- Dale R. Shields
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Born November 4, 1952
Cleveland, Ohio, United StatesNationality American Occupation actor, archivist, director, educator, stage manager Dale Ricardo Shields, born in Cleveland, Ohio, is an African American actor, archivist, director, educator and stage manager. He is a member of AEA, SAG, AFTRA, AGMA and SSDC. Dale has been active in the theatre since 1974.
Contents
Early life
Dale Ricardo Shields received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees (summa cum laude) from Ohio University. He attained additional graduate study at Wayne State University (The Hilberry Company) where he founded the Lloyd Richards’ Society at Wayne State University. Additional Study: Negro Ensemble Company, Henry Street Settlement, and The National Improvisational Theatre. He attended John F. Kennedy High School where he received an Honor of Merit award from the Exchange Club of Cleveland for service to his community, co-authored the John F. Kennedy High School Alma Mater and was commencement class speaker at the 1970 graduation ceremony. He was inducted into the George E. Mills Gallery of Excellence after graduation. He was inducted into the academic honor society Phi Kappa Phi for academic excellence upon graduation from Ohio University.
Born the youngest of two sons in Cleveland, Ohio, his grandfather and father were founding members of the famed Shields Brother Gospel Quartet of Ohio, his mother was a member of the Turner Gospel Singers directed by the gospel giant, Arthur Turner. He is the cousin of legendary fight promoter Don King.
Career
Director
As an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, his directing credits include: Fires in The Mirror, Laughter on the Twenty Third Floor, Driving Miss Daisy, Quatermaines’ Terms, Of Mice and Men, Godspell, Miricles Same Time Next Year, A Streetcar Named Desire, Three Ways Home, The Real Ma Rainey, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, Rumors, The Brownsville Raid, Man of La Mancha, Jesus is Alive, Before It Hits Home, An Evening With Featherstone, Love Story of The Century, The Right Type, The Shirt, Golden Boy and The Me Nobody Knows. He most recently conceived and directed a two-year series of original plays for the Center for Families and Children Rap Arts Youth Fellowship Program. Additional recent directorial assignments include: A Day with Duke for the Tri C Jazz Festival, Crowns at the Weathervane Playhouse and Top Dog/Under Dog at the Beck Center for The Performing Arts. He has directed productions at the Karamu House Theatre, Beck Center for the Performing Arts, Weathervane Summer Playhouse, Weathervane Community Theatre, Columbus Stage Center, The Cleveland Public Theatre and The Cleveland Playhouse. He most recently directed "Trouble in Mind" for the Project1voice national inaugural Black Theatre event in Ohio.
He was the assistant director to Lloyd Richards and Ed Smith for the New Federal Theatre premiere production of Ossie Davis’ new play A Last Dance With Sybil staring Ruby Dee and Earl Hyman at the St. Clements Theatre. He was also assistant director to Roger Danforth for the premiere of Jungle Rot and The Mystery of Irma Vep at the Cleveland Playhouse.
His extensive professional credits as a Director, Stage manager and Actor (Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway and Regional) include various projects and assignments at Lincoln Center (State Theatre), The Henry Street Settlement House (New Federal Theatre), The Negro Ensemble Company, The Joseph Papp Public Theatre (New York Shakespeare Festival), City Center (NY), Upward Bound, The Hilberry Repertory Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Playwrights Horizon, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Actors Studio, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, The York Players, South Bronx Action Theatre, The Dobama Theatre and Columbus Stage Center.
Actor
As an actor, he is a member of Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild,the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the American Guild of Musical Artists performance unions.
He studied at The Negro Ensemble Company with Anderson Johnson and The Henry Street Settlement House with Hal Scott and Dick Anthony Williams.
He appeared as Martin in the New York City revival of Any One Can Whistle directed by Fran Soder at the York Theatre Company and the Lincoln Center world premiere of Lily based on Saul Bellow’s Henderson the Rain King directed by Tom O’ Horgan at Lincoln Center (State Theatre).
For Telelvision he was featured in The ITV television series Special Needs in the major role of Gregg with Esai Morales.
He was a member of the theatre ensemble of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre with Dianne Harvey.
He appeared on television on The Bill Cosby Show, Another World, Guiding Light, Saturday Night Live, and Ann Margaret’s Salute to Radio City Music Hall with Ben Vereen, Gregory Peck and Beverly Sills.
He performed with the Saint Paul Civic Symphony at The Saint Paul Landmark Center as the Narrator in Aaron Copland's A Lincoln Portrait.
He also appeared as a member of the Fun Bunch promotional team with the Cleveland Indians Baseball Team.
Additional credits include various commercials (McDonalds, Burger King and Bufferin), documentaries and film.
Stage Management
His Production Stage Manager credits include:
Black Nativity at Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II’s (Reverend Ike) United Palace with Freddie Jackson, Marva Hicks, Stephanie Mills, Phylicia Rashad and Be Be Winans.
The Marriage of Figaro for Opera Ebony
Life Sea Treasures at the South Street Seaport,
De Obeah Mon at The Actors Studio,
Martin Luther King’s Birthday Celebration at Studio 54 (1986) with Eartha Kitt and Ruth Warwick.
He also worked for ArtsConnection of New York as a Production Supervisor.
He was most recently the Production Assistant for American Idols’ Debra Byrd’s Star School Live Master Classes at The House of Blues (Cleveland) and Cleveland State University.
Academic
As a Assoicate Professor of Acting,Directing, African American Theatre History and Stage Management, he has held faculty appointments at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. As an Visiting Assistant Professor/Vail Guest artist he conducted theatre workshops and directed Fires in the Mirror at Denison University in Grandville, Ohio. He was also visiting artist in residence at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, where he conducted workshops in diversity, leadership and multi cultural education. He has taught courses at an adjunct faculty member at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He taught for the Youngstown Early Prevention Program for five years on the campus of the College of Wooster. For legendary producer Jospeh Papp, He conducted workshops at the Public Theatre (New York Shakespeare Festival) with the Playwriting in the Schools Program (PITTS) for six seasons. During his six year teaching tenure at the Public Theatre he represented the United States of America at the ASSITIJ Theatre Festival in London, England in 1988 with Playwright and mentor, Arthur T. Wilson.
As a University Professor, he has received two Outstanding Professor Awards and three Educational Program of the Year awards.
In 2009 he created and become the creator and archivist for Black Theatre/African American Voices web site on Facebook and "I For Color" on the web.
Other Accomplishments
- Founding member of The Unit production company with Obie award winner actor, Reyno Crayton and Wayne Elbert. Together they produced Ted Shine’s Contributions and Shoe/String with Lawrence Fishburne, Arthur French and Barbara Montgomery at the St. Marks Theatre in New York City.
- Authored, conceived, and directed In Time, an HIV/AIDS awareness play for TYA audiences. In Time has toured and received grants from the State of New York and State of Ohio. He also conceived and directed How To Slam A Revolving Door (A Word Jam)at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre - New York Shakespeare Festival and Because It's Me That's Why! and Fairy Tale Fantasia Follies at the KUTZ Hebrew Congregations. Something Wanted at the South Bronx Community Theatre. Most recently he conceived and directed Who am I and a six productions series of original plays for the Center for Families and Children in Cleveland, Ohio.
- In 2010 he became a member of the Advisory Board of AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) in New York City.
Reference Links
- TV.com
- Shields/ Broadway World
- Daryl’s Tribe Vibe Radio
- Center For Families and Children "Who Am I ?
- The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide "Anyone Can Whistle"
- The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide "Anyone Can Whistle" song list
- FANDANGO.com “The Bill Cosby Show - Adventures in Babysitting”
- Tomaca Govan - An interview with the actor and artist Dale Ricardo Shields
- Denison Theatre Presents Story of Crown Heights Riots
- Black Theatre / African American Voices Slide Show Presentation
- African American Artists of Cleveland.com
- Ohio University
- The Lakewood Observer
- (TOPDOG/ UNDERDOG)The Beck Center
- (TOPDOG/ UNDERDOG)The Beck Center
- http://mailman.listserve.com/pipermail/neohiopal/Week.../msg00065.html
- NEW FEDERAL THEATRE
- Dale Shields quotes
- NEW FEDERAL THEATRE
- WEATHERVANE THEATRE - `Crowns' has pros offstage: Artistic team has lots of theater experience
- Denison University - (FIRES IN THE MIRROR)
- The Psychology of Being Black in the Twenty-First Century America: Third Annual African American Studies Conference
- The Bill Cosby Show
- http://www.zoominfo.com/people/FullProfile.aspx?PersonID=885832699
- The Shields Brothers
- The Shields Brothers Gosepl Quartet
- The Shields Brothers Gospel Quartet
- LILY - The New York State Theatre LINCOLN CENTER'
- i for color
- BLACK THEATRE / African American Voices
Categories:- College of Wooster faculty
- People from Cleveland, Ohio
- Actors from Ohio
- Ohio University alumni
- Wayne State University alumni
- American theatre directors
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