Charlotte actor Chloe Shade earns national theater award

CHLOE SHADE

Charlotte actor Chloe Shade earned the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship from American College Theatre Festival as well as the Jane Alexander Emerging Artist Award.

UNC Charlotte alumna Chloe Shade has earned a national theater award.

The American College Theatre Festival awarded Shade the 2026 national Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, the organization’s highest honor. Shade, who was selected from regional winners who advance to the national competition, also earned the Jane Alexander Emerging Artist Award given to a national finalist based on performance and a required essay.

For Shade, who lives in Charlotte, earned her undergraduate degree at UNCC in 2022 and completed her master’s in public administration in 2025, the recognition was validation of a talent she had not always prioritized. While she has spent years performing, directing and producing theater, the award encouraged her to take her abilities as an actor more seriously.

“I was like, OK, I didn’t see myself here, but I guess I might have a special skill, and this is something that I should pour into more,” she said.

Shade’s current projects include directing “Terminus” at Theatre Charlotte, developing the Apartment Series, a production staged in an apartment, and launching her own theater company, Me Show Co.

Although she recognizes her acting abilities, Shade’s passion lies in the technical and business side of theater. She is focused on creating opportunities for artists behind the scenes and her goal is to help strengthen Charlotte’s theater ecosystem through directing and arts administration, especially in BIPOC communities.

“I’m interested in pursuing art that challenges our communities, that forces us to step away. I think a lot of the stories that we tell on stage are educating white audiences about what Black culture is versus taking an opportunity to teach Black communities something new and having them face themselves and contemplate and create change. Theater is definitely a catalyst for change.”

Shade’s interest in the administrative side of theater comes from the realization that post K-12 and college graduate resources are limited for people pursuing a career in the field.

“We’re building these young artists but then when it's time for them to go out in the world and survive there's nowhere for them to do so,” she said. “I was spoiled for a long time at UNC Charlotte with the insane resources that the school has, the beautiful theaters that the school has. When I graduated, I was stomping my feet and pouting because I was like I just don’t have access to that anymore.”

Shade said she sees herself contributing to the gaps in the local theater community and hopes to help Charlotte become a place where artists can survive without having to relocate for lack of resources.

“The longer that I’m here, and the more I’m getting to know the arts organizations around and the artists around Charlotte, it’s kind of starting to feel like I owe Charlotte something, my home something,” she said.

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