He won the 2022 Legend Award (alma mater, Ohio University, in 2024. Professor Shields was interviewed and included in The HistoryMakers archives (2025).

His professional credits include Director, Stage manager, and Actor (Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, and Regional). As an actor, he has appeared on Saturday Night Live, Another World, Guiding Light, The Cosby Show, the ITV television series Special Needs, and National commercials and films.

He is a member of the Actors Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the American Guild of Musical Artists performance unions,

Professor Shields began his artistic academic career in New York City at Playwrights Horizon, The South Bronx Action Theatre, MindBuilders, and the teaching staff at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre (New York Shakespeare Festival) for six years. He represented the United States for Theatre Young Audiences at the ASSITEJ Theatre Festival in London, England.

As an actor, he studied acting at The Negro Ensemble Company (Anderson Johnson), The New Federal Theatre (Hal Scott, – Dick Anthony Williams) and The National Improvisational Theatre in New York City. Additional acting workshops with Dorothy Silver (Karamu House) and The Cleveland Playhouse.

He has been a professor and visiting artist at Ohio University, The South Bronx Community Theatre, Karamu House, The Cleveland School of the Arts, The College of Wooster, Denison University, Macalester College, Susquehanna University, The Cleveland Playhouse, and SUNY Potsdam.

B.F.A. and M.F.A – Ohio University. [Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society]

“My artistic work purpose is to widen the cultural radius towards imagining that inspiration itself, is a constitutional right afforded to all students and audiences of the Arts, to have world access to the impulse of creativity, unafraid of its beauty, diversity, grace and truth.”

Website(s)

Iforcolor.org [Research]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Ricardo_Shields [Career]