Elf Jr. The Musical (5,459 patrons); as a sophomore in the spring of 2018, Tiffany portrayed Olive Ostrovsky, a touching lead role in the hilarious The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2,100 patrons). Lastly, in a shortened school year, in the fall of 2019, in a fabulously restored newly opened Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium, she portrayed Aquata, a Mersister in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (15,035 patrons).”

Tiffany is also in the cast of The Best of Broadway, a spring 2021 virtual showcase filming and streaming. According to Brian, “We will film the production at the end of spring, edit it and stream it for audiences on YouTube in mid- to late-May. Since we can’t sell tickets we will have a link available for donations. This will be highly professional and will allow me to use my 16 years in the film industry and my film degree.”

Obtaining the rank of Thespian in Chaffey’s International Thespian Society Troupe 5535, Miss Silvas is a well-seasoned performer, having entertained over 26,494 patrons of Chaffey Theatre since first stepping onto her alma mater’s stage.

In addition to being annual benefactors since 2011 for the CHS musicals, this is the 10^th annual scholarship provided by Niki Brown Rapattoni, CHS class of 1958, and her husband, the late Andy Rapattoni, CHS class of 1957. The outpouring of donations in Andy’s memory at his passing in 2015 has provided for an annual scholarship to continue for many years.

The two of them met in the Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium in 1956 while attending the senior play. The high school sweethearts were married 55 years and are avid supporters of the CHS Alumni Association and Chaffey Theatre. Andy was the 2010 CHS Alumni Tiger of the Year and spoke at that years’ Baccalaureate ceremony and ten years later Niki was selected to be the 2020 CHS Alumni Tiger of the Year. When asked about the scholarship, co-benefactor Niki replied, “We are thrilled to provide this scholarship to Tiffany Silvas, a deserving CHS graduating student who has excelled in drama and plans to continue her pursuit in the Performing Arts at The University of La Verne in California.”

Barnhart added, “I am so grateful for the support and dedication the Rapattonis have gifted the program over the years, as they walked these grounds in the ‘50s and began a lifetime of ‘paying it forward’ to our talented performers. Tiffany is a most deserving recipient of this annual scholarship and I know she will repay it forward just as her benefactors have.”

Due to the COVID-19 mandates, live CHS musical productions have been delayed since spring 2020. Niki Rapattoni and her family attended all of Miss Silvas’ previous performances at CHS, including the December 2019 production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Tiffany is the daughter of proud parents Anthony and Lisa Silvas of Montclair. Miss Silvas has now been added to the list of Niki and Andy Rapattoni Drama Scholarship recipients: 2012-Gabriel Navarro; 2013-Vincent LaVigna; 2014-Jade Winter White; 2015-Jonathan Guevara; 2016-Adam Granados; 2017-Anthony Nelson; 2018-Ashley Flores; 2019-Jasmine Padilla; 2020-Zohary Gonzalez; 2021-Tiffany Silvas.

Past Recipients:

2020