Renaissance man, Michael Wayne Turner III, is an award winning writer, poet, spoken word artist, actor, and educator. Taking on the starring role in Chinaka Hodge’s Chasing Mehserle, Turner plays Watts a young man who doesn’t feel safe in the world, hasn’t gone past his Oakland stoop since the Rodney King beating and is obsessed with the Bart officer who killed Oscar Grant, Johannes Mehserle. The play is reminiscent of many of the anxieties felt in the Black community. Michael’s performance as Watts is so believable it is hard to believe this trained actor ever performed with the African American Shakespeare Theater.
It is not hard to understand why this artist and creator is the Next Big Thing!
