Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater Artistic Director Rosalba Rolón has been awarded the 2025 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which includes a cash award of more than $250,000. The prize, given since 1994, is awarded to an artist or arts advocate "who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life...," in the words of the late Academy Award-honored actor Lillian Gish.

Rolón co-founded Pregones Theater in 1979, producing travelling productions of original musicals inspired by historical events and adaptations of non-theatrical material. The company merged with the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in 2014, re-christening itself Pregones/PRTT.

“I am deeply moved to receive this recognition, which Lillian Gish established with the understanding that practicing artists can also have leadership roles and foster new generations in the arts," says Rolón in a statement. "I want to bring light to the fact that this is not just about celebrating me, but also my performing arts family at Pregones/PRTT—multiple and loving generations of it—and the good people in other cities and countries with whom we have meaningfully collaborated in the spirit of live theatre and collective belonging. We lift each other up! What a beautiful mission the Gish Prize has, to recognize that in addition to the work we do artistically, we can lead movements and spread ideas that can impact our communities.”

This year's Prize selection committee comprised Juan José Escalante, Firelei Báez, Susan Feder, Rio Sakairi, and Shanta Thake.

"For the first time, the Gish Prize honors a visionary rooted in Puerto Rican art and culture," adds selection committee Chair Escalante. "In unanimously awarding the Prize to Rosalba Rolón, we celebrate not only her lifetime of artistic excellence, but also her profound contributions to an essential thread of the American cultural fabric. Through her passionate collaborations with artists across disciplines and geographies, she exemplifies the spirit of the Gish Prize—enhancing the beauty of the world while advancing a more just and unified society."

Rolón's selection will be celebrated at a private NYC event this fall. Visit GishPrize.org.