The Merchant of Venice

In class on Wednesday, April 22nd, Tracy Salter was so nice as to come into our class to talk about the play she was directing, The Merchant of Venice. She was a very cool person. She had a great personality and was really fun. She loves theatre and she definetly shows it! She informed us on what the play was about and some different themes that were going to be in it. She also copied off the first act, first scene. That was cool. So we went through that and were able to depict much of the script. It was pretty intense because this is what the actors and actresses have to go through. I wouldn't be able to do it, myself. But I give them a lot of credit and appreciation for having the love and the patience to do that. We learned about trochees (opposite of iambic pentameter,) iambic pentameter (a set amount of syllables in a certain amount of space,) and also some tricks to know when there is an accent or how to stress the word. She also brought with her a few books. Dictionaries for Shakespeares words, which was cool because it listed what play, act, scene, and page the word was on. Also, she had a book that told you how to pronounce the word, such as "ague." I think she really prepared me well for the play, because had I not had that little bit of insite on Shakespeare and the play, I would've been totally lost.

I attended the Merchant of Venice on Saturday, April 25. It was very good. I really enjoyed it. I have never seen a play before, and although it was set back in Shakespears time, it was really neat to see. I thought many of the scene props they had like the water spout, the boat and ores, and the patio overhang, were really neat. I really enjoyed the courtroom scene, but my favorite was the one with Lance-a-lot as the main character the whole time. The one he is talking about what his conscience tells him, versus another source. He was so perfect for the part. He was tall and lanky and so funny! I loved his skiddish personality and his voices. I laughed so hard throughout that whole scene.

I think the actor playing Shylock was very good too. He had a very deep and firm voice. He was a very strict and stern person. He was a grumpy, racist, old man who did whatever he could to get the most out of everything (the most money for a deal, etc.) I thought it was cute how everything ended on a fairly good note and was a fairly happy ending. Antonio did not have to give up any flesh, and everybody seemed pretty content with one another.

Overall, I thought the play was very good. As I mentioned earlier, I have never seen a play before so it was a new experience to me and quite intriguing. The actors and actresses did an amazing job! They were all very good! Their attire totally matched the time era and their accents did as well. They helped the audience out with the tough, foreign words (old time speak,) with hand gestures and body language. Tracy had an amazing crew and they made the play well worth it!