Tennessee Shakespeare Company Launches SHAKE(S), RATTLE & ROLL; to Tour Schools Throughout Region

It's hip. It's cool. Students can discover chart-topping, toe-tapping, feet-stomping, get-out-of-your-seat-and-move-with-it SHAKESPEARE - direct from Memphis!

Tennessee Shakespeare Company (TSC), the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, launches its new schools touring show this week with the Memphis-inspiredShake(s), Rattle & Roll.

Created by TSC Education Director Stephanie Shine and featuring actors Slade Kyle and Cara McHugh, Shake(s), Rattle & Roll is booking now in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the Mid-South. Last year, the tour played to 6,000 students in the South. This year's tour will exceed that capacity while touring across the state and into North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky.

Shake(s), Rattle & Roll is a 45-minute, tour-de-force that imagines both a social and artistic through-line between the plays of William Shakespeare and the music that makes Memphis unique - Blues, Gospel, Soul, Rhythm and Blues, and Rock-n-Roll.

Scenes from Shakespeare's plays include Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Richard II, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and The Taming of the Shrew. Music from the on-stage jukebox includes chart-toppers from Sam and Dave, Carl Perkins, Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MGs, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Big Joe Turner, and Rev. Al Green.

"Shake(s), Rattle, and Roll allows Tennessee Shakespeare Company the opportunity to introduce students to two forces of change in our shared human experience: the plays of William Shakespeare and Memphis music from the 50's and 60's, says Shine.

"It's a joy to find the common links between these major artistic achievements while giving our young people an insight into what classical theatre can offer them. It's also wonderful to highlight many of the reasons we have to be proud of Memphis, the state of Tennessee, and the Mid-South."

Schools may book the show with actor-talkback now through May 9, 2014, for their student groups of up 100 for just $450. Call TSC's Education Office at (901) 759-0620 to book your school or class. Teachers and chaperones are admitted free. Travel costs may vary. More information: www.tnshakespeare.org.

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