It’s been a classic for four-hundred years and counting, and you can watch it live at San Angelo Performing Arts Center through Oct. 12.
“The Merchant of Venice,” staged by Concho Shakespeare, formerly known as “Shakespeare on the Concho” in association with Be Theatre.
The gang got back together for this production, and they have plans to stage “Julius Caesar” next year.
The collaborative project brings local actors and crew together, with support from both Angelo Civic Theatre and Central High School, who contributed costuming.
Hosted in the Black Box Theatre, spectators will have a ringside seat for all of the action, as the production makes use of the entire performance space.
Director Savannah Logsdon Floyd thanked the theatre community in San Angelo for making it possible, saying in her introduction: “Concho Shakespeare is not a formal organization; it’s a group of ragtags who are excited about keeping Shakespeare alive in the Concho Valley.”
During auditions, Floyd spoke about her process in staging a play:
“An important part in directing is stage pictures,” Floyd explains, “imagining that there is a photographer in the audience. At any given moment it should make a compelling picture, or a painting.”
“For staging, I take my queues from fine art and composition. One idea I’ve had was a large paper ledger, coming down from the ceiling and forming an archway.”
A Unique Production
This adaptation was true to the original text, which might be a little different for modern audiences. The company handled the tone changes well, especially through the staging and lighting.
In the more comic moments, the stage was awash in colors. In the darker moments of the play, the lighting would fall into a single point.
“The Merchant of Venice”, along with other Shakespearian “comedies”, were characterized by one scholar in 1896 as one of Shakespeare’s Problem Plays: a classification for the in-between plays that are mostly comedies, that weave in serious undertones.
At the risk of spoiling a 400-year-old play, the story revolves around a Merchant and a Jewish moneylender. The play itself is a kind of living history when portrayed today, as we move from moments of romantic comedy, into very dramatic scenes where Shylock argues against his persecution.
“It’s [a play] that a lot of classes and companies shy away from because it is controversial. We aim, with this production, to approach it three-dimensionally, with the context and the knowledge that we have as actors in 2025.”
To keep it authentic, the actors had to switch tones quickly from scenes of romantic comedy, over to dramatic monologues.
The players worked well with the comedy, turning text that might read dryly into punchlines.
This was particularly funny in the “Three Treasure Chests” scenes with Marcus Osborn as the Prince of Morocco and Charles Blake as the Duke of Venice, and then through physical comedy, as Emily Hill portraying Old Gobbo, and Angela Bible as Lancelet, meet.
Wrapping it together, Antionio (Lamar Cravens), Bassanio (Micah Floyd), Portia (China Young), and Shylock (Jon Mark Hogg) were all portrayed quite seriously, especially in the judgement scene.
Young brought out the comedy in the courting scenes, while also elevating the drama in the finale.
