Excitement Builds As South Florida Counts Down To The 43rd Annual Carbonell Awards Ceremony

As the South Florida theater community prepares for the 43rd annual Carbonell Awards, this year's three talented scholarship winners, dubbed Carbonell Scholars, have been announced. In addition to recognizing special achievement in the arts and excellence in regional theater, the Carbonell Awards has, since its inception, awarded scholarships to high school seniors pursuing degrees in the performing arts and journalism.

In 1978 the first $500 scholarship was awarded, and more than $100,000 in scholarships have been awarded since. Each year, three distinguished candidates are selected through a competitive, merit-based process with one student selected from each county in South Florida's tri-county region. On the occasion of the Carbonell Awards' 40th anniversary, the scholarship program was renamed the Jack Zink Memorial Student Scholarship Program to honor Carbonell Awards co-founder Jack Zink, an arts journalist and theater critic.

This year, Julia Dale, who attends Western High School in Broward County, will receive a $3,000 scholarship.

Julia is honored to be recognized with this scholarship for her artistic talents, contributions and potential. At the age of 10, Julia received national attention when she performed the national anthem for the Miami Heat in their playoff and championship seasons and became known as the "Miami Heat's Lucky Charm." She has performed in several regional productions including: Cirque Dreams Broadway; The Bridges of Madison County at Slow Burn Theatre Company; Ragtime and Ruthless! at Actors' Playhouse, for which she received a Carbonell Award nomination. She has also served as a Teen Ambassador for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts for the past four years.

Bailey Hacker, a senior at New World School of the Arts in Miami-Dade County, will receive a $2,000 scholarship to pursue further education in acting and directing.

Bailey was first introduced to the world of theater by her mother, Jeni Hacker, a Carbonell Award-winning actress who is also nominated this year. Bailey fell in love with the art and the community of theatre. She saw in each of her mother's casts that everyone told the funniest jokes, had the kindest smiles and became a family. It was this sense of community that initially piqued her interest in theater as a career. As she started to study acting more, her passion for the craft grew as she stepped into her own artistry. Bailey's education at New World School of the Arts made her fall in love with learning. She has put countless hours and many sleepless nights into her schoolwork, attempting to perfect both the smallest movement pieces as well as her mainstage performances. Bailey plans to study acting in college and plans to have a career in both acting and directing.

Maura Wilson, a senior at Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts in Palm Beach County, will receive a $1,000 scholarship to pursue her studies in lighting design.

Maura has worked in technical theater, including lighting, set, and sound design for multiple shows. She has led crews since her sophomore year of high school and has shared her knowledge of technical theater with other students. Maura has been able to share theater with her surrounding community through Theatre for Young Audiences and Sensory Friendly Shows for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. She was set designer for the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Youth Artists' Chair production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Maura is a part of several honors societies and was inducted into the International Thespian Society her freshman year of high school. She plans to focus on set and lighting design in college and continuing to give back to her community through theater.

Kimmi Johnson, who received a Carbonell scholarship during her senior year in high school and is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Musical, this year, will participate in the scholarship presentation at the April 8 ceremony.

Tickets are still available for the 43rd annual Carbonell Awards ceremony, which takes place Monday, April 8, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amaturo Theater, at Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. 5th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets can be purchased by calling 954-462-0222, in person at Broward Center's AutoNation box office or by visiting www.browardcenter.org.