The Department of Classical studies hosted scholars from all over the world for a conference on ancient theater
In late April, scholars from all over the world came to William & Mary for a two-day conference on Greek and Roman theater and performance. Speakers presented papers on various aspects of Greek and Roman theater, illuminating the multifaceted nature of ancient drama as performance, civic event, spectacle, and occasion for reception. Professor Naomi Weiss of Harvard University gave an excellent keynote lecture, titled “The Poetics of Proliferation in Euripidean Tragedy.” Altogether, the talks demonstrated how the interdisciplinary and international study of ancient drama is a flourishing and thought-provoking field of inquiry.
In addition to the scholarly papers, the conference featured performances of ancient Greek tragedies by students in Professor Paga’s “Greek and Roman Tragedy” course. Over the course of the Spring semester, the students abridged their plays, assigned traditional acting roles (three actors to share all speaking parts), developed a multi-person chorus that spoke and moved in unison, and designed the set background, costumes, and masks. The performances truly brought to life the ancient plays and were enjoyed by a large audience of W&M students, faculty, the international speakers of the conference, and community guests.