How I First Discovered Shakespeare

 Yes, Dave Romeo is my real name and I hated it growing up. You might say that I have been tied to Shakespeare since I was in first grade. As soon as the school bus dropped me off, I was taunted with, “Hey, Romeo, where’s Juliet?”

I thought about changing it when I was old enough, but by then, the taunting had subsided. My real appreciation for William Shakespeare began when I became an English major at Adelphi University. I had a great teacher who instilled her love for the bard in me. From the first time I saw Twelfth Night, I was enthralled with the language, the relatability of the subject matter, and the timelessness of the comedy even 400 years later.

Bonding Over Shakespeare

When my wonderful Aunt Norma Romeo became a widow, the two of us bonded over Shakespeare. She was an English teacher for most of her life and I was an English major. My wife had just bought me a complete set of the BBC Shakespeare’s plays on DVD and I bought an identical set for my aunt. Week by week, we would watch a different play and catch up on Fridays to discuss the plays, characters, plot devices, lessons, motivations, themes, acting, actors, notable lines, famous quotes, and comparisons to the other Shakespeare plays. Aunt Norma often mentioned how much she enjoyed my commentaries that I decided to create the Romeo on Shakespeare video series that included these topics.

Once A Coach, Always A Coach...

I had just retired from a 25-year career as a business coach, coaching leaders and entrepreneurs on life and business. As I studied the different Shakespeare plays, I almost wished I could coach some of the main characters on what they could do differently or how they should behave. That became the introduction for each of the Romeo on Shakespeare episodes. Just as Shakespeare drew from classical references known to him in his time, I drew from references that would be familiar to people in the 21st century — just to make it more interesting and fun. Each episode starts off as if I’m wrapping up a coaching session with one of the characters from that episode but with a twist — using songs or other popular references to set the tone for each episode which are reflected in the episode titles.

Each episode will also feature trivia questions about the plays and the characters.

(Click here to see a sample included with the Romeo on Shakespeare trailer.)

Scheduling Shakespeare: All 39 Plays!

As popular as William Shakespeare’s works are, it is virtually impossible to find a collection of all 39 plays in one source. Therefore, Romeo on Shakespeare will cover all 39 plays with episodes that began in April 2024. All episodes are now available for your viewing pleasure. Please note that The Two Noble Kinsman was not originally included in the BBC Shakespeare DVD series, but it will be included in the Romeo on Shakespeare video series.

Here’s is a list of the plays in order of episode appearance: