Loyola Jazz Band Concert: A Review

Azusa Kurosawa of Japan

In this post, Ms. Azusa Kurosawa of Japan reviews a recent Loyola Jazz Band Concert.

Azusa is an exchange student from Sophia University, a Jesuit university in Japan, where she is majoring in Cultural Psychology. This semester, as an exchange student at Loyola University New Orleans, Azusa is in the Pilot Program of the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP), where she takes two credit-bearing courses in English skills as well as two courses in other fields at Loyola.

Azusa's love for jazz is evident in her review, below.

* * *

The Loyola Jazz Band Concert

By Azusa Kurosawa

Since coming to New Orleans, I have been inspired by the wonderful music culture, especially Jazz. I had never been familiar with jazz in Japan, but here, a variety of music sounds come into my ears once I go outside, which always excites me. 

On Tuesday evening, November 11, the Loyola Jazz Band Concert was held at Roussel Hall of Loyola University New Orleans, and I attended it to see their performance. In the concert, the Loyola Jazz Band played 12 tunes, and each tune had its own characteristics: some were energetic with high tempo, some were peaceful ballad tastes, and some included a vocalist. Although the instruments were different from piece to piece, most tunes consisted of the piano, the bass, the drum, the trumpet, the saxophone and the trombone. All members of the Loyola Jazz Band played their own instruments confidently, and I received their strong passion that they really loved jazz.

My favorite tunes of the set were You Know I Care and Mr. Mayor. You Know I Care, composed by Duke Pearson, was slow, relaxing and also harmonic. This tune contained many saxophone solo parts, most of which were performed by one soloist, whose performance appeared to deserve a high quality. He never missed notes, his scaling was smooth, and his sound was deep and firm as well. The audience seemed to be attracted by the resonance and the lingering sound that the soloist created.

Unlike You Know I Care, Mr. Mayor by Matt Harris was a spirited and lively tune. In the very beginning of the piece, only a few instruments, including the drum, bass, and piano, were played. But shortly after, other instruments joined and the tune became energetic, the trumpeters gradually began to make their trumpets snarl, and a pianist began to perform the scale very fast. I would like to go into dancing, and this tune must have made other listeners excited as well.

New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, and historically, it was the ideal site for the birth of jazz because of its ethnic diversity. Many kinds of music, such as African American music, European music, and church music, were blended and formed the style of jazz that we can enjoy today. I feel very impressed when I imagine that many diverse historical people’s souls and passions are packed into today’s jazz music.

Thanks to the Loyola Jazz Band, the audience, including myself, spent a special evening. Loyola's College of Music and Fine Arts offers many opportunities for students, and of course all citizens, to listen to jazz as well as concert band, ensembles, and chorus. I strongly recommend that you join the concerts and listen to these amazing musical sounds!

* * *

Thank you, Azusa Kurosawa of Japan, for sharing your love of jazz and this Loyola Jazz Band Concert review with us!

Intercultural Conversation on the Topic of Risk

Mr. Hikaru Yokoyama of Japan

Our second intercultural conversation of Fall 2014, on the topic of risk, was held on Thursday, October 30. Our reporter for this second intercultural conversation is Mr. Hikaru Yokoyama, an exchange student from Sophia University in Japan with a major in international relations. This semester, as an exchange student at Loyola University New Orleans, Hikaru is in the Pilot Program of the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP), where he takes two credit-bearing courses in English skills as well as two courses in other fields at Loyola.

* * *

An Intercultural Conversation on Risk
By Hikaru Yokoyama

Recently, it is getting much colder than I had expected, which makes me feel that time actually flies. Over two months have passed since I began to study in the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP), and this is already the second time for me to attend an intercultural conversation, where we talk about specific subjects from our class readings and discussions with guests from various back grounds. The discussion was professionally led by Dr. David O'Donaghue, a philosopher, psychologist, and artist, and the founder and director of the New Orleans Lyceum and of Chautauqua New Orleans for life-long learning. Our guests were Ms. Dee Smith and Mr. Ed Wadsworth from New Orleans, who shared ideas with us and helped us with understanding the local cultural values.

This time, our intercultural conversation topic was risk. In class, we had read The Circle Harp by Donna Glee Williams and The Chinese Boy by George Bishop, two short stories about people who take important risks.

The discussion started with a question from Dr. David O'Donaghue. He asked about the risk that we are taking right now: the decision to study in a different environment. One LIEP student told us the story of her marriage. She came to the United States some years ago without enough skills of English, knowledge, and preparation, to marry a man who lives in the United States. Her parents objected, telling her the difficulties she would have in an unknown place without enough language skills and with an intercultural marriage, but she decided to go with her strong will. In her case, what moved her the most was love. Probably she knew what would happen. She would have difficulty communicating with the local people and suffer from cultural adjustment. Of course, she missed her country. Then, as time passed, she sometimes felt uncomfortable during visits to her own country, since her adjustment was in a transition phase between the two cultures. However, she did. She took the risk.

Another LIEP student told us about his risk in coming to the United States for a career change. He had a good job in his own country. He was in a good position at his office, but one day he quit his job to train in the United States as a life coach. He has now begun working as a life couch, who helps people seeking to make changes in their lives. Surprisingly, he said he didn’t feel so nervous when he quit his job, because he loves a challenge. He has changed his career and is ready to dive into a new world. He said that he has always felt pleasure in doing new things. His current work as a life coach is to help people to face the challenge of doing what they like to do. In terms of the subject of the discussion, he seems to enjoy the risk he takes. An interesting way of handling risk; to enjoy. It was a good lesson for me.

Sometimes, we tend to hesitate for a while in front of a risk. If I fail, it might cause problems; even if I succeed at first, no one promises a steady benefit from the risk I take. However, these two LIEP students who told their stories gave me one important thought: we can be simple about the decision. Of course, we have to take care of ourseves, we have to be circumspect, we have to make sure our plan is well matured, especially if it might involve our family or friends. After that, we can just be simple. I do it because I want to. I go there because I love the person. I change my work because I have found something more interesting. This is what I felt during the second intercultural conversation of this semester.

It is always interesting and informative to meet people whose backgrounds are unfamiliar. This sometimes makes me question my old values formed in my one specific culture. I look forward to the next intercultural conversation, which will be held close to Christmas, and to meeting new values and cultures.

* * *

Thank you, Mr. Hikaru Yokoyama, for your informative reporting on our intercultural conversation about risk!

Because this intercultural conversation took place on October 30, the day before Halloween, we enjoyed some delicious Halloween treats! Two enthusiastic students also came in costume!

We were served Halloween treats: black olives, orange cheddar cheese with black pepper crackers and herbed crackers, orange pumpkin bread, dark brown chocolate squares.

We enjoy our Halloween treats while getting acquainted in small groups before the Intercultural Conversation proper.

Two enthusiastic LIEP students came to the Intercultural Conversation in Halloween costumes! Mr. Tom Almeida of Brazil (left) came as Iron Man, and Ms. Ingrid Rogriguez-Fierro of Guatemala (right) came in her spider dress!

An Excursion to See the Play BROOMSTICK

On Friday evening, October 2, Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP) student Azusa Kurosawa of Japan and LIEP instructor Karen Greenstone went to see the play BROOMSTICK by John Biguenet, who is also Chair of the English Department at Loyola University New Orleans. Two posts earlier, we wrote about Professor Biguenet's visit with our LIEP Advanced Reading class to discuss with us his short story "I Am Not a Jew" from his short story collection The Torturer's Apprentice. At that time, Professor Biguenet also told us a little about writing BROOMSTICK.

BROOMSTICK is a play about an old woman or witch who lives alone in a cabin in the woods. She tells us stories from her life - stories that are funny, wise, sad, insightful, powerful. At first the witch seems to be the personification of childhood fears, but soon she begins to talk about her earlier life - her feelings about her parents and their behavior, her first love, her experience of deep loss. The play is both lightly enjoyable and deeply moving. It helps us to ask ourselves questions about personal power, about perception and misunderstanding, about justice.

Azusa and Karen were very impressed with the witch's story, with the skilled acting of Liann Pattison who portrays the witch, with the realistic yet magical stage set depicting the interior of the witch's cabin in the woods, and with the ability of the playwright John Biguenet to capture the strength and the vulnerability of the witch in words.

BROOMSTICK is the first play in the 2014-2015 theatrical season of Southern Rep Theater in New Orleans. It is being performed at the Ashé Cultural Arts Center through November 2, 2014.

Azusa and Karen recommend BROOMSTICK to you! A huge thank-you to John Biguenet for writing this powerful and moving play, to Liann Pattison for her spell-binding acting, to Southern Rep Theater for producing the play, and to Ashé Cultural Arts Center for hosting it!

Asuza Kurosawa of Japan and LIEP Instructor Karen Greenstone

Intercultural Conversation on the Topic of Limits

On Thursday, September 25, the Advanced Reading class of the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP) enjoyed our first Intercultural Conversation of Fall 2014.

An Intercultural Conversation is an opportunity for our LIEP students to engage with other members of the Loyola University community and with interested New Orleanians, who are invited to join us in discussing topics that our LIEP students have read and talked about in class. We meet in the Library Living Room of the Monroe Library at Loyola University New Orleans, where we are served cookies with coffee or tea. We begin with a time of informal chatting to get acquainted in small groups.

New Orleanian Dee Smith, Loyola University student Mary Beth Brungardt of Atlanta USA, and LIEP students Ana Pereira of Brazil, Ryota Kojima of Japan, and Sister Theresa Le of Vietnam are getting acquainted.

The whole group then comes together to discuss our Intercultural Conversation topic.

The whole group has gathered for our Intercultural Conversation.

Last Thursday's Intercultural Conversation topic was limits, a prominent topic in our September class readings and discussions. During this Intercultural Conversation, we talked about outer-imposed limits, such as traffic speed limits; inner-imposed limits, such as limits on amounts and kinds of food we eat; and limits that we discover, such as how much alcohol our bodies can handle. We talked about how we respond to other- and self-imposed limits and to discovered limits, as well as how and when we strive to stretch our limits. We talked about how it felt to learn society's limits as children, how it feels to be faced with a different set of social limits in a new culture, and how it feels to return home and re-adjust to one's own culture's social limits after becoming accustomed to different limits in another culture.

Dr. David O'Donaghue

We are very fortunate to have Dr. David O'Donaghue lead our Intercultural Conversations. Dr. David O'Donaghue is a philosopher, a psychologist, and an artist. As the founder and director of two life-long learning initiatives, the New Orleans Lyceum and Chautauqua New Orleans, he has organized many such discussion groups in New Orleans coffeehouses, libraries, and homes.

Thank you to Dr. David O'Donaghue, to our New Orleans and Loyola friends, and to our LIEP students and faculty for making our Intercultural Conversation such a rich time of sharing ideas!

Conversation with Professor John Biguenet, Author of "I Am Not a Jew"

Our Advanced Reading class in the Loyola Intensive English Program has been reading short stories and articles about how we respond to differences, particularly to people who are different. One of the most poignant of these has been "I Am Not a Jew," from the short story collection The Torturer's Apprentice by John Biguenet.

The Torturer's Apprentice
by John Biguenet
A collection of short stories,
including "I Am Not a Jew"

In "I Am Not a Jew," Mr. Peter Anderson, a U.S. tourist in Germany, takes an evening walk alone outside the town of Waldheim and comes across a Jewish cemetery. Attracted by its beauty and peacefulness, Anderson enters and strolls meditatively among the graves. Suddenly, he is confronted by a group of four tough neo-Nazis, who threaten him. Terrified, Anderson saves himself by crying out, "I am not a Jew!" This is true -- Anderson, in fact, is not Jewish. Later, however, he feels guilt about his response. The story leaves Anderson -- and us -- with the question: What should I have done?

John Biguenet
Professor and Author
Loyola University New Orleans

On Monday, September 22, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with John Biguenet, the author of "I Am Not a Jew." Professor Biguenet is also Chair of the English Department at Loyola University New Orleans. He spoke to us about how he came to write this story and explained how its many vivid descriptive details come from his own experience visiting Germany.

Professor Biguenet told us that he wrote "I Am Not a Jew" in response to the war in Bosnia during the 1990s. This war raised disturbing but important moral questions for him. In grappling with the complexities of writing about Bosnia, Professor Biguenet realized that he could examine the moral questions more effectively by situating them within a context more familiar to readers -- that of post-World War II Germany.

The details of "I Am Not a Jew" include the picturesque ice creams sold in the town's shops, the ambiguous angel/demon figures surrounding the town fountain, the elaborate but somewhat sinister mechanical clock above the town square. Professor Biguenet explained how these and other details came directly from his experience and observations in Germany and how he used them in "I Am Not a Jew" to create an environment that is just unfamiliar enough to be slightly disconcerting.

Most importantly, Professor Biguenet stressed that his purpose as an author is not to provide answers but to ask questions.

Thank you, Professor John Biguenet!

Professor John Biguenet with the Advanced Reading class

Intercultural Conversation on Justice - Mercy - Revenge

Our third Intercultural Conversation this semester at the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP) took place on Thursday, November 14. Each Intercultural Conversation is an opportunity to exchange ideas on a timely topic from different cultural perspectives, bringing together LIEP students, other members of the Loyola community, and interested New Orleanians. Our facilitator is Dr. David O’Donaghue, the founder and director of the New Orleans Lyceum and of Chautauqua New Orleans for life-long learning.

For this final Intercultural Conversation of the semester, we decided to include something special—a time for LIEP students and New Orleans participants to visit informally in small groups before coming together for our larger discussion. As we visited at small tables, we enjoyed cheese and fruit, as well as delicious brownies and lemon squares baked by one of our New Orleans participants.

Natsumi Akiyoshi of Japan

Natsumi Akiyoshi of Japan remarked that she enjoyed the conversation at her table of four, with two other LIEP students and one New Orleans participant. Natsumi said that the conversation turned to political and religious differences among Japan, Venezuela, and the United States. Natsumi was impressed that there are so many Christians in Venezuela, where religion is a prominent part of a person’s education and is discussed in daily conversation. Natsumi said that Japanese do not often talk about religion, so this difference interested her.

Soon it was time for us all to come together for the Intercultural Conversation. Because our class had read and discussed Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, we chose a related question:

What do we do when someone has committed a wrong?

What factors lead to revenge or justice or mercy?

In class, we had seen how revenge, justice, and mercy work together in Shakespeare’s story of the Christian merchant Antonio and the Jewish moneylender Shylock.

Revenge

• REVENGE: Hurting someone excessively to get back at someone for a prior hurt. In The Merchant of Venice, we see revenge operating in the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who has been deeply and frequently insulted by Christians like Antonio. Shylock is almost gleeful in his anticipation of cutting a pound of flesh from Antonio’s body.
• JUSTICE: Exacting a penalty that matches the wrong done. In The Merchant of Venice, we see a kind of justice in the penalties required by the Venetian legal system for someone who  seeks to take the life of another.
• MERCY: Wholeheartedly accepting a lesser penalty than an offense merits, or possibly foregoing any penalty at all. In The Merchant of Venice, mercy is discussed at length, but is very scarce in practice.

For this Intercultural Conversation, we looked at how revenge, justice, and mercy work in our own responses when someone does something wrong. The participants focused largely on finding positive ways to handle wrong-doing by others.

Justice

RESOLVE ISSUES OR LET GO. A student from Saudi Arabia said that he always strove to follow the advice of his father, who counseled that peace of mind comes from letting go and forgetting about it when another person behaves annoyingly. Others cautioned that sometimes, if an issue is not resolved, it can fester and possibly lead to harmful revenge. We agreed that it is best to talk about an issue and resolve it if possible, but when no resolution is possible, it is best to let go fully.

TRY TO TEACH THE OTHER WHAT IT FEELS LIKE. Another student from Saudi Arabia said that people are often unaware of the effects of their actions. This student believes that it helps if an offending person can feel the effect of his behavior from the receiving end. With a close friend or family member, if explaining the effect of offending behavior doesn’t help, this student will try to create a situation where the tables can be turned and the offender can be given a taste of how it feels to be treated as he has been treating others. We agreed that this can be effective if used very sparingly as a teaching tool in a close relationship.

Mercy

PUT YOURSELF IN THE OTHER’S SHOES. One of our LIEP instructors suggested that the offending person may intend no offense at all. This instructor tries to put herself in the place of the offending person, which often helps to change her perspective. She has come to see that some offenses are completely unintentional.

DISTINGUISH BETWEEN INTENTIONAL AND UNINTENTIONAL HARM. A New Orleans participant said that he finds it easier to respect and deal with a person who is intentionally hurtful. To him, this makes the issue very clear and easy to confront. But some people, he said, hide an intention to hurt, even from themselves, causing them to say or do hurtful things while proclaiming good will. In such cases, the issue is blurred and cannot be confronted openly.

FINAL THOUGHT. Dr. David O’Donaghue offered a final important thought—Harm is not a good teacher. People find it hard to learn from revenge, whereas there is a much greater chance of learning when justice or mercy is offered.

Thank you to Dr. David O'Donaghue and to our LIEP students and New Orleans friends who participated in this thought-provoking Intercultural Conversation.

Loyola's Performance of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

By Kento Ikeda

Program for Loyola's performance

During the second half of October, we read The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, watched the 2005 Michael Radford movie of this play, and discussed them in the Advanced Reading class of the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP). On Monday, November 4, we had a discussion with Dr. Laura Hope, associate professor in the Department of Theater Arts and Dance at Loyola University New Orleans and director of Loyola's performance of The Merchant of Venice. Then, we watched the play at Loyola's Marquette Theater on the evening of Thursday, November 7.

During her visit with our class, Dr. Hope explained that she had chosen to give the play a more modern setting than Renaissance Europe: that of fascist Italy in 1939 with Mussolini in power. Mussolini planned to recreate the Roman Empire. To begin expanding his territory, Mussolini invaded North Africa, specifically Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, there was a community of black Jews who understood themselves as the descendants of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and who called themselves Beta Israel.

Dr. Laura Hope, Director

This historical background is important because Dr. Hope had cast an African-American actor as Shylock. Shylock, then, is from this black Ethiopian Jewish community of Beta Israel. Following the destruction of his homeland during Mussolini's North Africa military campaign, Shylock decided to relocate to Italy, where Jews were enjoying freedom and acceptance and where even some high-ranking posts in Mussolini's administration were held by Jews. Although Mussolini had not previously attacked jews, who had helped him to come to power, Italy suddenly enacted laws encouraging anti-Jewish discrimination some time after Shylock's arrival there. These laws appeared in the newspaper one day, surprising everyone, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Some remarkable features appeared in the performance of The Merchant of Venice directed by Dr. Hope.

SHYLOCK. Like the acting of Al Pacino (Shylock) in Michaelf Radford's movie, the acting of Akeem Biggs (Shylock) in Loyola's performance gave me a clear image of Shylock's feelings. Shylock was a Jew and was discriminated against by the Christians, and Biggs could express to the audience Shylock's sadness, anger, and humanity. For example, in the scene at court, when Shylock told us that he really wanted revenge against the Christians, Biggs came close to the audience and spoke loudly with a sad, angry facial expression and strong body language. Biggs's acting was so impressive that it changed the atmosphere in the theater.

THE PRINCE OF ARAGON. The Prince of Aragon, in the casket scene, as portrayed by Antonio Gil-Martinez in Michael Radford's movie and as portrayed by Lauren Patton in Loyola's performance were different. Both Gil-Martinez and Patton portrayed Aragon as a man with self-confidence who looked down on other people, but Patton also played Aragon as an old man who could not hear clearly and who stumbled when he walked. This was a funny part, and the audience laughed at Patton's excellent acting.

ANTI-JEWISH GRAFFITI. Loyola's stage set showed that Christians had written anti-Jewish graffit on the door of Shylock's home. This is another way to show discrimination toward the Jews in the play that was not used in the Radford movie.

PHYSICAL AND VERBAL ABUSE OF SHYLOCK. In the Radford movie, the Christians showed their contempt for Jews by spitting at Shylock's face, but it was difficult to do this in Loyola's performance. In Loyola's performance, the Christians treated the Jews harshly in other ways. In court, the Christians hit Shylock after his trial. Also, they threw stones at Shylock's house. Throwing stones at another's house is prohibited by law now, but at that time this showed that the Jews did not have the same rights as the Christians had.

In conclusion, Dr. Hope set the play in a more modern era than the Renaissance, and it worked even better than I had expected. This performance attracted me and forced me to think about discrimination deeply. There were many funny parts in the performance, for example, the casket scene with the Prince of Aragon, described above. On the other hand, there were meaningful parts, for example, the discrimination against Shylock. The contrast between the funny parts and the sad parts was distinct. In the Loyola performance of The Merchant of Venice, I could both enjoy the play itself and think seriously about discrimination.

Students of LIEP Advanced Reading class with Dr. Laura Hope, 2nd from left in front row, standing

* * *

Kento Ikeda of Japan

Our thanks to Kento Ikeda of Japan for this fine overview of our visit with Dr. Laura Hope, director of Loyola's performance of The Merchant of Venice, and of the performance itself. Kento is an exchange student from Sophia University in Tokyo, majoring in economics. Thank you, Kento!

Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: Our Class Enacts The Three Caskets

In our previous post, we gave an overview of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which we are reading in the Advanced Reading class of the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP). Early in November, we will attend a performance of the play by students in the Department of Theater Arts and Dance at Loyola University New Orleans, under the direction of Dr. Laura Hope.

Part of our preparation for reading The Merchant of Venice included a narration of key scenes by LIEP instructor Karen Greenstone, with students acting out the characters' roles. We would like to share with you our enactment of the three caskets! Below, you see our three caskets: one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead.

Our three caskets: gold, silver, lead

These three caskets figure in an interesting sub-plot of The Merchant of Venice. Any man wishing to win the beautiful and wealthy Portia as his wife must undergo the trial of the three caskets. Portia's father has died and has specified in his will that Portia is not free to choose her own husband but must marry the man who correctly chooses the casket containing Portia's portrait. However, there is a further severe requirement: if a man makes his trial of the caskets and fails, he must swear a solemn oath never to approach a woman with love for the rest of his life! Most men, learning of this requirement, choose to depart with the caskets untried. But a few determined men are willing to take the risk.

The Prince of Morocco, played by LIEP student Alaa Mufti of Saudi Arabia, is the first of these determined men. He chooses the gold casket, with its inscription, "Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire," beleiving that only gold is rich enough to contain the portrait of Portia, a woman desired by men from all corners of the world. Alas! The gold casket contains a skull and a scroll admonishing, "All that glistens is not gold." The Prince of Morocco leaves in sorrow.

The Prince of Morocco (Alaa Mufti of Saudi Arabia) stares in horror at the skull found in the gold casket!

The Prince of Aragon, played by LIEP student Mohammed Alghayudah of Saudi Arabia, is equally determined. He chooses the silver casket, with its inscription, "Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves," for the Prince of Aragon believes himself to be a deserving man. Alas! The silver casket contains a fool's head and a scroll admonishing, "Some there be that shadows kiss; such have but a shadow's bliss." The Prince of Aragon goes away, deeply disappointed.

The Prince of Aragon (Mohammed Alghayudah of Saudi Arabia) is disappointed with a fool's head in the silver casket!

Finally, Bassanio of Venice, played by LIEP student Faisal "Solee" Mouamenah of Saudi Arabia, arrives to make his choice. Bassanio chooses the lead casket with its inscription, "Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath." Bassanio declares that he is willing to give all for his love. He is rewarded with the portrait of Portia and with the real Portia as his wife. The scroll in the lead casket invites Bassanio, "Turn you where your lady is, and claim her with a loving kiss."

Bassanio (Solee Mouamenah of Saudi Arabia) happily gazes at the portrait of Portia found in the lead casket!

Unlike the lead casket in Shakespeare's play, our class's lead casket also contained a bag of dark chocolates for Bassanio (Solee) to distribute to the class!

Bassanio (Solee Mouamenah of Saudi Arabia) admires the bag of dark chocolates found in our class's lead casket and prepares to distribute them to the class!

This preparation, along with our viewing of the 2005 Michael Radford film of The Merchant of Venice, starring Jeremy Irons as Antonio and Al Pacino as Shylock, was very helpful in our reading of Shakespeare's play. A big THANK YOU to Alaa Mufti, Mohammed Alghayudah, and Solee Mouamenah - all of Saudi Arabia - for taking the roles of the Prince of Morocco, the Prince of Aragon, and Bassanio of Venice!

Our next post will invite you, first, to join us in a discussion with Dr. Laura Hope of Loyola University New Orleans' Department of Theater Arts and Dance. Dr. Hope is the director of Loyola's performance of The Merchant of Venice. In addition, our next post will give you an overview of the performance itself. We are excited about talking with Dr. Hope and then seeing the Loyola performance of The Merchant of Venice together!

Preparing to Read Shakespeare's THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

The Advanced Reading class of the Loyola Intensive English Program (LIEP) has undertaken the challenge of reading Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which will be performed in early November by students in the Department of Theater Arts and Dance at Loyola University New Orleans under the direction of Dr. Laura Hope.

The Merchant of Venice is rich in themes of love, friendship,  and faithfulness, on the one hand, and prejudice, hatred, and revenge, on the other. The play also raises questions about the proper balance of justice and mercy.

We began our work with The Merchant of Venice on October 16, with an overview of the play.

The main plot of The Merchant of Venice revolves around a loan of 3000 ducats from the Jewish money-lender Shylock to the Christian merchant Antonio. The prosperous Antonio, whose wealth is tied to his ships, all of which are at sea, has agreed to borrow 3000 ducats to finance his poorer friend Bassanio's courtship of the woman he loves, Portia. The catch is that the bond that seals the agreement between Antonio and Shylock specifies that Shylock will cut a pound of flesh from Antonio's body if Antonio does not repay the loan by the due date! This bond is supposed to be a joking way of providing Antonio with an interest-free loan, but when Antonio's ships go astray and he cannot make the payment, Shylock, embittered by years of Christian prejudice against Jews, demands his pound of flesh.

The Merchant of Venice also has three interesting sub-plots.

The Three Caskets: The loan taken by Antonio from Shylock for 3000 ducats is to furnish Antonio's friend Bassanio with everything necessary to win the beautiful and wealthy Portia as his wife. Portia's father, however, has died and has specified in his will that Portia may not choose her own husband but must marry the man who chooses correctly from three caskets: one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. Anyone who wants to marry Portia is faced with this choice. 

The Elopement of Shylock's Daughter: Shylock's daughter, Jessica, deeply hurts and saddens her father by running away to marry her Christian lover, Lorenzo, and taking along Shylock's money and jewels.

The Rings: Bassanio does win Portia as his wife, whereupon Portia presents Bassanio with a special ring, obtaining Bassanio's promise that he will never allow the ring to leave his finger. (Bassanio's friend Gratiano also wins the love of Portia's serving maid Nerissa, obtains a similar ring from Nerissa, and makes a similar promise to wear the ring always.) But both rings go astray later in the play!

Our next post will show how we built on this overview, calling upon volunteer students to act out the sub-plot of the three caskets!