Algiin Ford’s Solo Show Embraces Resilience & Hope

by Robert M. Gardner

I went to the Marsh looking for insights and inspiration from veteran actor and writer Algiin Ford. I left with a profound, therapeutic experience.

Ford’s fit and energetic figure belies the fact he has turned seventy. He offers a brutally honest story about a lifetime spent looking for balance. His struggles make my own pale in comparison; yet his honesty made me look at my own life and I emerged the better for it.

As a young man, Ford began an ambitious search for the “Mind of God”—but drugs, sex, and crime intervened. Seldom has a man sunk so low, yet risen again, spectacularly. Algiin did not do it alone. It took the love of his grandmother and the guidance of a fellow addict in recovery. Algiin Ford’s natural resilience creates the opportunity to rewrite his story.

Despite his youthful poverty, Ford and his friends did not feel poor. Their sense of being deprived developed later when he began hustling and stealing. Jail time allowed him to reflect, think, and learn. Although his family had abandoned him, he was determined never to return to prison. Luckily, his grandmother, angry at being awakened early in the morning, opens her door and cooks him the best meal ever. His stories of the unshakable love of his tough grandma testify to how much we need others to bolster us.

Ford talks about a lover named Hildegard who left to visit her family in Oakland, and never came back. Depressed, Ford went out and bought a bottle, some drugs, and called a female to a motel to share them. Yet, when he realizes what he is doing, he retreats to his apartment to meditate in the dark—as he did in prison. He recalls a truth he learned: “There never has been a lie that didn’t come out of fear.”

Suddenly, he receives a call from the Oakland Police Department: “Mr. Ford, I’m afraid we have bad news. Your friend Hildegard has been murdered.”

His sorrow is palpable and overwhelming, but it does not break him. His resilience saves him, sending a message of recovery.   At Alcoholics Anonymous, he learns to submit to a Higher Power—to combat our inbred arrogance. Ford’s honest testimony helps us face our own demons. Fragile beings, we need “a little help from our friends.”

Theater has become the vehicle for Ford to provide therapy for himself and for his audiences. An evening with Algiin Ford is good for the soul. See him at The Marsh in Berkeley.

 

“Tobacco, Zig-Zags & Gum” –written & performed by Algiin Ford, developed & directed by David Ford, at The Marsh, Berkeley, California. Info: themarsh.org – to May 24,  2024 – Fridays @7:30.

Cast: Algiin Ford

Banner photo: Algiin Ford. Photos by Rob Olmsted