By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
"The Merchant of Venice" is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598.
The students of Travis Grizzell, TMP-Marian Jr./Sr. High School drama director, will present the bard's famous comedy this weekend on the school's Dreiling Theater stage.
"It's not traditionally taught a lot in schools," Grizzell said. "It's not like 'Romeo and Juliet' or even 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' It's classified as a comedy, but there's some very dramatic things there as well. There's a love story. There's a little bit there for everyone."
The version by the TMP drama program will take place in the Edwardian period rather than the Renaissance. Male characters will wear three-piece suits with ascots and sport lots of facial hair, while the female characters' clothing will be less voluminous and more fitted.
Male characters dominate the story and several female students will portray men.
Last year, the students performed Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream."
"We've got a great group for this. They really do interpret it and act it out well," Grizzzell said. "'Merchant' is a little bit heavier than 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with a lot of timely things in it.
"It deals with antisemitism, stereotypes, some disparity in society. It starts a lot of good conversations, and we learn a little bit about history, too."
The central conflict in "The Merchant of Venice" stems from the segregation of Jewish people who were present at the time of its writing.
The commonalities in human lives over the centuries keep Shakespeare relevant for today's readers and audiences, Grizzell said.
"He wrote about the human condition and the things we all go through and feel. A lot of the things we were struggling with back then as a society, we're still struggling with today," he said.
Language that may come across as dry or stilted when one is reading Shakespeare today should come alive when performed on the stage. Grizzell said his students do a really good job of making that happen.
"I always tell the students if the acting is emphatic enough, and they're expressive, and the emotion is there, even though there's a language barrier, you'll get what's going on, and the audience will, too," he said.
Phrases that originated in "The Merchant of Venice" and are still used today by English speakers include "pound of flesh" and "quality of mercy."
Grizzell teaches a Shakespeare unit in his drama class. He recently showed a performance of "The Merchant of Venice" by professional actors at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
"A lot of the students after seeing that were really excited about doing it. They'd kind of dipped their toes into it," he said.
The play will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are available online or at the door.
The cast list for "The Merchant of Venice" is
Antonio – Adrian Normandin
Solanio – Allison Weber
Salarino – Anabelle Leach
Salerio – Grace Schmedler
Shylock – Sam Schroeder
Lorenzo – Riley Frank
Gratiano – Eli Stein
Launcelot Gobbo – Alyssa Church
Bassanio – Nathan Stecklein
Tubal/Duke of Venice – Kim Sack
Portia – Ashley Hipp
Nerissa – Breanna Seiler
Jessica – Tessa Befort
Prince of Morocco/Guard – Morgan Greenwood
Prince of Arragon/Guard – Mario Valencia
Balthasar – Ernest Pfeifer
Leonardo – Mia Baltadano
Stephanie – Brooke Befort