Dan McCleary (Founder and the Nancy R. Copp Producing Artistic Director at Tennessee Shakespeare Company) is passionate about theatre...specifically Shakespearean theatre. But when he found himself directing and performing primarily to frequent flyers, he gave himself a challenge -- how and where could he produce Shakespeare for patrons experiencing the works for the first time? The result? Tennessee Shakespeare Company was born. From there, the intentionality to diverse, educational productions followed suit. Then, came his "radical, non-political solution to literacy." Let children play.

He stops by the studio to share more about his story, and debrief his 2020 TEDxMemphis talk, "Shakespeare in Kindergarten, or Let Rome Fall."