Our education system has reached the point threatened. “Learning” is now staged multiple-choice tests and computer modules. Articulating feelings, playing, creating and personal discovery are diminished by rubrics. Shakespeare’s plays were written for those who could not read; loved to play; needed visual and aural focus; were hungry for words; and were curious about their genesis, what to do in the face of violence and love, and how to speak truth to power. By formally adapting Shakepeare’s plays into our core curriculum starting in kindergarten, we might rebuild our humanist culture and prevent a second fall of Rome in America. Since founding Memphis’ first professional Shakespeare theatre in 2008, Dan McCleary has been on a mission to bring Shakespeare to the masses in Memphis. For 28 years, he has produced, acted, directed and taught Shakespeare’s plays around the country. At his own Tennessee Shakespeare Company, at Shakespeare & Company, and scores of other regional theatres, he has played in and directed over 100 productions, including many title roles. Dan has written several plays on Shakespeare, is a published poet, and is a lifetime artist-manager serving as Director of Marketing, P.R., Development, and Communications, as well as Managing Director.
Dan was named “Who’s Who in Memphis” by Memphis Magazine for four years and received the 2009 Distinguished Arts and Humanities Medal from the Germantown Arts Alliance. He served on the Boards of Herman Melville’s Arrowhead and the City of Germantown’s Telecommunications Commission. Dan is the proud father of 9-year-old twin boys. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Shakespeare in Kindergarten, or Let Rome Fall | Dan McCleary | TEDxMemphis