The South Florida Theatre League is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Remy Awards. The Remy Awards, named in honor of Remberto Cabrera, the former Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs’ Senior Cultural Administrator and Chief of Cultural Development, are given to those who provide outstanding service behind the scenes of the South Florida Theatre League Community.
This year – we’re bringing the awards to the recipients – presenting them at the theatres where they have done the work, which will allow their audiences to know what they do behind the scenes. The majority of the presentations are TBA to happen in early 2024, but two will be happening in the final weeks of 2023.
“We’re really excited to be bringing the Remy Awards to our theatres, presenting them during a curtain speech. It allows audiences to directly acknowledge their hard work for the community,” said executive director Andie Arthur. “We have a great slate of recipients working at theatres across all three counties. We’re also launching a brand new award, the Young Arts Leader Award, for emerging arts leaders.”
This year’s Remy Award Recipients are (more details about each recipient further below):
The Service Award – Gaby Tortoledo
The Pioneer Award – Margaret Ledford and Gladys Ramirez, City Theatre
The Jay Harris Arts Leadership Award – Roz Stuzin, GableStage
Outstanding Behind the Scenes Contribution — Theatre Lab Team of Joanna Orrego, Rose Figueroa, Cassie Kris, and Jill Carr
Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Theatre — Rommel Arellan Marianas, Fantasy Theatre Factory and Vyana Preti, Miami New Drama
Outstanding Board Member — Bob de la Fuente, Zoetic Stage
Outstanding Contribution to Community Theatre — Carole Czvekus, ACT of Davie
Young Arts Leader Award — Briana Earhart, BARCLAY Performing Arts
The two presentations of awards happening in 2023 are the presentation of the Pioneer Award to Margaret Ledford and Gladys Ramirez at the sold out closing performance of La Gringa at the Adrienne Arsht Center on Sunday December 17 at 2:30 PM and the presentation of the Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Theatre Awards to Rommel Arellan Marianas at the Friday December 22, 7:00 PM performance of Scrooge! A Fractured Christmas Carol at Fantasy Theatre Factory at the Sandrell Rivers Theatre. The rest of the awards presentations will happen in 2024, specifics to be announced.
The Remy Awards have been a part of the South Florida Theatre League since its first year (1994) – with the Service Award dedicated to those who have provided outstanding service to the League and the Pioneer Award dedicated to those who have changed the landscape of South Florida Theatre. In 2014 the Board of the League made the decision to increase the number of categories to honor the breadth of those in our community whose contributions are often overlooked.
The 2023 Remy Award Recipients
The Service Award – Gaby Tortoledo
The “Service Award” is bestowed upon those distinguished individuals who have rendered truly noteworthy and extraordinary service in the past year, recognizing their invaluable and outstanding contributions made through their time, talent and expertise by taking the initiative and actively participating and contributing to the growth and development of the Theatre League.
The 2023 service award goes to Gaby Tortoledo – who put together our very first season brochure for the entire region (and dealt with the many unexpected changes), who also led a popular workshop on social media for artists, and who is a tireless advocate for the League and improving our community.
The Pioneer Award – Margaret Ledford and Gladys Ramirez, City Theatre
The Pioneer Award is bestowed upon individuals who have, over the years, taken the lead and contributed substantially to the health, growth and development of the South Florida theatre community.
The 2023 Pioneer Award goes to Margaret Ledford and Gladys Ramirez of City Theatre. In her nomination, Caryl Fantel said, “They are constantly pushing boundaries and exploring new ways to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in making and experiencing theatre.” One of those initiatives is Homegrown, which is a brand program that helps develop the careers of emerging playwrights of color from Miami. The League is excited to honor Margaret and Gladys and to see what they do in the future.
The Jay Harris Arts Leadership Award – Roz Stuzin, GableStage
Named in memory of one of South Florida’s most dedicated arts patrons, the Jay Harris Arts Leadership Award honors those who have made a substantial contribution to the theatrical community in the ways that Jay Harris did – through leadership, on-going volunteerism, and financial support.
Roz has been a board member for 20 years at GableStage who helped lead that organization after the passing of its beloved artistic director Joseph Adler. In her nomination, current artistic director Bari Newport wrote, “Roz has been a tenacious fund raiser, an ambitious party planner and a powerful ally in strategic planning and management. Perhaps, most important of all, Roz is a theatre lover. Even after years of sitting through board meetings and years of sitting on finance committees, put Roz in a darkened room and she is still enchanted.”
Outstanding Board Member — Bob de la Fuente, Zoetic Stage
Bob has served on Zoetic’s board for almost ten years. In his nomination letter, artistic director Stuart Meltzer wrote, “As a proud Filipino-American, Bob brings an insight and sensitivity to the day-to-day building blocks of Zoetic Stage and asks tough questions about the cultural fingerprints as an arts company and the importance of varied storytelling.”
Outstanding Contribution to Community Theatre — Carole Czvekus
Carole has been working there for 21 years as a volunteer coordinator, board member, and costume designer. In his nomination, artistic director Christopher Harrington wrote, “She has volunteered countless hours to help make ACT a success.”
Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Theatre – Rommell Arellan Marianas, Fantasy Theatre Factory and Vyana Preti, Miami New Drama
Due to having two outstanding nominations, the South Florida Theatre League decided to honor two awards for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Theatre in 2023.
Rommell Arellan Marianas of Fantasy Theater Factory, who has worked his way up the ladder there from being a volunteer to associate artistic director, which had included leading summer camps, workshops, and theatre for young audiences.
Vyana Preti has tirelessly build the Miami New Drama education department to where it is today, by leading programs with intention and focus to build confidence and belonging in youth around Miami-Dade County, and thereby building the next generation of arts lovers, creators, and compassionate human beings in our community.
Young Arts Leader Award — Briana Earhart, BARCLAY Performing Arts
Briana is a problem solver who wears multiple hats at Barclay, from marketing to designing lights to checking everyone’s hair and makeup before they go on. She’s an administrative whiz and we can’t wait to see where she goes.
