Scene I.- III. in The Merchant of Venice

I find it hard to play the role of Antonio accurately in Shakespeare's The Merchaint of Venice. What I am playing marks having the bond taken by Shylock and Antonio. The treatment to Bassanio and Shylock presents an extreme difference. First of all, I need to show my faith to Bassanio because he is my friend who beyond our usual relationship, so the trust between us pours into the dominance in this part. Nevertheless, I have to treat Sylock badly since he is the Jewish whom I loathe, and I once have spat on him, exposing my discrimination for him. Here, Antonio is a Christian but you can see how Christian behaves in a thoughtless way while having the discourse with Shylock. Antonio's melancholy has been given by the outcome of the trial, which leaves him the foreshadow in this drama. But it doesn't bother here. The key point here falls on the struggle in interacting with Shylock and Bassanio for both extreme treatments and the balance of keeping bearing. Antonio here surely faces the confrontation from Shylock, but how he reacts and behaves in the circumstances that Bassanio involves depends on my interpretation of its subtlety in my opinion.

Picture source: http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2010/08/your_comments_mixed-era_costum.html