The Stage Managers’ Association (SMA) has announced its annual Del Hughes Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Art of Stage Management. The distinguished 2026 honorees are theatrical Production Stage Managers Jill Gold, Beverly Jenkins and Ira Mont. In addition to these Lifetime Achievement Awards, the SMA will honor Nancy Uffner with The Founders Award for her prolific career as a leading educator, production stage manager and depth of service to the industry. This year’s Special Recognition Award will feature Jon Goldman and W. Wilson Jones, honoring them side by side as the story of their service to the SMA is a continuous one in creating the national online presence and website of the organization in the early years of the growth of the internet.
This year the SMA celebrates its 26th Del Hughes Awards. The honor is given to those who represent the finest qualities and artistic achievement in Stage Management throughout their lifelong career. Instituted in 1986, the award was named for Del Hughes, who from 1933 to the 1970s had an illustrious career as a Broadway and television Stage Manager as well as a TV director. From nominations submitted by industry members, honorees are chosen each February by the Awards & Recognition Committee represented by Stage Managers from across the country: Patreshettarlini Adams, Robert Bennett, Katrina Herrmann, Claudia Lynch, Melissa A. Nathan, Robin Rumpf, Tree O’Halloran, Matthew Stern, Joel Veenstra, and Cheryl Mintz (Chair). The SMA thanks Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for their leading sponsorship of The Del Hughes Awards Event. This year’s event will take place on Monday, October 26th, 2026. Details to be announced.
About the Honorees
Jill Gold received her Equity card at LA’s Center Theatre Group in 1984 and will be their Resident Stage Manager as of September 1st. In the 42 years between those events, she built a career with multiple productions at Los Angeles Theatre Center, Long Beach CLO, Pasadena Playhouse, Reprise, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, Geffen Playhouse, Musical Theatre West, Broadway at Music Circus, and the Hollywood Bowl as well as shows off-Broadway and at Paper Mill Playhouse. Jill toured with the national companies of Les Misérables, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, City of Angels, La Cage Aux Folles, Not the Messiah, and Wicked. She teaches Stage Management at Occidental College and UCLA, guest lectures around the country, and is the co-author of Stage Management with Lawrence Stern.
Beverly Jenkins, a theatre professional for over 35 years, is currently the production supervisor for the Broadway and touring productions of the Tony Award Best Musical The Outsiders. A graduate of Howard University, Beverly got her start on Broadway as the production assistant on Five Guys Named Moe. She has managed numerous shows including The Piano Lesson, Hadestown, Fully Committed, A Bronx Tale, In the Heights, Shrek: The Musical, Avenue Q, Sweet Charity, and Bring In Da Noise/Bring In Da Funk. Beverly serves on the board of trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Beyond the Stage Door. She is co-founder of Broadway & Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color. Beverly is the recipient of the 2020 Tony Honors Award for Excellence in Theatre.
Life-long Brooklyn, NY resident Ira Mont has been stage managing for 40 years. His career began in TYA, Stock, Regional and Off-Broadway theatre. 20+ Broadway credits include Love! Valour! Compassion!, Rodgers+Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Sound of Music, The Norman Conquests, A Little Night Music, CATS, Jagged Little Pill, and the landmark musical, The Producers. Ira recently concluded 30 years on the Actors’ Equity Association Council (19 years as Stage Manager VP). He is a VP of BC/EFA, and is on the Foundation for Stage Managers and the Actors’ Equity Foundation boards. Ira taught MFA stage management at Columbia University for 15 years and is a past SMA Chair. He mentors in TDF’s Wendy Wasserstein Program along with his wife Jill Cordle, a Del Hughes Award recipient.
Nancy Uffner is a proud, 45-year member of Actors’ Equity Association. Born and raised in Michigan, Nancy’s career spans regional theatre, dance, and opera across the US, national touring, event management, and education. Nancy’s legacy is in her teaching and mentoring at Eastern Michigan University, Northwestern University, and 29 years at the University of Michigan. She helped launch many stage management careers, instilled the virtues of communication, collaboration, and organization in countless students, and helped students discover how stage management experiences apply in life and in adjacent and not-so-adjacent career paths. Nancy has been honored with the UM School of Music, Theatre & Dance Teaching Excellence Award, the USITT Distinguished Achievement in Education Award, being a USITT Stage Management Mentor, and UM Emeritus status.
Jon Goldman got his Equity card at the Ordway Music Theater in St. Paul in the mid-1990s, then stage managed professionally in Boston and Worcester. After relocating to Palo Alto in 2002, he joined the SMA and spent three years as resident SM at TheatreWorks. He moved to NYC in 2005, working Off-Off and Off-Broadway before serving as PSM for Fela!, which transferred to Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Jon became SMA Treasurer in the late 2000s, partnering with Chair Rich Costabile to modernize the organization's website and technology infrastructure, later succeeding Rich as Chair. In 2011 he left stage management for more time with his daughters, now 16 and 13. Since then Jon has been with Playbill, where he is currently Chief Technology Officer.
W. Wilson Jones retired as an Associate Curator from the NYU Libraries faculty in 2016 after pursuing parallel careers as a librarian and stage manager. Bill’s involvement with opera stage management began in 1977 and became a professional member of the Stage Managers' Association (SMA) in 1988. Since 1996 he has stage managed dozens of world premieres, and workshops with the American Opera Projects (AOP). Leveraging his expertise in information organization and database management, he undertook the development of a comprehensive website for the SMA in 2000. Bill’s current interest is the representation of performing arts information using semantic web technologies.
About the Stage Managers’ Association
The Stage Managers’ Association of the United States (SMA) is the only national professional organization for working Stage Managers across the United States. Our mission is to recognize, advocate for, and provide continuing education and networking opportunities, creating community for Stage Managers across the USA and connecting them with the world through our International Cohort.
Celebrating its 44th anniversary year, the Stage Managers’ Association is a pivotal resource for Stage Managers nationwide in all areas of live performance. With a growing national membership, the SMA promotes networking opportunities through its many initiatives such as Operation Observation, Collaborative Connections, and A View from the Wings Symposia. SMA members include top Broadway, Off Broadway, Corporate, Regional, Dance, and Opera Stage Managers as well as students and those just beginning their careers.
The Stage Managers’ Association strives for equity, fairness, diversity and inclusion. As Stage Managers we are discreet in our dealings with Productions, Producers and employers. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages, strive toward equitable treatment of our members, and support members who nurture diversity and equity in their places of work and in their broader communities.
Learn more about the Stage Managers’ Association at www.stagemanagers.org
Stage Managers’ Association
The Del Hughes Award, The Founders Award & Special Recognition Honorees 2026
The Del Hughes Honorees Jill Gold, Beverly Jenkins, Ira Mont,
The Founders Award Honoree Nancy Uffner,
Special Recognition Award Honorees Jon Goldman & W. Wilson Jones
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Press & Event Questions please contact:
Cheryl Mintz
Del Hughes Award Event Chair
Stage Managers’ Association
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Stage Managers’ Association Board of Directors
OFFICERS
Chair – Adrienne Wells
Treasurer - Amy Paige
Corresponding Secretary – Suzi Kilbourne
Recording Secretary – Brian Rangell
Editor In Chief – Marissa Councill
Director of Education – Casey Sammarco
Past Chair – Elynmarie Kazle
DIRECTORS AT LARGE
Renee Dessommes
Michelle Engleman
Victoria Frank
Katrina Herrmann
R. Christopher Maxwell
Matthew Aaron Stern
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
Renee Yancey, East
Maegan Burnell, Central
Rusty Cloyes, West
Betsy Paull-Rick, West
James Latus, NY Metro
Rachel Zucker, NY Metro
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