Margaret M. Ledford to Receive Carbonell Awards' Ruth Foreman Award
City Theatre's HOMEGROWN initiative and mentorship of emerging Miami playwrights factored into the honor.
Gary Schweikhart, board president of the Carbonell Awards, South Florida's Theater & Arts Honors, announced the recipient of the sixth 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.
The Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami, Margaret M. Ledford hails from Chattanooga where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Speech from the University of Tennessee. She has directed plays, musicals, and readings in the South Florida region and beyond, including Promethean Theatre (resident director for eight years), Palm Beach Dramaworks, GableStage, Florida Repertory Theatre, Barter Theatre (Virginia), Naked Stage, New Theatre, Delray Beach Arts Garage, Mosaic Theatre, Caldwell Theatre Company, Florida Stage, Island City Stage, Thinking Cap Theatre, United Solo Festival (NYC), and, of course, City Theatre. An eight-time Carbonell Award nominee for Best Director and a multiple Silver Palm winner for Direction, Ledford served six years on the South Florida Theatre League Board of Directors, two years as President. She was a National Reviewer for the National YoungArts Foundation in theatre and musical theatre, is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association, and a co-founder and Creator at Mangrove Creative Collective.
In nominating Ledford, Music Director Caryl Fantel declared, “Under Margaret's artistic leadership, City Theatre, now in its 30th season presenting the Summer Shorts Summer Play Festival, has expanded its longstanding commitment to developing new voices by creating meaningful pathways for playwrights and theater makers from historically marginalized communities. Through initiatives such as HOMEGROWN, the company has actively identified, mentored, and elevated emerging Miami playwrights whose perspectives have too often been absent from American stages… Her impact is measured not only by the productions she has directed or produced, but by the careers she has launched, the voices she has elevated, and the culture of belonging she has cultivated throughout our theatre community.”
Previous winners of this award include Alexa Kuve, founder, executive producer and artistic director of Arca Images (2025); Marilynn Wick, Founder and CEO of The Wick Theatre & Museum Club and Costume World, Inc. (2024); the Maltz Jupiter Theatre (2023); actor, producer, director, poet, and educator Teresa María Rojas (2022); The Amparo Experience (2020); Juggerknot Theatre Company for Miami Motel Stories (2019); Nicole Stoddard for the GAP Play Reading Series at Thinking Cap Theatre (2018); and Florida Children's Theatre (2016).
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