Close
Antony Makrinos and PhD student Kyriaki Ioannidou staged a special reading of Amphitruo, Plautus' classic tragi-comedy of love and deceit.
This staged class was part of an idea to introduce innovative ways of teaching Latin (and specifically Roman Comedy) to undergraduate students of the Greek and Latin Department, UCL. The course was Latin Texts 2, Plautus: Amphitruo (LATN 3008/3008A). The aims of the class were to live the experience of teaching Latin as an educator-performer and to explore the educational benefits of this experience and its reception by the students.
The class included a live performance of the last scene of Plautus' play Amphitruo by the teacher and a PhD student with the use of masks and a discussion of the practices used. The text was adapted to suit the needs of the class. Both the text and the lecture notes can be found below:
- Text and notes
- Video (MP4)
The masks for Jupiter and Alcumena.
Alcumena's husband Amphitruo
Antony's and Kyriaki's thoughts about the class will be presented in the Arts and Humanities conference 2013 Storyville: Exploring narratives of learning and teaching, organised by the Higher Education Academy, (Brighton, 29-30 May 2013). A shared talk will be presented with the title: "Teaching Latin: teaching experience as part of theatrical performance". Details >>
The talk will introduce innovative pedagogies and methodologies for the teaching of ancient languages used in the Department of Greek and Latin, UCL. The session will invite dialogue between the delegates about the creative teaching of languages through staged classes, and it is hoped that this will stimulate interest in this way of teaching. Particular emphasis will be given to methodologies which enhance the teaching experience and help students digest aspects of the language. Interest is anticipated from teachers in the Humanities willing to use original techniques to make teaching engaging. Delegates will experience the class second hand (through videos) and will have hands on the props.
Many thanks to:
- Viv Sendall (Visiting Tutor in Scenic Art) for working so hard with the masks and for providing advice on how to use them; Andy Stead (Senior Lecturer), Gussie Dennet, Lydia Duncombe and Bianca Paule, (second year students on the Creative Arts for Theatre and Film course) UCA Rochester for producing the wonderful masks;
- Kyriaki Ioannidou for her patience and her enthusiasm for the staged class and of course for her stunning performance as Bromi-Amphitruo;
- Matthew Milner for his wonderful sound effects with the thunderbolts;
- and Anastasia Papamichael for recording the class.
