Award-Winning De Shields to Present Extreme Performance
KEENE, N.H., 4/4/07 - Award-winning actor Andre De Shields will present “Extreme Performance: From Ancient Africa to Post-Modern Europe” on Tuesday, April 10, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Mountain View Room of the Student Center at Keene State College.
De Shields, a member of Actors’ Equity Association since 1969, is an actor, a director, and an educator. He has received critical acclaim for his performances in the original Broadway productions of four legendary musicals: The Full Monty, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk, and Astaire Award nominations in addition to the Outer Critics Circle Award; Play On! (Tony nomination); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Drama Desk nomination); and The Wiz (title role).
He created the role of Graham in the world premiere of Mark Medoff’s Prymate at Florida State University and revisited that role in the short-lived and controversial Broadway production at the Longacre Theatre (Drama Desk nomination).
His other accolades include Chicago’s Black Theatre Alliance Award, two Joseph Jefferson Awards, five AUDELCO Awards, and Distinguished Alumni Awards from both New York University-Gallatin School of Individualized Study and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which also bestowed upon him the degree of Doctorate of Fine Arts honoris causa in 2004. He received a second Doctor of Fine Arts from the State University of New York-College. In April 2001, he was honored with a portrait in the gallery of caricatures at Broadway’s world- famous Sardi’s Restaurant.
This multicultural luncheon seminar is sponsored by the Diversity Commission and is free and open to the public. For more information, call Susan Theberge at 603-358-2863.
