Dale Ricardo Shields is an African American actor, director, producer, and educator. He is one of ten teachers nationwide who received the 2017

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

Inspirational Teacher Award. Dale also received the 2017

AUDELCO AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv aw ...

/ "VIV" Special Achievement Award. In September, 2022, Shields received the Ebony Bobcat Network (EBN) Legend Award from Ohio University. Shields was named the recipient of the 2021 Paul Robeson Award by the Actors’ Equity Association and the Actors’ Equity Foundation. In 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Dale received the Actors Fund / Encore Award.

Early life

Shields is the youngest of two sons of Claude Lee and Fannie Lousie Shields. His grandfather and father were founding members of the Shields Brother Gospel Quartet of Ohio and his mother was a member of the Turner Gospel Singers directed by the gospel artist, Arthur Turner.

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

is Shields' cousin. King's mother and Shields' grandmother were sisters. Dale graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 1970 and holds BFA (1975) and MFA (1995) degrees from

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

Career

Shields' professional credits as a director, stage manager, and actor (Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and Regional) include projects and assignments at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

(State Theatre), The

Henry Street Settlement The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded under the ...

House (

New Federal Theatre The New Federal Theatre is a theatre company named after the African-American branch of the Federal Theatre Project, which was created in the United States during the Great Depression to provide resources for theatre and other artistic programs. Th ...

The Negro Ensemble Company The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) is a New York City-based theater company and workshop established in 1967 by producer-actor Robert Hooks, playwright Douglas Turner Ward, and theater manager Gerald S. Krone, with funding from the Ford Foundation. ...

, The Joseph Papp Public Theatre (

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...

) and

Karamu House Karamu House in the Fairfax neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, is the oldest producing Black Theatre in the United States opening in 1915. Many of Langston Hughes's plays were developed and premiered at the theate ...

. Shields is on the board of directors of

. Shields studied Acting at The Negro Ensemble Company and The Henry Street Settlement House with

Harold Scott (director) Harold Russell Scott Jr. (6 September 1935–16 July 2006) was an American stage director, actor and educator, who broke racial barriers in American theatre. Scott first became known for his work as an electrifying stage actor with a pierci ...

and

Dick Anthony Williams Richard Anthony Williams (August 9, 1934 – February 16, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known for his starring performances on Broadway in ''The Poison Tree'', ''What the Wine-Sellers Buy'' and ''Black Picture Show''. Williams also had ...

in New York City. Shields was the assistant to

Lloyd Richards Lloyd George Richards (June 29, 1919 – June 29, 2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, and actor. While head of the National Playwrights Conference, he helped cultivate many of the most famous theater writers of the 20th century. He ...

and Assistant Director for the New Federal Theatre premiere production of

Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

' play ''A Last Dance With Sybil'' starring

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (born Ruby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, ...

and Earl Hyman. His TV acting credits include ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'', '' Another World'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'', ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', and the ITV television series ''Special Needs''. In 2001, Shields directed and choreographed a production of the

Ntozake Shange Ntozake Shange ( ;
FilmReference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2018. October 18, 1948 – October 27, 2018 ...

play ''

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf #REDIRECT For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf {{R from move ...

'' which featured the young

Danai Gurira Danai Jekesai Gurira (; born February 14, 1978) is a Zimbabwean-American actress, playwright, and activist. She is known for her starring roles as Michonne in the AMC horror drama franchise '' The Walking Dead'' and Okoye in Marvel Cinematic U ...

, then a senior at Macalester College. In 2015, Shields directed the staged reading of HOME by

Samm-Art Williams Samuel Arthur Williams (January 20, 1946 – May 13, 2024) was an American playwright and screenwriter, television producer, and an actor on stage, television and film. Williams was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his play ...

at the Karamu House Jelliffe Theatre. The production featured James Pickens, Jr., Nina Domingue and Mariama Whyte. Shields appeared as Martin in the New York City revival of

's '' Any One Can Whistle'' at the York Theatre Company, directed by Fran Soeder and in the Lincoln Center world premiere of ''Lily'' based on

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

's ''Henderson the Rain King''. directed by Tom O' Horgan at Lincoln Center (State Theatre). Shields has also appeared in various commercials and film. For theatrical director/producer

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...

, he conducted workshops at

The Public Theatre The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...

(New York Shakespeare Festival) with the Playwriting in the Schools Program (PITS) for six seasons. During his six-year teaching tenure at The Public Theatre, he represented the United States of America at the

ASSITEJ ASSITEJ, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, () was established in 1965 as an international alliance of professionals involved in theatre for children and young people. There are 83 national centres globally. The ...

Theatre Festival in London, England in 1988. He is the Project1VOICE Liaison for the state of Ohio. In recognition of his outstanding career, Shields received the Special Achievement Award at the 45th Annual

Vivian Robinson Vivian Robinson (16 May 1897 – 28 February 1979) was an English cricketer. He played for Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bor ...

Recognition Awards event in 2017. In 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Dale received the Actors Fund / Encore Award.

Educator

As a University Professor, Shields has received two Outstanding Professor Awards and three Educational Program of the Year awards. In 2015, Shields was nominated for the inaugural "Excellence in Theatre Education Award". This award is a collaboration between the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

and Carnegie Mellon University. The award recognizes a K-12 theatre educator "who has demonstrated monumental impact on the lives of students and who embodies the highest standards of the profession." Shields has taught at

The College of Wooster {{Infobox university , image = College of Wooster seal.png , image_upright = .6 , name = The College of Wooster , former_names = University of Wooster (1866–1915) , motto ...

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

Susquehanna University Susquehanna University is a private liberal arts college in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, United States. Its name is derived from the original Susquehannock settlers of the region. Founded in 1858 as a missionary institute, it became a four-year li ...

artist-in-residence and

SUNY Potsdam The State University of New York at Potsdam (SUNY Potsdam or simply Potsdam) is a public college in Potsdam, New York, United States. Founded in 1816, it is the northernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, it is compo ...

. He is a Professor of Acting, Directing, Black Theatre, Black Studies and Stage Management. Shields is the creator of the Black History website Iforcolor.org.

References

External links

IMDB - Dale Shields
* https://news.ohio.edu/news/2022/09/school-theater-graduate-dale-shields-imparts-wisdom-students-during-black-alumni
AboutTheArtist

Broadway World

iforcolor.org

TV.com

MTDPA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Dale Ricardo 1952 births Living people American male television actors American male stage actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century African-American educators 21st-century American educators Ohio University alumni 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators