The Charleston Alley Theatre will present William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” this spring and will be having auditions at 7 p.m. on Feb. 7 and 8.

Duke Bagger will be directing and acting in the production, which will be presented in early April.

William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” centers on a man named Bassanio who needs money in order to wed an heiress, Portia.

When Bassanio’s friend Antonio cannot loan him money, he offers to be a guarantor for Bassanio for a loan from the Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Shylock’s daughter Jessica had recently eloped with an anti-Semitic.

When Antonio fails to repay his debt, he must pay with a pound of flesh. Portia disguises herself as a lawyer to defend Antonio from Shylock’s legal suit.

The auditions will take place at the Charleston Alley Theatre and participants must be prepared to read from the script. Bagger said the play requires 16 men and three women.

Bagger said double casting is common in larger shows and stated that Shakespeare often wrote shows for actors to play multiple roles, having only a small company available to him.

Bagger said double casting may be in order depending on the number of people who attend the audition.

“Whenever you cast a big show, it’s always a big point of concern,” Bagger said.

However, Bagger said some auditions bring out numerous participants, such as the recent “Miracle on 34th Street” auditions that numerous people showed up to. Bagger said the “Miracle on 34th Street” auditions turned up so many people that they had to double cast the roles in order for everyone to be involved.

Bagger said Shakespeare originally wrote his plays to be all-day affairs, sometimes lasting up to five hours.

“Merchant of Venice” is also a lengthy production, Bagger said. However, the first thing that will be cut from the script will be social and political jokes that would have been relevant to the Elizabethan audience but may not be understood to Shakespeare’s audience 400 years later.

Bagger said the theme of discrimination is still relevant in today’s society.

Shylock, who is Jewish, was not considered on the same social level of Christians, a theme that Bagger said continued until the 1950s in America.

Bagger also said Shakespeare also wrote characters who were never completely good or completely bad.

“Shakespeare liked to write real people, warts and all,” he said.

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].