30 Years of New Plays in Miami
City Theatre is Miami's award-winning, professional nonprofit theatre, and the country's home for the short-play form. Since 1996, we've developed and produced new works that engage, reflect, and impact our community at venues across Miami-Dade County.
Our Mission
City Theatre develops and produces new works that engage, reflect, and impact our community.
We do that three ways:
• Producing new plays, including our signature Summer Shorts festival every June, plus two full-length mainstage productions per season.
• Developing playwrights through Homegrown, the Susan J. Westfall National Short Playwriting Contest, and our long running commissioning relationships with national writers.
• Reaching audiences across Miami-Dade, for free or at low cost, through the Short Cuts middle school tour and the City Reads play reading series.
Our Story
1996: Three Founders, One Black Box
City Theatre was founded in 1996 by three Miami theatre artists, Susan J. Westfall, Stephanie Norman, and Elena Wohl, who saw that South Florida had no professional home dedicated to the short-play form. Their first festival, Summer Shorts '96, ran from June 21 to July 7, 1996 at the University of Miami's Ring Theatre in Coral Gables: 18 plays, 8 world premieres, and writers including David Ives, Kenneth Lonergan, Jane Anderson, Jeffrey Hatcher, Brian Friel, Jeffrey Sweet, and Jose Rivera. Founding Board Chairman Alan H. Fein would lead the board for nearly two decades.
1998–2006: Discovering the Next Generation
In 1998, City Theatre launched KidShorts, a high-school playwright development program. Among its alumni: Tarell Alvin McCraney (KidShorts '99, later the Academy Award–winning writer of Moonlight), Marco Ramirez (showrunner of Marvel's Daredevil), and Lucas Leyva (co-founder of Borscht Corp). The same era launched Short Cuts, our touring program for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, now reaching thousands of middle-school students every year.
2007–2026: Two Decades at the Arsht
For nearly two decades, City Theatre's mainstage home was the Carnival Studio Theatre at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, designated the Susan Westfall Playwrights Stage in 2014. Across that long partnership we presented the annual Summer Shorts festival and a series of full-length productions including Building the Wall (Robert Schenkkan, 2017), The Cake (Bekah Brunstetter, 2019), Bob Marley's Three Little Birds (2022), What the Constitution Means to Me (Heidi Schreck, 2022), La Gringa (Carmen Rivera, 2023), Black Santa (Aaron Mays, 2024), and How to Break in a Glove (2026).
2011–2019: A National New-Play Home
In 2011, City Theatre launched a national gathering for playwrights alongside Summer Shorts. Master artists across the program's run included Lisa Kron (Tony winner, Fun Home), Marsha Norman (Pulitzer winner, 'night, Mother), Tina Howe, Israel Horovitz, R. Eric Thomas, Chisa Hutchinson, Steve Yockey, Lauren Yee, and Lauren Gunderson. In 2015, Yockey's City-commissioned Joshua Consumed an Unfortunate Pear was selected for the Humana Festival of New American Plays. In 2016, the Carbonell Awards honored City Theatre with the Bill Von Maurer Award for significant contributions to South Florida theatre. In 2017, Margaret M. Ledford became Artistic Director.
2020–2022: Reinvention and the Silver Anniversary
When the pandemic closed the stage in March 2020, we pivoted to digital readings, keeping playwrights commissioned and audiences engaged through the shutdown. In 2021 we launched Homegrown, a multi-year playwright development program for emerging Miami-based playwrights, with anchor support from The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at the Miami Foundation and the TD Charitable Foundation. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava proclaimed "City Theatre 25th Anniversary Day" on June 9, 2021. Summer Shorts returned in person in 2022 with our Silver Anniversary Festival.
2023–2026: Miami Stories on Our Stages
The 2023 Summer Shorts: Homegrown Edition was the first festival in our history with a fully Miami-based playwright lineup, featuring Lolita Stewart-White, Phanésia Pharel, Sefanja Richard Galon, Chris Anthony Ferrer, and others. That fall we presented Carmen Rivera's La Gringa as a mainstage. In 2024 we produced Aaron Mays's Black Santa. In 2025, City Reads marked its 30th anniversary, and we developed How to Break in a Glove through public reading to its mainstage premiere in February 2026.
The 2026 Summer Shorts opens this June as our 30th Anniversary Festival, and our next chapter, including the venues and partners that will carry our work into our fourth decade, will be announced in the months ahead.
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Our Programs
Summer Shorts: America's Short Play Festival
Every June. Eight to ten new ten-minute plays by nationally recognized and Miami-based playwrights, performed by an ensemble cast. The 30th Anniversary Festival opens in June 2026.
Homegrown Playwright Development Program
A multi-year program supporting emerging Miami-based playwrights. Includes commissions, dramaturgy, workshops, and a play reading series in neighborhood venues across Miami. Launched 2021.
City Reads
A free play reading series presented across Miami-Dade County. Themed around Miami today, each reading is followed by an audience conversation with the actors.
Short Cuts Tour
A free middle-school tour of four ten-minute plays for ages 10–14, plus a Summer Tour to camps, libraries, and community centers across Miami-Dade County. For thousands of children every year, this is their first experience of live theatre.
Mainstage Full-Length Productions
Two full-length productions per season. Recent works include La Gringa by Carmen Rivera, Black Santa by Aaron Mays, and How to Break in a Glove.
Susan J. Westfall National Short Playwriting Contest
City Theatre's annual juried prize, named for our co-founder. Winners and finalists feed directly into Summer Shorts.
Recognition
• Carbonell Bill Von Maurer Award (2016), for significant contributions to South Florida theatre development.
• Miami-Dade County "City Theatre 25th Anniversary Day", June 9, 2021, proclaimed by Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava.
• Remy Awards Pioneer Award (2022), to the City Theatre leadership team.
• Multiple Carbonell Award and Silver Palm Award wins and nominations across three decades.
• National recognition, Humana Festival selection (Steve Yockey, 2015); National New Play Network rolling world premiere of Robert Schenkkan's Building the Wall (2017); inclusion of City-commissioned plays in Concord Theatricals / Samuel French anthologies and the Best Ten-Minute Plays annual series.
Leadership
• Margaret M. Ledford, Artistic Director (since 2017), multi-award–winning director with multiple Silver Palm Awards for Direction.
• Gladys Ramírez, Executive Director, a City Theatre alumna who returned to lead after senior roles at Norton Museum of Art and ICA Miami.
• Susan J. Westfall, Co-Founder & Literary Director.
• Alan H. Fein, Chairman Emeritus.
Quick Facts
• Founded: 1996
• Founders: Susan J. Westfall, Stephanie Norman, Elena Wohl
• Signature program: Summer Shorts, every June since 1996
• 30th Anniversary Season: 2025–2026
• Playwrights produced: 300+ across 30 years
• Students reached annually: Thousands across Miami-Dade County
Frequently Asked Questions
When was City Theatre founded?
City Theatre was founded in 1996 by Susan J. Westfall, Stephanie Norman, and Elena Wohl. The first Summer Shorts festival opened June 21, 1996 at the University of Miami's Ring Theatre.
Where does City Theatre perform?
City Theatre presents work at venues across Miami-Dade County. Short Cuts tours to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and community venues. City Reads is presented free across the county. Our annual Summer Shorts festival and full-length mainstage productions play at Miami venues, see citytheatre.com for current dates and venues.
What is Summer Shorts?
Summer Shorts is City Theatre's signature annual festival, presented every June. It features eight to ten new ten-minute plays by nationally recognized and Miami-based playwrights, performed by an ensemble cast. The 30th Anniversary Festival opens in June 2026.
What is Homegrown?
Homegrown is City Theatre's playwright development program, launched in 2021. It supports emerging Miami-based playwrights through commissions, dramaturgy, workshops, and play readings in neighborhood venues.
Has anyone famous come through City Theatre?
Yes. Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (Moonlight) was a City Theatre KidShorts playwright in 1999. Television showrunner Marco Ramirez (Marvel's Daredevil) developed work with us starting in 2000. Actor Oscar Isaac appeared in early Summer Shorts. We have produced work by Pulitzer winner David Lindsay-Abaire, hosted Tony winner Lisa Kron and Pulitzer winner Marsha Norman as teaching artists, and produced plays by David Ives, Christopher Durang, Jose Rivera, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bekah Brunstetter, and many more.
How can I see a City Theatre production?
Summer Shorts runs every June. City Reads is free and presented across Miami-Dade County. Short Cuts tours to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and community venues. Subscribe to our newsletter at citytheatre.com for all dates and venues.
How do I support City Theatre?
You can donate at citytheatre.com/donate, become a sponsor, attend a fundraising event, or buy tickets to Summer Shorts and our mainstage productions. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all gifts are tax-deductible.
How do I submit a play to City Theatre?
Each year we accept submissions for the Susan J. Westfall National Short Playwriting Contest. Submission guidelines are at citytheatre.com.
