Improbably, by rejecting the poetic ambitions of a young boy and subjecting him as a Black man in America to all manner of everyday micro and macro racist transgressions, the world gained a master storyteller. Which means there are multiple bards in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s upcoming production, “How Shakespeare Saved My Life.”
The autobiographical and music-filled solo show is written and performed by Jacob Ming-Trent and directed by former Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone. Opening Jan. 28 in Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre, the world premiere production finds Ming-Trent channeling the words of “The Bard of Avon,” the white English poet whose works continue to sing sweet and bitter truths more than 400 years after his death. Joining Shakespeare and no less prominent are modern day maestros of spoken/sung words such as hip-hop’s Biggie and Tupac — along with Ming-Trent himself.
Says Taccone: “Jacob is a remarkable actor. I wouldn’t take on directing a solo project if I didn’t think the performer showcased extraordinary craft. He’s a dramatic and equally comic actor, a fantastic singer, and a really good writer. I didn’t realize his level of writing skills until recently. I already knew he’s an incredibly diligent artist: the first guy to the theater and the last to leave. He showed me his writing and I was knocked out.”
Taccone suggests many things can mask a play’s flaws, but “you can’t escape bad writing.” Even if a show tap dances around and tries to cover it up with firework-like acting or production elements, the play will lack spark. “Trying to hide a bad script, it’s like that phrase: ‘putting lipstick on a pig.’ Jacob’s a great writer and that was a learning curve for me.”
Ming-Trent was born in Boston and raised in Pittsburgh. At age 17, he moved to New York City, completed his training at the Stella Adler Conservatory, and was accepted into the American Conservatory Theater’s MFA Program. His award-winning stage, television and film credits are extensive. He refers to his return to the Bay Area as a “full-circle” give-back to a community that helped shape his identity and artistry.
Former Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone is helming the new show "How Shakespeare Saved My Life." (Kevin Berne/Berkeley Repertory Theatre)Taccone says “How Shakespeare” both tests and proves Ming-Trent’s wide-ranging skills, especially the ability to shift between immensely different characters. Ming-Trent is fluid and has special facility with language, rhythm, and movement. Even so, Ming-Trent brought choreographer Tiffany Rachelle Stewart into the process. “She has been absolutely brilliant; crafting signature movement of each character,” says Taccone.
The director added that Ming-Trent is “dedicated to 1,000-percent truthfulness. He really won’t go forward until he understand the rightness of what he’s pursuing.” The performer will halt rehearsals if he senses truthfulness is lacking.
The narrative of the show involves how Shakespeare was MIng-Trent’s lifeline as a young man and what he learns from modern-day brilliant bards such as Tupac and others. “They provide insight into his inner life and psychological profile. They provide understanding into his position in society as an actor, Black man, and other (identities) that he grapples with because of his personal history. Their different languages are important to access if he’s going to understand his own life.”
Throughout the play, the obstacles MIng-Trent describes not only increase dramatic intensity but reflect the realities of life. “There are many, sizable problems covering family, religion, race, profession — all of it,” Taccone notes. “They become part of the truth of his story.”
The story’s arc begins in bright, pleasant territory and moves into a portal of darkness. “We’re talking oil, like a Caravaggio (painting). He starts slipping, getting rejected by various outlets. He ends up in a dark place he has to crawl out of. It goes from there into an invitation for the audience to crawl out with him.”
There is warmth, humor, pain, full-throttle delivery and, with most of the show underscored, Taccone says, “You’ll see him bust a move.”
Asked if working on this show might alter the way he directs Shakespeare’s works, Taccone answers affirmatively. “Definitely. He puts exactly how Shakespeare impacts his life through the lens of a Black man in 2025, with the contradictions of trying to glean from a guy who’s been dead for over 400 years. It’s the hook for the show. It’s a re-examination in a personal way of Shakespeare, informed by class and race. It’s where Jacob’s experience begins, but doesn’t end there.”
Solo shows are not radical in and of themselves, but Taccone insists this one is. While offering a critique of a life, it welcomes people into a way of viewing the world that is other than their own and invites them to find new ways of being in community. “That’s the whole point of the play. We need to regather around what we think is meaningful and what is essentially human. The theater is a secular church. It’s a place where people come to a shared experience and try together to move the needle forward.”
Taccone believes people today are incredibly siloed; doubling down on their devices and staying home. “You can be surrounded by your phones and your three loved ones. Going out is almost a radical act. But we’re social animals and if we stop being with each other, we pay the price. We get more fractured and all we do is look for an echo chamber to validate how we think about the world. What Jacob does is try to bust that open.”
During the final weeks of rehearsal, Taccone says his role involves primarily listening and resisting the urge to race ahead. The show is ambitious and the step-by-step approach allows time to fully understanding each beat. Internal truths appear organically from every song, scene, transition and requirements of the language. Final days will stitch everything together and Taccone ends the conversation with a tease, saying the end is so beautiful, he won’t ruin it by describing the details.
‘HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE’
Written and performed by Jacob Ming-Trent, presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre
When: Jan. 28-March 1
Where: Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre
Tickets: $25-$135; www.berkeleyrep.org
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