THOUSAND OAKS, CA - Social media will play a role in the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s modern take on “The Merchant of Venice.”

The 15th season of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival began with “The Taming of the Shrew,” which drew record opening-weekend crowds with nearly double the number of people that attended the first weekend in 2010. The company will present the second and final play of the season at 8 p.m. July 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 and 31 and Aug. 5, 6 and 7 in scenic Kingsmen Park at California Lutheran University.

While “The Merchant of Venice” is one of the most produced of Shakespeare’s works, this is the first time that the Kingsmen company has presented the tale. It is the story of a merchant named Antonio who helps a friend get a loan to pay for his efforts to court a wealthy heiress. The lender, Shylock, insists that Antonio pay with a pound of his flesh if the loan isn’t paid.

Director Michael Arndt, who helped launch the festival in 1997, sees the play as one of divisions and isolations. Words and their literal and metaphorical interpretations are central to the structure, and the modern references help bring that home to current audiences.

“In 2011, we are inundated by words. They are spoken on the Internet, TV and radio. They flow back and forth through email, text messages, YouTube videos, Facebook posts and tweets,” Arndt said. “We hear the provocative words of malevolent dictators, the doublespeak words of campaign politicians, the bigoted words of talk radio hosts, the mentally deranged words of television bad boys and the non-stop pitch words of modern advertising.”

The festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking. Pre-show entertainment featuring Renaissance music, comic Shakespearean improvisations and wandering performers begins at 6:45 p.m.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theatre company of CLU. In addition to producing one of the area’s most popular outdoor theatrical events, the company provides apprentice programs, an educational tour program for schools and summer theater camps.

Tickets, which are $15 for adults and free for patrons 17 and younger, are available at the door. Reserved lawn-box seating for four to six adults is $70 to $90. Reservations for box seating can be made online at http://www.kingsmenshakespeare.org or by calling (805) 493-3455. Parking is available at the corner of Mountclef Boulevard and Olsen Road.