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Gary Schweikhart, president of the Carbonell Awards, today announced that “South Florida’s Theater & Arts Honors” is seeking nominations for up to eight additional Special Awards that will be presented at the 49th annual Carbonell Awards Ceremony on Monday, November 16, at 7:30 p.m. at FAU’s University Theatre in Boca Raton.
The Carbonell Special Awards include:
** The Vinnette Carroll Award for significant achievement in advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in South Florida theater.
Previous winners of this award include Michel Hausman, co-founder and artistic director of Miami New Drama (2025); director, actor, and college educator John Pryor (2024); Christina Alexander & Katie Christie, for leading the South Florida Theatre League’s AntiRacism Theatre Strategies Cohorts (2023); and Marshall L. Davis, who served for nearly 40 years as managing director of the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center (AHCAC) in Miami’s Liberty City (2022).
** The Charlie Cinnamon Award honors an individual who contributes significantly to the support of the arts in South Florida and to the Carbonell Awards program.
Previous Cinnamon Award winners include longtime critic and former Carbonell Coordinator Mary Damiano (2025); veteran reviewer and founder of FloridaTheaterOnStage.com Bill Hirschman (2023); longtime critic and Carbonell judge Hap Erstein (2022), the Broward Center’s Director of Marketing Jennifer Sierra-Grobbelaar (2019); Tony Finstrom, playwright and founder of the Silver Palm Awards, (2018); and longtime arts patron and Carbonell judge Jerome J. (Jerry) Cohen (2017).
NEW
** The Christine Dolen Award for outstanding debut. Named after the award-winning theater critic for the Miami Herald for more than 35 years and dean of the Carbonell judges, this new Special Award could go to a first-time performer, playwright, director, designer, theater, or program.
** The Ruth Foreman Award recognizes contributions to South Florida theater development by an individual or group, for singular achievement and/or career contributions.
Recent Foreman Award winners include Alexa Kuve, founder, executive producer and artistic director of Arca Images (2025); Marilynn Wick, Founder and CEO of The Wick Theatre & Museum Club and Costume World, Inc. (2024); the Maltz Jupiter Theatre (2023); actor, producer, director, poet, and educator Teresa María Rojas (2022); The Amparo Experience (2020); Juggerknot Theatre Company for Miami Motel Stories (2019); Nicole Stodard for the GAP Play Reading Series at Thinking Cap Theatre (2018); and Florida Children’s Theatre (2016).
** The Bill Hindman Award honors significant, long-term contributions to the region’s cultural life and onstage career achievement by performing artists based in South Florida.
Recent Hindman Award winners include Beverly Blanchette, the former dean of theater at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts (2025); longtime stage manager Carl Waisanen (2024); James Samuel Randolph, theatre professor at New World School of the Arts (2023); actor and Actors’ Equity Association representative Margot Moreland (2022); actors Barbara Bradshaw (2020) and Harriet Oser (2015); and veteran performer Don McArt (2013).
** The Howard Kleinberg Award honors an individual or organization for contributions to the health and development of the arts in South Florida.
Recent Kleinberg Award winners include Harvey Burstein / Miamiartzine (2025); Kermit Christman, Founder & Artistic Producing Director of the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival (2024); actor, director, playwright, and producer Ronnie Larsen (2023); Andie Arthur, playwright, dramaturg, co-founding Artistic Director of Lost Girls Theatre, and Executive Director of the South Florida Theatre League (2022); Deborah Margol with the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs (2018); longtime critic and Carbonell judge Christine Dolen (2015); and Iris Acker, actor, director, author, talk show host, and Carbonell judge (2014).
** The Jan McArt Award for significant achievement by a small theatre.
The only recipient so far of the McArt Award is New City Players (2025).
** The Bill von Maurer Award for Theatrical Excellence honors a theater company that exemplifies excellence for the totality of its programming: productions, educational outreach, developmental programs, and audiences served.
Previous von Maurer Award winners include GableStage (2025); Area Stage (2024); Slow Burn Theatre Company (2023); Theater Lab (2022); Palm Beach Dramaworks (2020); City Theatre (2015); Maltz Jupiter Theatre (2011); and Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre (2007).
How to Submit Nominations for Carbonell Special Awards 2026: Before July 8, please email nominations to: [email protected] and put “Carbonell Nomination” in the Subject Line. In your submission, please include: Nominee’s name, Name of the Special Award for which you are making a nomination, Why you believe he/she/they/it are worthy of consideration for this particular Special Award.
The Carbonell Awards Board of Directors will review all nominations before selecting which Special Awards to present this year and each recipient. The Board can choose from the list of submitted nominations or add other names for consideration. In addition, the Board can consider any nominee for any award – not necessarily just the one for which he/she/they/it has been nominated. The winners of the 2026 Carbonell Special Awards will be announced one-per-week starting in late July.
The Carbonell Awards announced last month that the 2026 recipient of the prestigious George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts is Stuart Meltzer, founding artistic director of Zoetic Stage.
In September, the Board will announce this year’s 120 Carbonell Award finalists in 20 competitive categories based on accumulated scores from the nonprofit organization’s pool of nearly 50 experienced and diverse volunteer judges—with seven judges from various counties assigned to each show.
This season’s Carbonell Awards will be presented at a glittery ceremony on November 16 that is South Florida’s version of Broadway’s Tony Awards®. Hundreds of actors, musicians, performers, writers, directors, back-stage technicians, producers, reviewers, designers, specialty artists, and diehard theater fans are expected to attend the event that is being produced and directed by Andrew Kato, Producing Artistic Director/Chief Executive of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, with the award-winning Caryl Fantel serving as Music Director. Eloisa Ferrer is returning as the production’s Coordinating Producer. Tickets for the ceremony and after party are only $45 and will go on public sale in mid-October.
The Carbonell Awards fosters the artistic growth of professional theater in South Florida by celebrating the diversity of our theater artists, providing educational scholarships, and building audience appreciation and civic pride by highlighting achievements of our theater community. More than 20 professional theater companies in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties participate in the awards process every year. The Carbonell Awards also celebrate the accomplishments of local artistic leaders by presenting multiple Special Awards.
Along with New York’s Drama Desk and Chicago’s Joseph Jefferson Awards, the Carbonell Awards are among the nation’s senior regional arts awards and predate others, including Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Awards. The Carbonell Awards are named after Manuel Carbonell, an internationally renowned sculptor, who designed the original solid bronze and marble award in 1976. The signature trophy is given annually to all Carbonell Award winners. Over nearly a half-century, the Carbonell family has donated more than $250,000 in awards. For more information, please visit www.carbonellawards.org.
