Merchant Of Venice-Acting and Planning out Act 4 Scene 1.

Before trying to act out the beginning of the play and Shylock's entry into the courtroom I thought about the things that must be going through his head at that particular moment and also his opinions on the other characters in the case.

In the end having discussed it with my group, we agreed that Shylock should make a grand entrance through the audience from the back of the drama studio with a very confident stride, his head held up high and a little confident smile planted on his face. This signified the way he felt about his presence in the courtroom.

He knew the trial was all about him and even the fact that nobody else had respect for him didn't seem to bother him. Once he had entered the courtroom Shylock was confined to one side of the stage-the right side. He was totally isolated apart from a desk with the bond on it by his side.

We thought this would be an appropriate set out for the play as it would show how isolated Shylock really was and how little friends he had in the world. It would also show how in comparison to Antonio the Merchant Shylock had no support whatsoever.

Despite all that, Shylock still stood tall and content with his bond by his side.

We thought this would be a very major part of the stage setting as it shows how much the bond really means to Shylock, without it he has no chance whatsoever, with it he is above everybody and the law is on his side-he doesn't need anyone else's opinions.

During the scene, I tried to obtain the audiences interest in Shylock. Right up until the breaking point where Portia says 'Tarry a little...' we had tried to portray Shylock as the villain of the scene and to portray Antonio as the victim. We did this by showing the audience amazing confidence in himself and trying to show Antonio as a very pathetic soul. This was achieved in many way. One of these ways was the way both characters spoke.

When Shylock spoke to Antonio he was speaking down on him and didn't care what he said. Antonio spoke in a very small and distant voice as though he knew there was no mercy to be rendered and no hope whatsoever.

Towards the end of the scene to show that Shylock was defeated we had him sink into his chair.

This showed how he felt-he felt a fool to have believed that he could win against the Christians, he felt once again humiliated and utterly miserable.

This is the point at which we wanted the audience to feel sympathy for Shylock at. We wanted them to see how much he had lost-his daughter,his money, his dignity, his religion and his pride. He had lost it all and had been left without anything worth living for. We wanted the audience tio feel sorry for Shylock because although he is represented as a villain in this play he can not be blamed for his actions because he has been ill-treated all his life and he has always been mocked by the christians.

The line

'I am content', which Shylock says after he acknowledges that he has lost the trial is a very important one. It was hard to think of a way to say this line that would be able to sum up all the emotions whirling through Shylock's brain at that particukar moment.

In the end we decided it best to have an effective pause before he says the line when he is asked

'What does thoust say?', to symbolize his utter speechlessness and how much grief he was going through at that moment, then without any tone of confidence in his voice Shylock says 'I am content'.

In our group, Kimberely Whittaker acted as the director because she had quite a small part playing the Duke. She listened carefully as we went through our lines and tried to instruct us on how to say things according to how the character felt at that particular moment.

Our stage was set out like a typical law court. At the front central [part of the stage we put the Duke's desk to show that he was the most importabnt figure present. We had Nerissa's desk on the lef thand side, with her sat making notes and Bassanio, Antonio and Gratiano all on her side. Portia was positioned without a desk or chair in the middle of the stage so she could freely move across the stage making various speeches and confronting different characters.

Shylock was isolated on the right hand side of the stage, just him a chair and a desk with the weighing scales, the bond, a knife and a knife sharapener placed upon it.

The front of the stage, there were two candles, one placed on the right hand side and one placed on the left.

When the scene was finished Bassanio walks up and blows out the right handle to signify the defeat of Shylock and he keeps the candle on the left burning to signify Antonios success.

Both Portia's and Shylock's entrances were made through the audience and the centre of the stage through the two candles to signify their importance.

The minor characters entered and exited through the curtains.