o, what a night!

The performance was incredible! All things considered, I think things went better than we ever might have expected.

As far as what worked, I think the modernization that we did (i.e. adapting/updating it for our audience) was an excellent choice. Good reactions came for jokes like "faster than Fox cancelled Firefly" and "no amount of extra credit..." as well as our blatant discrediting of the misogyny found in the original. Also, interestingly, a lot of the original script held up pretty well, and just the general ridiculousness of certain situations (like Ansel as Bromia) was a big hit.

As far as what didn't work, some of the jokes we expected to be funniest got so-so reactions (though there were also unexpected laughs in other places.) I suppose that varies by performance, and we only had one, and it's a natural part of these kinds of things. But perhaps more potently, I think we probably were kind of pushing it (as we knew) with some of our suggestive jokes. Particularly the protection one. People laughed, but it was largely a shocked laugh, and some feedback I received confirmed that at least some people felt uncomfortable with it. I don't think it was an unfunny joke per se, I just don't know if this was the right audience for it.

I learned a lot from this experience. And there was a lot that I believed about the importance of performing greek and roman drama that was completely confirmed! For instance, people laughed quite a bit during the performance, and I only sometimes see someone laugh when they're silently reading. Sometimes. And even then it's just a light chuckle. Also, Professor Jeppesen mentioned how roman comedies are the great-great-great-etc-etc grandfather of the modern sitcom. AND IT'S TRUE! It's the exact same format! And even some of the exact same jokes! This was a lot more tangible to me after having performed one. Also, I was made more aware of some of the more serious undertones of these comedies, such as the scene where Mercury beats Sosia, forcing him to give up his identity. I might not have thought too much about it had I not rehearsed and performed it myself. All in all it was a very enriching experience, and I'm so very glad to have had the opportunity. I look forward to any and all future opportunities to participate in such productions.

-R