All ‘eyez’ on FIU Theatre alumnus Meshaun Labrone’s portrayal of Tupac Shakur

FIU Theatre alumnus Meshaun Labrone ’05, had a successful run with his one-man show Right to Remain…The Life and Mind of Tupac Shakur at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., which was held the last week of July. Labrone embodied the late rap artist Tupac Shakur under the direction of FIU Theatre Professor Phillip M. Church.

Photo courtesy of Diva Photos Studios.

For his final senior project, which helped him earn his BFA in Performance, Labrone wrote Right to Remain… as a modern day soliloquy of sorts that depicts Shakur as a Shakespearean tragic figure. The play is set in the prison cell where a 24-year-old Shakur resides in solitary confinement after being found guilty of sexual assault.

After graduation, he continued working on the project and a few years later the play was produced in Miami, Southampton, off the West End in London and now D.C.

“The play has come a long way since FIU,” said Church. “It developed through our joint effort with John Barlow and Solent, Southampton University at the Point Theatre in Eastleigh 2010, Tara Theatre, London 2011 and the Washington Fringe Festival July 2012.”

At its debut at the Capital Fringe Festival, the play received rave reviews. An article in the Washington City Paper said, “Labrone’s Shakur is fierce, wry and clever, magnetic while drawing connections between himself and Richard III.” And, the Washington Post interviewed Labrone about his portrayal, where he said, “Take away the gold chains, the ‘Thug Life,’ and his bandanna and then you meet the real Tupac Shakur. In solitary confinement…he is stripped of his persona. He’s stripped of his costume, his posse, his car keys, his house keys. He’s stripped of all those things, and all you have is that man and his thoughts.”

“Meshaun has grown as a person and this has matured Tupac as a character,” added Church. “Life experience is essential in developing the truth of an actor’s work…clearly seen in his latest rendition of the rap singer’s life on stage. One has to keep a directorial eye on solo-performance work. It needs to be alarmingly tight as there is no scenery and no other actors to look at. I am currently talking with an off-Broadway theatre for a possible limited run next year.”