Andre De Shields Awarded Fox Foundation Grant for Distinguished Achievement; Heads to Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre in 2013

Two-time Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner André De Shields has been awarded a Fox Foundation Fellowship Grant for Distinguished Achievement of $25,000 to support his work at the Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago.

De Shields will further develop his experimental methodology, The Golden Triangle and the 5W Stack/Inner Athlete System. He will deepen this unique style of Griot Performance Art that combines rigorous physical exertion, discipline and contemplation through a new, original work, Confessions of a P.I.M.P. (Positive Individual Making Progress). De Shields will also mentor artists and young people in Victory’s Poets Conservatory and school programs.

De Shields’ residency at Victory Gardens will begin in the Spring, 2013.

The veteran actor was most recently seen in Chicago’s Goodman Theatre production of Camino Real. Chicago has been a second home to De Shields who made his professional debut in the Chicago production of HAIR in 1969 and went on to perform with the Organic Theatre Company which led him to New York and Broadway.

In a career spanning more than forty years, André De Shields has distinguished himself as an unparalleled actor, director, choreographer and educator. He is the recipient of the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival Living Legend Award, the 2009 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Musical/Male (Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe), and the 2007 Village Voice OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. De Shields is best known for his show stopping 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 both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards; Play On! (Tony nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and The Wiz (title role).

De Shields will perform an excerpt from P.I.M.P. as part of his theatrical concert I PUT A SPELL ON YOU that he will be performing on two Fridays, October 5 and 12, 11pm at The Laurie Beechman Theatre (downstairs at the West Bank Café, 407 West 42 Street). For tickets go to www.smarttix.com or call 212-868-4444.

For more information, visit www.andredeshields.com.

Photo Credit: Lia Chang