Mingle with the winners of the 2010-2011 Silver Palm Awards at the Theatre League Annual General Meeting and Holiday Party at Bimini Boatyard on December 6th. "The Silver Palm Awards are presented annually to those who've made an outstanding contribution to the South Florida theater season" explains Silver Palm Awards Chairman, Tony Finstrom. "There are no nominees, no winners or losers, and no limit to the number of citations given in any category, though there really are no official categories". These awards differ from the Carbonell Awards (South Florida's equivalent to the Tony Awards) in several ways. Silver Palm Awards often recognize sustained excellence for several performances during a season, and the categories may change from year to year as worthy contributions arise.

Past categories have included: Outstanding Performances, Outstanding New Talent, Outstanding New Emerging Theatre Company, Outstanding Producer, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding Support of the South Florida Theatre Community, Outstanding New Work / Playwright, Outstanding Ensemble of Actors, Outstanding Sustained Excellent Work in South Florida Theatre, and Outstanding Stage Manager & Crew. Silver Palms have gone to some 45 individuals and/or groups during the past three theatre seasons.

Playwright Tony Finstrom, TV personality Iris Acker, and Press Club President Ron Levitt compose the Silver Palm Committee, which receives nominations from prominent South Florida journalists and theatre critics, as well as Theatre League members, before the final list of recipients is presented. This year's Silver Palm Advisory Council consisted of Christine Dolen (Miami Herald), Bill Hirschman (FloridaTheaterOnStage.com), Hap Erstein (Palm Beach Post & Palm Beach ArtsPaper), John Lariviere (TalkinBroadway.com), J.W. Arnold (South Florida Gay News), Mary Damiano (FloridaTheaterOnStage.com & South Florida Gay News), and Roger Martin (MiamiArtzine.com).

The 2010-2011 Silver Palm Award Recipients:

Tim Bennett: Outstanding Set Design for Stuff at the Caldwell Theatre.

Clay Cartland: Outstanding New Talent for his performance in Song Of The Living Dead at the Promethean Theatre.

Marckenson Charles: Outstanding Performances in Superior Donuts at GableStage, A Behanding In Spokane at GableStage, and Stuff at the Caldwell Theatre.

David Cohen: Outstanding Musical Tracks at the Broward Stage Door Theatre.

Dennis Creaghan: Outstanding Performances in A Behanding In Spokane at GableStage, Freud's Last Session at Palm Beach Dramaworks, and August: Osage County at Actors' Playhouse.

Renata Eastlick: Outstanding New Talent for her performances in Kiss Of The Spider Woman at Slow Burn Theatre Company and Eclipsed at the Women's Theatre Project.

Elvire Emanuelle: Outstanding New Talent for her performance in Eclipsed at the Women's Theatre Project.

Jeffrey D. Holmes: Outstanding Direction for The Pillowman at Infinite Abyss.

Paul Homza: Outstanding Fight Choreography for Superior Donuts at GableStage.

Michael Leeds: Outstanding Direction for The Light In The Piazza at Broward Stage Door Theatre.

Sean McClelland: Outstanding Set Design for August: Osage County at Actors' Playhouse.

Michael McKeever (Playwright): Outstanding New Works for Stuff at the Caldwell Theatre, and South Beach Babylon at Zoetic Stage.

The Irish Curse: Outstanding Ensemble of Actors at Mosaic Theatre, Cast: Ken Clement, Ryan Didato, Todd Allen Durkin, Shane R. Tanner and Barry Tarallo. Directed by Avi Hoffman. Trophy goes to the producer, Richard Jay Simon.

Deborah L. Sherman: Outstanding Performances in Goldie, Max & Milk at Florida Stage, No Exit at Naked Stage, and Three Days Of Rain at The Promethean Theatre.

David Michael Sirois (Playwright): Outstanding New Work The Brothers Beckett at the Alliance Theatre Lab.

Slow Burn Theatre Company: Outstanding New Emerging Theatre Company.

Karen Stephens: Outstanding Performances in Bridge & Tunnel at the Women's Theatre Project, Eclipsed at the Women's Theatre Project, and Clybourne Park at the Caldwell Theatre.

This year's awards presentation will be at the Theatre League General Meeting and Holiday Party on December 6, 2011 from 7:30 PM to 11:00 PM at The Bimini Boatyard in Fort Lauderdale. The party is open to the public for a $25 charge, while Theatre League members may attend for free. You may call League Executive Director Andie Arthur for reservations at 954-557-0778.

See the current theatre season schedule for southern Florida.

-- John Lariviere