Carly Sharmat: 2025 Carole Taran Award Winner for Excellence in Performing Arts
The first time Carly set foot on the MBSH stage was actually as a little girl attending her sister’s performance. During the show, a character was frantically searching for a lost item when young Carly, from the audience, loudly announced exactly where it was. The actor had no choice but to improvise, causing the audience burst into laughter. Carly had just unknowingly made her dramatic debut by forcing a mid-show rewrite.
Since then, Carly has fully embraced the world of theatre, from her first year of high school, she has continued to excel on stage, backstage, as a playwright and in competition, representing our school at both Thespian and Debate events. Academically, she has distinguished herself in the demanding IB Theatre course, constantly pushing beyond the obvious to take creative risks. One standout moment was her Solo Theatre Piece, where she explored childhood relationships by anthropomorphizing a clear plastic ball to create the conflict. This imaginative choice led to a powerful lesson on kindness.
Carly plans to continue her artistic journey at one of the prestigious universities that have offered her admission, and she will study film, a path that allows her to merge her love of performance and technical theatre. Her educators appreciate her outstanding passion, creativity, and willingness to take risks and her trajectory towards continuous growth and achievement. Carly Shamat was nominated for the Carole Award by Annie Loffredo, Theatre Arts and Theory of Knowledge Teacher.
1308 Productions demonstrates its appreciation for the outstanding performing arts and music education programs at Miami Beach Senior High School by providing scholarships for students and recognition for outstanding educators. Music education and performing arts are essential components of enriching the lives of the participants and audiences, and we congratulate all those who change lives for the better through music and the arts.
Hundreds of students, friends, educators, and parents attended the Awards Ceremony at the MBSHS Auditorium on May 21, 2025, which included presentation of the 2025 Carole Taran Award for Excellence in Performing Arts. Attorney Paul Novack, Carole’s brother, represented awards sponsor 1308 Productions in presenting the “Carole Award” to Carly Sharmat, the school’s most outstanding student in the performing arts.
For three decades, non-profit organization 1308 Productions has supported music education in schools, has sponsored music events for youth in the community, and has presented awards at Beach High, Nautilus Middle School, and Bay Harbor K-8. Award winners are selected by the schools’ faculty.
The Carole Taran Award for Excellence in Performing Arts is a memorial for a great singer, dancer, actress, and producer, who got her own start at Miami Beach Senior High. Carole was active in music and performance throughout her high school years, performing in all of the school’s plays, events and productions.
Carole Taran went on to a career in entertainment that spanned over five decades. Carole was an Atlantic Records recording artist and performed throughout the country and internationally. She led the trend setting events production company Adam Productions. Carole Taran passed away in 2013.
1308 Productions congratulates Carly Sharmat on the “Carole Award”, on the acclaim from her faculty, and on her talent. She received the Carole Award, a $500 scholarship check from 1308 Productions, and her name is being inscribed on a perpetual plaque on display at the school. Carly Sharmat joins a prestigious group of students who have been honored in memory of Carole Taran as a boost to the launch of their lives and careers. Good luck Carly!
