Theatre professor honored for performance

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Dr. Ronald E. Shields, chair of the Bowling Green State University Department of Theatre and Film, will receive the 2006 Leslie Irene Coger Award for Distinguished Performance Saturday (Nov. 18) at the National Communication Association's convention in San Antonio, Texas.

The award is given to directors, producers, teachers or performers in recognition of an outstanding career in performance and performance studies. It is one of the most prestigious awards given by the Performance Studies Division of the NCA, an organization devoted to promoting the study, criticism, research, teaching, public awareness and application of the artistic, humanistic and cultural principles of performance.  

Shields will receive $1,000, and his name will be added to a plaque in the NCA office.

Shields joined the Bowling Green faculty in 1986 and was promoted to full professor in 1997. He has served as chair of his department since 1995.

A leader in his profession, particularly performance theory and history, he is known for playing a major role on campus in bringing the arts disciplines together for collaborative endeavors. His directing, for instance, is not confined to productions of his own department. Earlier this month he directed the Bowling Green Opera Theater productions of “La Canterina” and “Dido and Aeneas,” and last year he directed the North American premiere of “Gli Amori d'Apollo e di Dafne.” All were presented through a partnership of the College of Musical Arts, Department of Theatre and Film, School of Art and the School of Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies.

Shields is currently involved in a major fund-raising campaign for the Wolfe Center for the Arts that will provide a new home for the Department of Theatre and Film and facilities for art, music, theatre and dance students and faculty to work together even more collaboratively.

In November 2005, Shields received the Distinguished Service Award from the Theatre Division of NCA. He also was honored in March 2004 when he became the second person to be named the Outstanding Performance Studies and Theatre Interest Group Scholar by the Central States Communication Association.  

He is a past chair of both the Performance Studies Division and the Theatre Division of NCA as well as a former treasurer of Performance Studies International.

Leslie Irene Coger contributed $10,000 to create an NCA award to recognize a career dedicated to performance. The award was first presented in 1994.

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(Posted November 17, 2006)