André DeShields

In a career spanning more than forty years, André De Shields has distinguised himself as an unparalleled actor, director, and educator. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. Mr. De Shields is a multiple Tony Award® nominee, and is best known for his show stopping performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, Play On!, Ain't Misbehavin' and, of course, The Wiz, in which he created the title role opposite Stephanie Mills. Mr. De Shields holds degrees in English from University of Wisconsin-Madison, African American Studies from New York University's Gallatin School and a Doctor of Fine Arts from the State University of New York-College at Buffalo. He is the ninth of eleven children born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland. www.andredeshields.com

About the Black Theatre Network (BTN)

Black Theatre Network is a diverse group of artists, educators, scholars, students and theatre lovers dedicated to the exploration and preservation of the theatrical visions of the African Diaspora.

BTN’s function is to expose the beauty and complexity of the inherited theatre work of our African American ancestors and to take this work to a higher level into the 21st century and beyond. The organization seeks to unite those who share this rich inheritance to assure we all work TOGETHER

The origins of the Network can be traced to the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts (NADSA) and the first African American pioneers of the American Theatre Association who founded the Afro Asian Theatre Project in 1965. They subsequently established the African Theatre Project which became the Black Theatre Project (BTP). Finally, in 1986 BTP members voted to form a totally independent BLACK THEATRE NETWORK.

BTN's ongoing mission is to COLLECT, PROCESS and DISTRIBUTE information that supports the professional and personal development of its members and therefore nurtures the growth of Black Theatre. To meet its goals, BTN has developed programs that target specific sectors of its constituency while operating under the conviction that we are all in this continuum together; and therefore we are to help each other. The network provides a development of excellence and the growth of new visionary theatre professionals through its student design and writing competitions. Through its Recognition Awards, BTN acknowledges exceptional accomplishments and participation in workshops designed to help others develop skills specific to Black Theatre. For more information about BTN visit www.blacktheatrenetwork.org.