The Pasadena Shakespeare Company will present a pre-show lecture and a post-show discussion in connection with its production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which opens July 28 at the Fremont Centre Theatre for a five-week run.

Director Michelle Truffaut, former artistic director of the San Francisco Rep, has set PSC's production in the near future. She has also cast a woman as the merchant, now called Antonia.

At 5:30 PM on Aug. 6, following the matinee performance, Truffaut will discuss her production and ideas about the play. The cast will also participate in the question-and-answer session.

At 7:30 PM on Aug. 12, PSC board member Melissa Aaron, a professor of English at Cal Poly Pomona and an expert in theatre history, will discuss the background of the play, the circumstances under which it was written, and the issue of anti-semitism in Shakespeare's time.

Both events are free with the purchase of a ticket to PSC's production of The Merchant of Venice. PSC is now in its fifth season.Fremont Centre Theatre is located at 1000 Fremont Ave. For tickets and information call (626) 564-8564 or visit pasadenashakespeare.com -- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent