Jannelys Santos as Rhonda Sanchez in Summer Shorts Festival Hosted by Rhonda Sanchez.

By AARON KRAUSE

This year’s Summer Shorts Festival, presented by City Theatre, will look different from previous editions. For instance, this year’s version will run just four days—down from more than two weeks in 2024. Actors will also perform with scripts in hand, and the festival is moving to a new venue.

City Theatre is also partnering with Villain Theater in Little Haiti. Altogether, the event will feature 20 short plays presented over four days. Each day, the actors and shorts will be different.

Summer Shorts Festival Hosted by Rhonda Sanchez will take place from June 26–29 at the Sandrell Rivers Theater, 6103 NW 7th Ave. in Miami.

A Satirical Pivot Fueled by Budget Cuts

Why the changes? City Theatre cites roughly $75,000 in funding cuts from the State of Florida, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and Miami-Dade County.

The cost of fully producing Summer Shorts at the event’s usual home—the Adrienne Arsht Center—became too high, City Theatre Executive Director Gladys Ramirez says. So, Ramirez and City Theatre Artistic Director Margaret Ledford pivoted to the Sandrell Rivers Theater and teamed up with Villain Theater. The organizations are “two bold artistic voices in Miami specializing in short-form theatre.”

“Things are different this year, but we want our community to know we’re not going anywhere,” Ramirez says.

In that spirit, City Theatre and Villain Theater have adopted the cheeky motto: “If you can’t beat ’em, mock ’em.”
This year’s edition of Summer Shorts will lampoon the current political climate in the U.S.

“It’s going to be a good time,” Ramirez promises. “This is a satirical response to being defunded by the state of Florida. This is a reimagined Summer Shorts.”

Miami Talent Takes the Spotlight

Four of the plays come from homegrown playwrights. The others were selected from City Theatre’s national contest for short playwriting and the National New Play Network.

With a rotating cast of actors, directors, and one audacious host, “each performance offers a funny, fast-paced night of theater with live music,” organizers say—and add: “No, it’s absolutely not funded by the State of Florida.”

Actor and comedian Jannelys Santos, from Villain Theater, will portray fictional character Rhonda Sanchez opposite “straight man” Peter Mir, also of Villain Theater. He will serve as Sanchez’s “bandleader and onstage partner-in-chaos.”

Picture the dynamic between David Letterman and his bandleader, Paul Shaffer. That mental image may give you a sense of the duo’s comic chemistry, Ramirez says.

Sanchez is a parody character “protected under the First Amendment’s Fair Use Clause (despite the United States Constitution becoming more of a loose guideline than a legally binding document),” Ramirez adds.
More specifically, Sanchez “has been dispatched by the state of Florida to keep an eye on the festival. She’s a fictional government official,” she says.

But Ledford reassures audiences:
“We checked with our lawyers, and despite the government’s best efforts, nothing in this show is technically illegal,” she says. “It’s a challenging time for the arts in Florida, which is why I’m so proud to work with our local and national playwriting, acting, and directing talent to present 20 hilarious and poignant plays that help our audiences laugh.”

“This festival is our loudest, funniest response to being defunded, and we’re directing all proceeds to City Theatre’s ‘Defunded Not Defeated’ campaign to make it clear: we’re not going anywhere,” Ramirez says. “Thanks to our community, we’re still here, still hilarious, and still sharing our shorts with Miami.”

Still Standing, Still Laughing

City Theatre had expected $50,000 in state funding for Fiscal Year 2024–25. That would have covered the award-winning nonprofit professional theater company’s general operating expenses for the season.

But even with the cuts, City Theatre continues to receive support from Miami-Dade County, as well as foundational and private donors.

Ramirez says it’s unclear whether this year’s stripped-down format will become permanent.
“We’re living in very uncertain times,” she says. Still, she adds, “We’re here to connect with our community through laughter and storytelling.”

About the Companies

City Theatre, based in Miami, enters its 30th season in September 2025. The company dedicates itself to the development and production of new works. It has presented hundreds of short plays by celebrated and emerging writers—many discovered through its renowned Susan J. Westfall National Award for Short Playwriting Contest.

It also commissions new plays for its SHORT CUTS tour for young audiences and offers year-round community engagement through CITY READS, an interactive reading series presented with Books & Books, Pinecrest Gardens, and the Village of Key Biscayne. City Theatre’s HOMEGROWN initiative supports emerging playwrights from historically marginalized communities in Miami.

Villain Theater, located in Little Haiti, is a performing arts venue and acting training center. Since 2015, it has presented hundreds of weekly shows and trained actors in improv, sketch writing, stand-up comedy, and corporate communication.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Summer Shorts Hosted by Rhonda Sanchez
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. June 26, 27, 28; 3 p.m. Sunday, June 29
WHERE: Sandrell Rivers Theater, 6103 NW 7th Ave., Miami
TICKETS: $25–$40. Go to citytheatre.com or call (305) 755-9401.