Shayna Small is an American actor, musician, and audiobook narrator.
Personal life Small attended the Baltimore School for the Arts and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from the Juilliard School.
Career Since graduating from the Juilliard School, she has taught and mentored at the ASTEP, Baltimore School for the Arts, CenterStage, Helen Hayes Foundation, Showdown Theatre Snow College, and Stella Adler Conservatory. She has also served as an Arts Ambassador for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, as well as an acting coach for operetta Qadar under the artistic direction of Denyce Graves.
Beyond her career as an actress and audiobook narrator, Small has sung at The Apollo, DC Jazz Fest, Joe's Pub, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Les Poisson Rouge, and Saturday Night Live.
Awards and honors
Awards YearTitleAuthor(s)Other narrator(s)AwardResult2018How Long 'Til Black Future Month? Stories (2018)N.K. JemisinGail Nelson-Holgate, Robin Ray Eller, Ron Butler, Kevin Stillwell, Je Nie Fleming, and Jeanette IllidgeEarphones AwardWinner2019Red at the Bone (2019)Jacqueline WoodsonJacqueline Woodson, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Peter Francis James, and Bahni TurpinEarphones AwardWinner2020Overground Railroad (2020)Lesa Cline-RansomeShayna Small and Lesa Cline-Ransome (author's note)Earphones AwardWinner2021The Kindest Lie (2021)Nancy JohnsonEarphones AwardWinnerLast Stop from Innocence (2021) Takerra Allen Earphones AwardWinnerThe Overground Railroad (2020)Lesa Cline-RansomeShayna SmallAudie Award for Young Listeners' TitleWinner2022BlackoutDhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola YoonJoniece Abbott-Pratt, Imani Parks, Jordan Cobb, Shayna Small, A.J. Beckles, and Bahni TurpinAudie Award for Short Stories or CollectionsWinner
Best of lists YearTitleAuthorOther Narrator(s)2019Red at the Bone (2019)Jacqueline WoodsonJacqueline Woodson, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Peter Francis James, and Bahni TurpinAudioFile Best of Fiction, Poetry & Drama2020How Long 'Til Black Future Month? Stories (2018)N.K. JemisinGail Nelson-Holgate, Robin Ray Eller, Ron Butler, Kevin Stillwell, Je Nie Fleming, and Jeanette IllidgeAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsRed at the Bone (2019)Jacqueline WoodsonJacqueline Woodson, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Peter Francis James, and Bahni TurpinListen ListOverground Railroad (2020)Lesa Cline-RansomeDion Graham and Lesa Cline-Ransome (author's note)AudioFile Best of Children's TitleThe Vanishing Half (2020)Brit BennettAudioFile Best of Fiction2021The Vanishing Half (2020)Brit BennettListen List2022Flyy GirlsAshley WoodfolkAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsThe Gilded OnesNamina FornaAmazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsThe Office of Historical Corrections (2020)Danielle EvansJoniece Abbott-Pratt, Nicole Lewis, Brittany Pressley, January LaVoy, Adenrele Ojo, and Janina EdwardsListen List
Narrations YearTitleAuthorOther Narrator(s)2018Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (2018)Safiya Umoja Noble 2018How Long 'Til Black Future Month? Stories (2018)N.K. JemisinGail Nelson-Holgate, Robin Ray Eller, Ron Butler, Kevin Stillwell, Je Nie Fleming, and Jeanette Illidge2019It was All A Dream: A New Generation Confronts the Broken Promise to Black America (2019)Reniqua Allen Red at the Bone (2019)Jacqueline WoodsonJacqueline Woodson, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Peter Francis James, and Bahni Turpin2020All the Stars and Teeth (2020)Adalyn GraceAntiracist Baby (2020)Ibram X. Kendi Guy LockardNow That I've Found You (2020)Kristina ForestThe Office of Historical Corrections (2020)Danielle EvansJoniece Abbott-Pratt, Nicole Lewis, Brittany Pressley, January LaVoy, Adenrele Ojo, and Janina EdwardsOtaku (2020) Chris Kluwe Overground Railroad (2020)Lesa Cline-RansomeShayna Small and Lesa Cline-Ransome (author's note)Together in a Sudden Strangeness: America's Poets Respond to the Pandemic (2020)Alice Quinn (editor)Edoardo Ballerini, Gisela Chípe, Catherine Cohen, Michael Crouch, Catherine Ho, Hillary Huber, Nicole Lewis, Dani Martineck, Prentice Onayemi, Elisabeth Rodgers, and Neil ShahTrouble the Saints (2020) Alaya Dawn JohnsonNeil ShahThe Vanishing Half (2020) Brit Bennett2021Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood (2021)Brittney Cooper, Chanel Craft Tanner, and Susana MorrisTrei Taylor and Robin EllerThe Gilded Ones (2021)Namina FornaThe Kindest Lie (2021)Nancy JohnsonLast Stop from Innocence (2021) Takerra Allen Sister in Arms (2021)Kaia AldersonStella (2021)Takis Würger with Liesl Schillinger (translator)Will DamronWe Are Not Like Them (2021)Christine Pride and Jo PiazzaMarin Ireland, Kevin R. Free, and Chanté McCormick2022Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round: My Story of the Making of Martin Luther King Day (2022) Kathlyn J. KirkwoodGoliath (2022)Tochi OnyebuchiStephanie Willis, Tim Campbell, Kevin R. Free, Adam Lazarre-White, JD Jackson, Juliana Velez, and Nidra Sous La TerreLast Summer on State Street (2022) Toya Wolfe
Stage performances
Off-Broadway
Parable of the Sower (The Public Theater) Rags Parkland Sings Songs of the Future (Ars Nova workshop)
Regional
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Cincinnati Playhouse) The Colored Museum (Huntington Theatre Company) The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks, and Curls (Baltimore Center Stage) How to Catch Creation (Baltimore Center Stage & Philadelphia Theatre Company) Intimate Apparel (Bay Street Theatre) Just Right Just Now (Theater for the New City) Closer (Load of Fun Theatre) The Oregon Trail (Eugene O'Neill Theater Center) Stew (Cincinnati Playhouse) 2023
The Juilliard School
Assassins Henry IV (Part I) The House of Bernarda Alba Toya in Hurt Village Romeo and Juliet The Threepenny Opera
References
External links
Official website