| This site drew
its initial inspiration from the video, Performing Cicero’s
Speeches, an Experimental Workshop, developed by Jon Hall of
the University of Otago and Robin Bond of the University of
Canterbury, New Zealand. An extract from their work is
reproduced here by permission. The full video is available
from Bolchazy-Carducci
Publishing, Inc.,
catalogue number 0-86516-488-6. Details of the New Zealand
experiment are provided by: Jon Hall and Robin Bond, ‘Performative Elements in Cicero’s
Orations: An Experimental Approach,’ Prudentia 34 (2002)
187-228.
The UCLA version of the proposopeia offers a different
interpretation, which attempts to be less histrionic though
no less ‘rhetorical’ in gesture and delivery. The performer
is Bryan Lockett, a doctoral student in the Department of
Classics and an experienced amateur actor. Questions of
pronunciation and verbal emphasis were resolved with the
assistance of Professors Brent Vine and Andrew Dyck.
Realization of the gestures owes much to G. S. Aldrete,
Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome. Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins, 1999. |
