Details Announced for 38th Annual Carbonell Awards, 3/31

As the South Florida theatre community prepares for the 38th annual Carbonell Awards, details of the March 31 ceremony, including the honorees of the prestigious George Abbott Award and Ruth Foreman Award, have been announced.

Ceremony Features Musical Performances

This year's Carbonell Awards, which honor excellence in South Florida regional theatre, will feature a multi-media tribute to the best plays of the season, a live band led by musical director Caryl Fantel, and musical performances by nominees from each of the shows nominated for Best Musical. Nominees Nick Duckart and Oscar Cheda will be joined by other cast members for a medley from In the Heights at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre; nominees Matthew Korinko, Anne Chamberlain, Clay Cartland and Bruno Vida will be joined by the rest of the cast of Next to Normal at Slow Burn Theatre to perform "Light"; nominee Elizabeth Dimon from The Longing and the Short of It at Theatre at Arts Garage will perform "Starting Sh*t with You"; nominee Burke Moses from Thoroughly Modern Millie at Maltz Jupiter Theatre will perform "The Speed Test"; nominees Amy Miller Brennan and Julia Dale from Ruthless! at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre will perform "Born to Entertain/It Can Never Be That Way Again"; and nominee Lourelene Snedecker from The Sound of Music at The Wick will be joined by cast mates to perform "Climb Ev'ry Mountain".

Special Award Honorees Announced

A highlight of the annual Carbonell Awards ceremony is the special recognition of those in our community who have made significant contributions to the arts.

Each year, the Carbonell Awards sponsors the George Abbott Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, awarded to an individual (or team) who has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural development of the region. The award may be given for accomplishments within the year, or for a lifetime.

This year's recipient is conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley, founder and producing artistic director of Seraphic Fire. Quigley founded choral group Seraphic Fire in 2002 and in the past dozen years the group has become an international sensation, performing around the world and receiving nominations for two Grammy awards. (Full bio included below.)

The Ruth Foreman Award was established in 2000 and named after pioneer theatre director and producer Ruth Foreman to recognize contributions to South Florida theatre development by an individual or group for singular achievement and/or career contributions.

This year, the Ruth Foreman Award will recognize GableStage in Coral Gables, playwright and Miami native Tarell Alvin McCraney, Stratford-on-Avon's Royal Shakespeare Company, and New York's Public Theater for their collaboration on Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. McCraney, who is playwright in residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed and penned this new adaptation, which is set in Haiti. The production was first mounted in London, then traveled to GableStage, where it drew paying audiences to Miami Beach's Colony Theatre and also was performed free of charge for thousands of Miami-Dade public school children, before playing New York's Public Theatre. The collaboration was a monumental undertaking, which brought renewed attention to the growing South Florida theatre scene and illustrates the high caliber of work that can be achieved by creating unique partnerships between international arts organizations.

The Bill Hindman Award

Established in 2000, the Bill Hindman Award is named after pioneer South Florida actor Bill Hindman and recognizes significant, long-term contributions to the region's cultural life and onstage career achievement by performing artists based in South Florida.

This year, Don McArt will be honored posthumously with the Bill Hindman Award. Jan McArt, dubbed the First Lady of Florida Theatre, will accept the award at the March 31 ceremony for her late brother.

"The recipients of this year's special awards embody the vibrant South Florida arts landscape and its growing impact on the rest of the world," said Scott Shiller, president of the Carbonell Awards board of directors. "Patrick Dupre Quigley founded Seraphic Fire in South Florida, and then brought his homegrown group to the world to international acclaim, while keeping Miami the group's home. Tarell Alvin McCraney grew up in Miami, and although he has become an internationally celebrated playwright and director, he consistently comes home to Miami, bringing his unique perspective and talent with him to 'wow' local audiences. And Don McArt is indicative of another aspect of South Florida arts, an actor from elsewhere who worked all around the world but then chose to bring his talents here and make South Florida his home."

Carbonell Scholarship Winners to be Recognized

Another highlight of the March 31 ceremony will be the announcement of three winners of the 2014 Carbonell Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded through a competitive process to South Florida high school seniors who are pursuing college education in the performing arts and/or journalism.

The Carbonell Awards Increase Web Presence

Over the last few years, the Carbonell Awards' web presence has increased significantly, with an active social media following on both Facebook and Twitter. Each week panelists attend eligible shows opening throughout South Florida and recommend productions that are deemed award-worthy. Audiences can now get information on these "Carbonell Recommended" shows all year long by liking the Carbonell Awards on Facebook at @CarbonellAwardsInc and by following @CarbonellAwards on Twitter.

On Monday, March 31, this year's awards event will be once again be live-tweeted from backstage of the awards ceremony. Feel free to join in on the fun through the live Tweet Up using hashtag #Carbonell2014, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Generous Sponsors Help Set New Record

The Carbonell Awards is a not-for-profit organization and is funded by tax-deductible donations and award sponsorships.

This year's ceremony is generously supported by leadership gifts from South Florida Cultural Consortium, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Additional supporters include Actors' Equity Association, Dr. Margaret and Mike Eidson, Rita and Jerry Cohen, Kerry and Scott Shiller, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, Mary Ellen and Michael Peyton, Tony Finstrom, Neil Goldberg Dream Foundation & Cirque Dreams, Broadway Across America, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, and the South Florida Theatre League.

The 38th annual Carbonell Awards ceremony, which takes place Monday, March 31, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater, at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale, was the fasting selling awards ceremony in recent history, selling out weeks in advance of the event. Patrons are encouraged to check daily for last minute ticket availability by contacting the Broward Center's AutoNation Box Office at 954-462-0222 or online at www.browardcenter.org.

About Patrick Dupré Quigley, Founder and Artistic Director, Seraphic Fire American conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley is at the vanguard of a new generation of young Baroque specialists: completely at ease at the helm of the modern symphony orchestra while still able to create the passionate, distinctive stylings of the Baroque sound. The founder and artistic director of Seraphic Fire and the Firebird Chamber Orchestra, he has been described by the Miami Herald as, "a musician with a constellation of qualities rarely found in a single conductor: an enthusiastic and audience-friendly personal style, a scholar's instinct for rooting out obscure but worthy music, a scrupulous and historically informed approach to works that span a wide range of musical periods, an ability to bring out the best in his talented platoon . . . and a showman's canny sense of how to appeal to audiences."

Quigley has been lauded as an adept arts entrepreneur and a savvy institution builder. In ten seasons, Quigley has grown Seraphic Fire & the Firebird Chamber Orchestra into a vibrant, cutting-edge arts organization-mounting acclaimed performances of Baroque mainstays, introducing new work and exploring under-performed treasures with equal success. In addition to the ensemble's many concerts, the organization has established the Miami Choral Academy which serves 200 students from low-income neighborhoods who participate in five weekly afterschool choirs.

Quigley was nominated for two 2012 Grammy® awards, for Best Choral Performance

Conductor, Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem; and Best Small Ensemble Performance

Conductor, A Seraphic Fire Christmas. He was the only conductor in the world to be nominated for two separate projects, and Seraphic Fire was the only choir in North and South America to receive a nomination. Under Quigley's direction, Seraphic Fire has released ten recordings on the Seraphic Fire Media label, with three additional recordings forthcoming this year.

In addition to his work helming Seraphic Fire, Quigley has made guest conducting appearances with the New World Symphony, San Francisco Symphony's Community of Music Makers series, four separate appearances with the San Antonio Symphony, Cincinnati's professional Vocal Arts Ensemble, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seattle's Choral Arts, and numerous others.

About the Carbonell Awards

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. Over 25 professional theater companies in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties participate in the awards process every year. Each season volunteer panelists and judges choose nominees and recipients from hundreds of shows produced on our area stages. In addition, The Carbonell Awards celebrate the accomplishments of our artistic leaders by presenting 'Special Awards' and show our dedication to the next generation of artists and journalists by awarding scholarships. 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, which return again this year as the signature trophy for award winners.