Video on YouTube!

Here it is! The video of our production of Amphitruo! The first three minutes are just me talking about the play - feel free to skip over those and get to the good stuff (i.e. running through the audience, hurling rubber chickens, etc.). Enjoy!

Plautus' Amphitruo: The Birth of Hercules - http://youtu.be/0EKomW0xinw  

Amphitruo Bro

So this is a bit late. Two weeks after the performance. But let me say! I am SO happy with how it went! We exceeded everyone's expectations! Most definitely our own! I don't know why, but I didn't expect so much laughter! We had a great audience. There was lots of Classics and Humanities majors to appreciate our Greek myth jokes.

I like that our show had a lot of variety. Monologues were a big thing in ancient Roman comedy and even though we shortened them and only did one really (Mercury's opening speech) I thought it was good that we kept some of that tradition. Then we had lots of physical humor with the slapstick fighting and running around. But we also had funny lines including quick verbal exchanges, like between Amphitruo (Chris) and Sosia (me). We also incorporated funny props like with the bit of Mercury (Rick) keeping Amphitruo out via rubber chicken and marshmallow bow among ither things. Then we also had funny customes, Alcema's (Magaret) big pregant belly and me in a dress for Bromia. There was a TON going on in our play and I think all of it worked.

If I had to criticize anything it would be myself. Watching parts of the Youtube video I realized I was really distracting, especially during Alcmena's and Alcmena's scene. My dumb faces and body postures really took away from Amphitruo's and Alcmena's argument. Probably didn't help that I'm super tall and huge. I was trying to do SOMETHING while the conversation was going on, I trying not to stop acting. But I ended up just repeating the same face and mannerisms, I could used these more sparingly and been more subtle.

I'm not saying I think I did a bad job though, I am VERY pleased with how I did overall.

I think one of my favorites things about doing the play was seeing everyone's talents and personalities being applied. I was impressed again and again by our group. I was impressed by the scence Chris rewrote based on the old 1950's comedy skit "who's on first?" It was impressive to see Rick use his skill with his marshmallow bow also when using his whistle for sound effects, there was no way I could've been as precise. Then Magaret's voice and demenor was perfect for the type of Alcmena we were trying to portray. And Then Professor Jeppensen, I was extreemely impressed by his creativty and diligence. His adaption and direction of the play really made me realize his talent and ability. Also his wife Danae was great, a faboulus prop/costume/poster maker along with a faboulous Juno!

It was a TON of fun getting ready for this play. I put A LOT of thought into my performance and I was very excited. It was an extremely rewarding experience to hear the laughter and applause. This experience has been a huge confidence booster for me.

Amphitruo Photos

Hey Cast! These are mostly from my phone so they aren't great... but here are some photos.

 Haha I screen-shotted my roommate's snapchats...

Way to go TEAM :)

Hey everybody!

I just wanted to thank you all for being such a lovely supportive cast. Aside from having a great time, this experience also really brought an artistic aspect to my major that it needed. After having had to think about the staging and production side of things, I probably won't read Greek or Roman plays the same way. This class really added to the collegiate experience. Thank you to each of you so much for all your help! 

Professor Jeppesen: Thank you for ALL the work you put into the script, and blocking, and set, and for being such a good villain. Keifer could learn a lesson or two from ya.

Ansel: Thank you for making all of us laugh and for all your efforts to rid me of pre-show nerves. 

Chris: Thank you for being so committed to our memorizing and for running the scene a million times with me because I needed it.

Rick: Thank you for keeping us on track, all your good suggestions, and for those epic slide whistle effects.

Danae: Thank you for picking up all our slack. We couldn't have pulled it off without you :)

Thanks for the memories!

I hope I see you all around next year.

Margaret

AWESOME PERFORMANCE

This performance has been one my favorite highlights from my BYU experience. I am near being a senior and have often thought that I should have been more involved in some sort of extracurricular. This production has forced me out of my comfort zone and into something fun and memorable. What a great time we have had! It all came together and it was great. As I think about it, I can’t see anything that didn’t work. We worked hard on this production so that it would all work, and the audience loved us. It was so strange being on stage and hearing so much laughter, even at things that were not meant to be funny.  I think that the hardest part for me was keeping a straight face, especially when things got funny hearing Ansel deliver his lines. I do feel that this performance, and even this entire process has been helpful in giving me a greater appreciation and understanding of ancient drama. This is what Plautus was all about, making his audience laugh. We knocked down the fourth wall, interacted with the audience, used many different kinds of comedy, adapted a classic, and dashed everyone’s expectations for a boring night. We didn’t just read about ancient theatre, for one night we lived in its spirit.

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

Poster!

Poster! Ya I know, kinda cheesy

Let's do it!

Rehearsals, at least in my opinion, have been a lot of fun! It's pretty awesome to see things start to come together, and as we tighten and smooth the play, it seems to get funnier and funnier, so that's good. I suppose if I'm honest, I also have some doubts as to whether or not we'll have all our lines down by friday, but whatever happens, it'll be fun, and will have been a great experience that I'm so incredibly glad we were able to have.

Comedy is a very physical art form! Well, when done right I suppose. While I personally wouldn't consider it a challenge per se, it's definitely been something that has required a notable amount of our attention. For the hodgepodge of participants we have, I'm actually pretty impressed with how convincingly I think we'll be able to do this!

At this point I think we'll have to focus mostly on the action scenes, since those are the ones that won't really work with script in hand. Let's do it!

-R

Rehearsals

This stuff truly is coming together. Watching the other scenes I am not in has given me confidence in this work that it is going to be funny. Ansel and Rick are freaking hilarious. I feel that although this class has taken a little extra time and attention, it will pay off in the end. Learning lines has been the hardest. Although I have the recordings which Professor sent us, I feel like my time is best spent when I am just running lines with everyone. I feel like the best way to memorize lines for me has been to break up my parts into sections and run them over and over and over. Ansel and Margaret have been great with putting in extra time with me so that we can get our stuff down. Although this will probably end up being a reading, I am doing my best to get these lines figured out. Like I said, all in all, the more I see in our rehearsals, the more confident I am in the production.

"There's nothing wrong with updating a little"

Although after reviewing the assignment I have several questions that I'll need to be asking professor Jeppesen, I can at least post my initial thoughts on what I might write about in my final paper.

My planned theme is:

Reviving Greek and Roman Theater for a Modern Audience!

It will be a collection of thoughts on how to make a tasteful adaptation of an ancient play. Not an expert guide by any means, just some thoughts. These will be based on historical aspects to consider, as well as experiential issues that arose in the production of our Amphitruo. It's really interesting stuff! Maybe our papers will end up posted here. If not, I might post a short summary of mine. The performance is only two weeks away! I am both excited and nervous. I hope we can prepare well enough by then.

-R

Final Paper Outline

At the end of the semester we will have to write about how this class helped us understand ancient drama, and I will focus on the following aspects: 1. Adapting a classic, 2. What makes a comedy funny?, 3. The spirit of ancient theatre, and 4. Authenticity.  I hope to show how going through this process has helped me not only understand the mind of the ancient playwrights better, but also in a way to live what they experienced as artists and performers. There is something to be said about how some things must be experienced, not just read about.

Time Marches On

Just a quick update on our progress:

The pressures of the end of semester are building right on schedule, but luckily we've been able to find a little extra time to practice, which was desperately needed in my opinion. We seem to be on top of the blocking now, and I'm very excited about the action scenes we'll be doing, particularly those involving the audience area. I just hope we'll have enough time to practice it enough to be able to perform it like I know we all want to, but either way, it will have been a great experience. I'm so glad the class wasn't cancelled!

-R

Progress 2

I am no actor. This whole blocking thing has been frustrating. Although I comprehend that it is important, I am still so far behind with my lines. I also find myself struggling to know how to even read my lines with all of the prompts in the script added by the translator which seem to be off. I struggle to pull off lines that I feel like I would never say in any situation. Clunky translation aside, little by little I am starting to find my way and hopefully will reach the point when I will be able to do my part well. Blocking is a chore, but I realize that if we don’t know where we are going on stage, there might be unforeseen blunders. I do not want to go on stage and look foolish. Fear is a powerful motivator to trust our director and get this down.

Our Progress

                   I'm feeling very optimistic about our progress! I think we have most aspects of our play planned for (props, costumes, etc) and now we just have to focus on rehearsal and improving our chemistry as a cast. I think that we should have a goal to be off-book (memorized) by a week from this Wednesday at least so that we can focus on blocking and fine-tuning without having to be concerned about lines. Thanks to our professor's hard work, I feel confident regarding the current status of our script. I think that any polishing it may need will come naturally during the rehearsal process. But from what I've heard in class so far, I really feel like everyone's' characters are starting to take form and that everyone is bringing a lot to the table acting-wise. Good work team! Now that we have a script- let's get down to memorizing!

The Story So Far

Things are going great! (and yes, they're only getting' better!)

Granted, we are a bit behind schedule, and I have been sick out of my mind for the past week, but if it were all going off without a single hitch, I think we'd start getting nervous. But viewed with a healthy perspective, things are going quite well.

The script is coming along fine, and has some pretty hilarious moments in it, especially if we can act it out right. Professor Jeppesen has proved a capable director. The plans for props, costumes, and sound effects also seem to be moving forward nicely. The stage we'll be performing on is great! Just perfect for our purposes. And while initially I was a little trepidatious about doing Amphitruo, it's definitely grown on me.

Yep. Things are good. Let's just hope they stay that way, and nothing crazy derails our plans...

-R

Sosia in Act 1

For my portrayal of Sosia I have very little interest in reciting his very long triumph speech and since we are trying to shorten the play considerably I think it'd be in our interest as a group to cut it out for the most part.  I like the idea of Sosia (me) saying something like, "let me put it this way, the war was a doozy!" and leave it as that. It could be funny. Also I suggest shortening Sosia's other act 1 lines a lot. I think they are unnecessarily long and if I was being perfectly honest I don't want to memorize so much material, especially since I will be performing as Belpharo and Broma as well. I rewrote some of these opening lines of Sosia more to my liking but I don't think I have a knack for play writing. Usually when I write dialogue I focus on realism which wasn't really the point of a theatrical performance in ancient times. I would like to show what I got to the class at some point though. I am very open to suggestions. My main goal is just to shorten the lines.

Progress

So… there has been a lot of talk about how we are behind schedule. I feel like I have contributed to this perhaps not helping enough with the adapted script, although I do feel like I tend to want to reinvent the entire thing, which isn’t the point, as we just need to get enough done so we can get through the much more daunting task of memorization. I am very pleased with the changes we are making with the script, particularly towards the ending. As I told Professor, this ending just did not sit well with me. Amphytruo always seemed to be getting the short stick and in the end be okay with it for a lack of recourse. The fact that our Jupiter will get his comeuppance from Juno sits much better, and I feel will be more satisfying for our audience. Hoping it all comes together.

Musings on 'Alcumena in the "Amphitruo" of Plautus: A Pregnant Lady Joke' by Jane Phillips

             In her article, "Alcumena in the "Amphitruo" of Plautus: A Pregnant Lady Joke" Phillips seems to disagree with her scholastic predecessors.  Many scholars have noted that Alcumena is one of the most virtuous female characters in Roman comedy. She behaves as the ideal wife in every way and her prose is more often littered with forgiveness and praise for her husband than indignation he deserves. Many have praised Plautus for his clearly positive (from the Roman standpoint) perspective on women in this play. However, Phillips made the claim that a lot of the humor surrounding Alcumena relies on the visual of an extremely pregnant woman. Phillips believes that Plautus knew that the image of a ridiculously pregnant Alcumena would contrast with her noble speech to humorous results. Also, Philips notes that some of Alcumena's lines in latin are double entendres with sexual references. These references combined with her ludicrous appearance would certainly have served Plautus's comedic motives.
          I found this article very interesting and it definitely affected how I see Alcumena within the bigger scope of the play. It definitely reminded me of the humor to be found in costuming- I will make sure I look very pregnant. But it also reaffirmed to me that Alcumena is a "straightman" in this comedy. In order for her to contribute to the comedy of this play, she must be entirely invested in her problems, which are of a rather serious nature. I think that Alcumena's character should be a contrast to some of the more "hammy" characters in this play like Sosia. Also, I think by conveying a strong sense of indignation and conviction, it will redeem some of the immorality present in this play.

Tragicomedy? Or Comitragedy?

This is a brief commentary on Timothy Moore's article on Tragicomedy as seen in Amphitruo:

http://www.didaskalia.net/issues/supplement1/moore.html

Due to a number of famous playwrights referencing the term "tragicomedy," many people have come to understand that it implies an equal-parts mixture of the two genres, like a Dramedy, or basically any movie with Sandra Bullock in it. This isn't an incorrect perception of the modern term, but the context in which this term was originally coined presents a notably different perspective on what "tragicomedy" is actually supposed to mean.

As stated in the article, as far as we know, Plautus, a Roman Playwright famous for his comedies, was the first one to use the word, and most likely invented it. Romans had a very specific definition of what a "comedy" was, and what a "tragedy" was, and it extended beyond simple seriousness vs. hilarity to the actual form and specific tropes associated with each kind of play. For example, if there were gods participating in the action, it was almost certainly a tragedy. Conversely, if you saw a slave engaging in rascally behavior, it was obviously a comedy. It's important to understand that according to classical theater tradition, these two sets of stereotypes hardly ever crossed. Which is why what happens in Amphitruo was somewhat radical/significant, particularly in the finer details of its execution.

ANYWAY, long story short,  rather than being that equal-parts mixture we might think of, Amphitruo is more about the supremacy of comedy over tragedy, and how comedy is so good that it can take perfectly tragic lines and elements, and with a sprinkling of unexpected context, role reversals, etc, make them into unmistakeable comedy. If you're interested in seeing more of the specific instances where this happens, you should check out the link at the top of this post! If you're into Classical Theater, then you'll appreciate it for sure.

-R

Reflection of the Script Reworking Process

I have really enjoyed the reworking that we have done so far. I find it most helpful when we run lines in class during this process because I think our ears naturally pick up what is gratuitous or unnecessary to the essential motion of the play. It has also been beneficial when we have discussed themes and message as a cast that we wish to portray with this production. I like Professor Jeppesen's plot additions because I believe it changes the sentiment of the play from misogyny to one that features moral consequences. I think that this redeems the play from some of its less savory aspects and makes it more palatable to a modern western audience. I have also enjoyed some of the moments in which we have changed the wording of lines to help with the rhythm and flow of the language. I understand that we can't go over every line together as a class, and that some of the reworking process will be individual, but the experience of rewriting as a class has both helped our group dynamic while producing something is a product of our collective creativity.