The Carbonell Awards announced in August that Biscayne Times managing editor Mary Damiano has been named the recipient of the Charlie Cinnamon Award, one of the organization’s special awards that they bestow annually.
“While we will be honoring in 20 competitive categories specific theatre performances, production elements, and shows presented between September 2024 and August 2025, the Carbonell board of directors has unanimously voted to also bestow the following special award,” said Gary Schweikhart, board president of the Carbonell Awards, regarding Damiano’s honor.
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. The award is named for legendary Miami press agent Charlie Cinnamon, who is often credited with being the leading force behind South Florida’s burgeoning arts scene, helping it flourish for more than half a century, until his passing in 2016.
In nominating Damiano for this award, Zoetic Stage co-founder Stuart Meltzer said that she “is long overdue for some recognition for her contributions as an arts journalist and Carbonell judge. Mary’s commitment to theatrical journalism has kept her in print for as long as I've been working professionally in this community. Her sense of humor, her heart, her eagerness to celebrate every theatre company, and her love of what she does is an example of longevity and survival.”
Damiano has been the managing editor of Biscayne Times since August, 2024. She is also theater critic for The Palm Beach Daily News, and writer for The New Pelican newspaper in Pompano Beach, Miami ArtBurst and MiamiARTzine.com. She is an award-winning writer, editor, and theater critic who has covered the South Florida arts scene since 2000. She has had more than 3,000 articles published in dozens of publications, including the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, New Times, South Florida Gay News, She Magazine, The Palm Beach Post, BroadwayWorld.com, and MiamiARTzine.com, of which she is the founding editor and shepherded the online arts magazine through its first 100 issues. She served as panel coordinator for the Carbonell Awards from 2008 until 2014 and was managing director of the organization from 2014 until 2020. She has also served as the vice president of the South Florida Theatre League and the Art and Culture Board for the City of Oakland Park.
“I am thrilled to receive this honor,” said Damiano. “People who do the kind of behind-the-scenes work in the theater and arts community that I do are not often recognized for their contributions. The news that I will receive the award named for my beloved friend, Charlie Cinnamon, means more to me than I can express, because of the acknowledgment it brings from an organization and the community that I love so much.”
The 48th Annual Carbonell Awards will be presented Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at FAU’s University Theatre in Boca Raton.