I am mostly very pleased with my presentation and the discussion that ensued! I think I did well with the timing, and got through what I meant to in the time I had. I think that it the discussion was a little scarce; I had been hoping for more specific ideas about costuming (e.g. the sausage seller would have a lot of sausages on him, or the knights would have masks that looked like equestrian helmets) and staging (e.g. the slaves at the start would have begged the sausage seller on their knees to save them, giving him compliments etc.)
Most people said very generalized things about how they didn’t imagine any of the costumes or staging, but didn’t explain how they imagined it now. I think perhaps if I had explained that we have next to no evidence, so anything is game, more people would have been willing to share ideas; no one wants to put forth something that would never have happened/been worn! In the future, I will do a couple things differently: 1, ask more specific questions seeking less generalized answers (perhaps pointing to a specific scene) and 2, put them up on the screen (I know that helps me be more on topic when answering.)
I would also have put the picture of Helena and I in the slideshow! I took it out that morning because I was worried for time and felt like it needed more context. Helena and I were in a Latin comedy course last semester (with Professor Farmer) and had to record a scene in Latin with whatever costumes we found acceptable. Helena had a whole body pillow wrapped around her body, I had a coat, and we cut out beards (with mouth holes that ended up being far to ridiculously large)!
Here are the slides I used, if you’re interested! https://haverford.box.com/s/2htree7dwd9bst7cbk1nhfhv1wa1x9d4
Hi Hannah. First off I really liked your presentation and it has helped me better understand the reading since then. I have definitely been trying to read the Peace with the ideas off costumes in mind and it has been more enjoyable.
I like your idea that if you could go back you would put in the picture from your last class. I think seeing a modern interpretation of the costumes would have helped solidify that there is no one right way to think about the costumes since we don’t have a lot of evidence. During your presentation I was thinking of last semesters Classics department reading of Aristophanes “Birds”. If you weren’t there, everyone had funny bird masks with a lot of feathers that made everyone look ridiculous. I think even this informal example helped me to understand the costumes better.
Like I said, I really enjoyed the presentation and I have enjoyed reading the plays more because of it.
-Nico