Name: Villain or Victim: Merchant of Venice Examined
Start: 2024-10-20T14:00:00-04:00
End: 2024-10-20T17:00:00-04:00
Location: Community Arts Center of Cambria County

“Villain or Victim: Merchant of Venice Examined” takes Shakespeare’s classically known play, a comedic tragedy that is controversial, and forces actors and audiences to take a deeper look at the story and their own moral compasses. From the anti-Semitic comments and undertones of Antonio towards Shylock to the conversion of Shylock to Christianity at the end of the play, one questions if the play’s antagonist, Shylock, is the villain or the victim. Through the director’s approach, actors will participate in group discussion, character development, and historical information to learn of themes written into the original text, along with the controversial adaptation by the Nazi regime to the Merchant of Venice. These same themes and script comparisons will be included in the show’s playbill and conclude each production with a Q & A session between the audience, actors, and production staff.