Carbonell Awards Names Elena Maria Garcia As Winner Of Bill Hindman Award 2026
The actor, director and Barry University theatre professor has won the Carbonell Award four times.
Gary Schweikhart, board president of the Carbonell Awards, South Florida's Theater & Arts Honors, has announced the recipient of the seventh of nine Special Awards that will be presented at the 49th annual Carbonell Awards Ceremony on Monday, November 16, at 7:30 pm at FAU's University Theatre in Boca Raton 33431.
“While we will be honoring specific people and productions in 20 competitive categories from approximately 100 shows presented between September 2025 and August 2026, the Carbonell board of directors has unanimously voted to also bestow this Special Award,” said Schweikhart.
About Elena Maria Garcia
Associate Professor of Theatre at Barry University Elena Maria Garcia is, according to director Stuart Meltzer, “one of South Florida's most treasured theatre artists (as well as) one of the most funny and versatile actors here… Her gift is creating characters that speak to generations of audience members through thoughtful and exploratory physical work, tapping into emotional depths that explode with humanity and purpose. Her plays have been hailed as theatrical marvels combatting very serious subjects through humor! Her presence at theaters like City Theatre, Zoetic Stage, Palm Beach Dramaworks and Actors' Playhouse have made her a staple in theatrical programming.”
An actor, director, playwright, and educator, Elena Maria Garcia's works include her one-person shows, Do You Speak Mexican?, Cuban Soups When There's No More Café, and Fuacata! or A Latina's Guide to Surviving the Universe, among other plays. Not only has she collaborated with solo artists assisting in creating, writing and/or directing, she is one of the founders of the first all-female improv troupe, Big Purse and Matching Shoes. Garcia also created the improv troupe Separate Checks. During this time, she began working in front of the camera appearing in several national commercials and films. A member of Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association, Garcia is a four-time recipient of the Carbonell Award and the Silver Palm Award.
Previous winners of this award include Beverly Blanchette, the former dean of theater at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts (2025); longtime stage manager Carl Waisanen (2024); James Samuel Randolph, theatre professor at New World School of the Arts (2023); actor and Actors' Equity Association representative Margot Moreland (2022); actors Barbara Bradshaw (2020) and Harriet Oser (2015); and veteran performer Don McArt (2013).
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