2017 AUDELCO/”VIV”
Special Achievement Award
IMAGES BY TANJA HAYES – Introduction by
Jeffery Thompson and Chuck Cooper at Symphony Space.
Jeffery V. Thompson, Dale Ricardo Shields, and Chuck Cooper [Symphony Space (New York City) 2017]
2022 LEGEND AWARD – Ohio University
DALE RICARDO SHIELDS
2022 LEGEND AWARD WINNER
“Dale Ricardo Shields, BFA ’75, MFA ’95, whose marks on the world and the lives of others place [him] in a league of [his] own.
Shields holds a legendary and award-winning resume as an artist and educator, historian, and activist in the arts. His professional work as an actor, director, and stage manager spans Broadway, off-Broadway, television, and film and includes acting credits on “Anyone Can Whistle,” “The Cosby Show” and “Saturday Night Live.” As an educator, Shields has taught workshops and classes for several programs and institutions across Ohio and the United States, garnering him prestigious awards that include the 2017 Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award®, the 2017 AUDELCO/“VIV” Special Achievement Award, The Actors Fund 2020 and 2021 ENCORE AWARD, and a 2015 Tony Award® nomination for the Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Shields’ drive to preserve the history of African American and Black actors includes the creation of the Facebook website Black Theatre/African American Voices and IForColor.org.“
Grace Miller – Ohio News (Ohio University)
“Dale believed that we each had something deep, rich, and valuable to bring to the life of our characters and that it was this same voice that gave certain vitality to our own lives. He believes that we each have something to contribute to the world. Dale walked past and repeated, “Write what is in your heart.” I took a deep breath and poured out my heart – all of the thoughts and emotions that I had been holding onto so tightly because I was afraid to share them with anyone. I finished… I stared at the words. I had no idea this was in me. It was cathartic to put it all on paper. And then Dale asked us to read our monologues… Now, when I hesitate to say something, I think of Dale and know that my voice matters.“
Nicole Brinkmann Reeves
KENNEDY CENTER AWARDS (Nominator) 2017
“I have known Professor Shields’s work in area theater productions and have visited his excellent classes. I have attended his thought-provoking productions. he is incredibly passionate, understanding, compassionate, intelligent, engaging, truthful, and persistent. His “real-world experience” is a major positive component of working with him. He leads by example, actively striving to cut down barriers and serve as a role model for students.“
Dr. Miriam Harris
MACALESTER COLLEGE
“I can comment with authority and knowledge about Dale Shields in the areas of teaching, performance/research/scholarship, and community service. Dale is one of the most energetic, passionate, committed educators and scholars, I have encountered at four different institutions over more than thirty years of teaching.“
Dr. Alphine Jefferson
RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE
“The past two decades have witnessed Dale’s research across the Internet, information that he freely shares with all who are interested. In an in-depth factual format, he enlightens the public with the history of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous American art forms. I share his drive to educate people on the history and cultural contributions of communities of color. This shared passion exemplifies just one more reason Dale and I have remained friends all these years.“
Edan Evans deRoziere
LEGEND Award (Nominator) 2017
“Dale Shields is a born teacher, exacting, tactful, well-organized, nurturing, articulate, kind, intelligent, and generous. He is mature, his principles are tested and heartfelt. He is sophisticated but he is not cynical. As a director, he’s supportive of artistic concerns and knowledgeable about technical concerns. He knows how to build bridges and foster group problem-solving. His productions make people laugh and cry, and actors lucky enough to be in them have told me how Dale’s direction and example have changed their lives. All along he’s been building bridges online, honoring the contributions of great theater people he’s worked with and learned from.“
Toni Dorfman
KENNEDY CENTER AWARDS (Nominator) 2017
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards
The Kennedy Center
Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award®
Dale Shields
“My work as a teacher, acting coach, or workshop leader has always focused on the student as an individual. Every activity, movement, space, and word is an arena of knowledge. I did not choose to teach. Teaching chose me. ‘Your opinion matters here,’ I tell them in whatever role I occupy. My mantra as a teacher is: ‘Find your own voice.’ Motivating those new voices is why I teach.”
Nominated by Nicole Brinkmann Reeves
“Dale believed that we each had something deep, rich, and valuable to bring to the life of our characters and that it was this same voice that gave certain vitality to our own lives. He believes that we each have something to contribute to the world.”
Inspirational Teacher Dale Shields
A Story by Nicole Brinkmann Reeves
Dale Ricardo Shields taught me that I have a voice.
I was the shy girl who never thought enough of her own ideas to speak up in class. Then, I met Dale. He taught the History of Black Theatre in America, and as he talked about Dorothy Dandridge, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, August Wilson, Ntozake Shange, and others, he told us the stories of how they made their voices heard. A world unfolded before me that was so much bigger than the small, whiter-than-Wonderbread, Midwestern town where I grew up.
I wanted to learn everything Dale could teach me. I ran ‘crew’ for productions he directed, and I watched the actors grow, develop, and take shape under his guidance. It was a beautiful process, and I couldn’t resist. I signed up for Acting 101 with Dale.
Dale taught us about finding our characters’ motivations and understanding the influences that shaped our characters, but Dale asked for more. He wanted us to find something within ourselves that connected with our characters, something that brought authenticity to the stage. Dale believed that we each had something deep, rich, and valuable to bring to the life of our characters and that it was this same voice that gave certain vitality to our own lives. He believes that we each have something to contribute to the world.
He challenged us to look inward, confront ourselves, and find our voices. I loved learning from Dale, and I thought that was sufficient. But Dale knew there was more in me – more than I knew myself.
One day, he gave us the assignment to write a monologue: Write what is in your heart. I stared at the blank page. Dale walked past and repeated, “Write what is in your heart.” I took a deep breath and poured out my heart – all of the thoughts and emotions that I had been holding onto so tightly because I was afraid to share them with anyone. I finished, “You think it makes you strong to hold all of this in, but the truth is: you are slowly killing yourself.”
I stared at the words. I had no idea this was in me. It was cathartic to put it all on paper. And then Dale asked us to read our monologues. I began shaking, hoping class would end before Dale called on me, but he called on me, I stood up and read. Maybe if I read quickly, I could just get through it. He stopped me and told me to slow down and start over. I gave him a withering look. He stared me down. I started over. A few lines in, I began to cry. But I survived. It did not kill me. When I finished, Dale very quietly said, “Good. You can sit down.”
Now when I hesitate to say something, I think of Dale and know that my voice matters. So, I take a deep breath and speak.
Teachers
In many people’s lives, there is at least one teacher who inspired them and helped them become who they are today. In our early years, when we are still being formed, they often see in us more than we see in ourselves, more than our families see, and, as a result, help us to evolve into who we ultimately become. These inspirational people are not often recognized for the life-changing role they have played. These are the teachers who define us, teachers who widen our horizons and encourage us to explore. These teachers are touchstones to paths of achieving more than we might have otherwise accomplished, in directions we might not have gone. To celebrate the significant role of teachers in society, The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards will spotlight some of the country’s most inspirational teachers and recognize them for their contributions.
The Award
Each year, The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards will solicit nominations from the general public and notable public figures, providing the opportunity to submit stories about teachers and professors who made a significant difference in their lives.
On March 22, Stephen Sondheim‘s birthday, a select number of these teachers will each receive The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award – $10,000 in appreciation for their contributions to the field of teaching. Awardees will also be showcased, along with the people they inspired, on The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards website.
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards were created in 2010 in honor of Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday and were initiated and funded through the generous support of Freddie and Myrna Gershon.
