Editing Plautus (section)

==Stagecraft==
In Ancient Greece during the time of New Comedy, from which Plautus drew so much of his inspiration, there were permanent theaters that catered to the audience as well as the actor. The greatest playwrights of the day had quality facilities in which to present their work and, in a general sense, there was always enough public support to keep the theater running and successful. However, this was not the case in Rome during the time of the Republic, when Plautus wrote his plays. While there was public support for theater and people came to enjoy tragedy and comedy alike, no permanent theater existed in Rome until Pompey dedicated one in 55 BC in the Campus Martius.<ref>S. M. Goldberg. "Plautus on the Palatine," ''The Journal of Roman Studies'' 88 (1998), p. 2.</ref>

The lack of a permanent space was a key factor in Roman theater and Plautine stagecraft. In their introduction to the ''Miles Gloriosus,'' Hammond, Mack and Moskalew say that "the Romans were acquainted with the Greek stone theater, but, because they believed drama to be a demoralizing influence, they had a strong aversion to the erection of permanent theaters".<ref>M. Hammond, A.M. Mack, W. Moskalew. "Introduction: The Stage and Production," in ''Miles Gloriosus''. Ed. M. Hammond, A. Mack, W. Moskalew. London and Cambridge, 1997 repr., pp. 15-29.</ref> This worry rings true when considering the subject matter of Plautus' plays. The unreal becomes reality on stage in his work. T. J. Moore notes that, "all distinction between the play, production, and 'real life' has been obliterated [Plautus' play ''Curculio'']".<ref>T. J. Moore. "Palliata Togata: Plautus, Curculio 462-86," ''The American Journal of Philology'' 112.3 (1991), pp. 343-362.</ref> A place where social norms were upended was inherently suspect. The aristocracy was afraid of the power of the theater. It was merely by their good graces and unlimited resources that a temporary stage would have been built during specific festivals.

===The importance of the ''ludi''===
{{main|Ludi}}
Roman drama, specifically Plautine comedy, was acted out on stage during the ''[[ludi]]'' or festival games. In his discussion of the importance of the ''ludi Megalenses'' in early Roman theater, John Arthur Hanson says that this particular festival "provided more days for dramatic representations than any of the other regular festivals, and it is in connection with these ''ludi'' that the most definite and secure literary evidence for the site of scenic games has come down to us".<ref>J. A. Hanson, ''Roman Theater—Temples'', (Princeton, NJ, 1959), p. 13.</ref>  Because the ''ludi'' were religious in nature, it was appropriate for the Romans to set up this temporary stage close to the temple of the deity being celebrated. S.M. Goldberg notes that "''ludi'' were generally held within the precinct of the particular god being honored."<ref>Goldberg, 1998, pp. 1-20.</ref>

T. J. Moore notes that "seating in the temporary theaters where Plautus' plays were first performed was often insufficient for all those who wished to see the play, that the primary criterion for determining who was to stand and who could sit was social status".<ref>T.J. Moore, "Seats and Social Status in the Plautine Theater," ''The Classical Journal'' 90.2 (1995), pp. 113-123.</ref>  This is not to say that the lower classes did not see the plays; but they probably had to stand while watching. Plays were performed in public, for the public, with the most prominent members of the society in the forefront.

The wooden stages on which Plautus' plays appeared were shallow and long with three openings in respect to the scene-house. The stages were significantly smaller than any Greek structure familiar to modern scholars. Because theater was not a priority during Plautus' time, the structures were built and dismantled within a day. Even more practically, they were dismantled quickly due to their potential as fire-hazards.<ref>M. Bieber, ''The History of the Greek and Roman Theater'', (Princeton, NJ, 1961.), p. 168.</ref>

===Geography of the stage===
Often the geography of the stage and more importantly the play matched the geography of the city so that the audience would be well oriented to the locale of the play. Moore says that, "references to Roman locales must have been stunning for they are not merely references to things Roman, but the most blatant possible reminders that the production occurs in the city of Rome".<ref>Moore, 1991, p. 347.</ref>  So, Plautus seems to have choreographed his plays somewhat true-to-life. To do this, he needed his characters to exit and enter to or from whatever area their social standing would befit.

Two scholars, V. J. Rosivach and N. E. Andrews, have made interesting observations about stagecraft in Plautus: V. J. Rosivach writes about identifying the side of the stage with both social status and geography. He says that, for example, "the house of the ''medicus'' lies offstage to the right. It would be in the forum or thereabouts that one would expect to find a ''medicus''."<ref>V. J. Rosivach, "Plautine Stage Settings," ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'' 101 (1970), pp. 445-461.</ref>  Moreover, he says that characters that oppose one another always have to exit in opposite directions. In a slightly different vein, N.E. Andrews discusses the spatial semantics of Plautus; she has observed that even the different spaces of the stage are thematically charged. She states:

<blockquote>Plautus' ''Casina'' employs these conventional tragic correlations between
male/outside and female/inside, but then inverts them in order to establish an even more complex relationship among genre, gender and dramatic space. In the ''Casina'', the struggle for control between men and women... is articulated by characters' efforts to control stage movement into and out of the house.<ref>N. E. Andrews, "Tragic Re-Presentation and the Semantics of Space in Plautus," ''Mnemosyne'' 57.4 (2004), pp. 445-464.</ref></blockquote>

Andrews makes note of the fact that power struggle in the ''Casina'' is evident in the verbal comings and goings. The words of action and the way that they are said are important to stagecraft.  The words denoting direction or action such as ''abeo'' ("I go off"), ''transeo'' ("I go over"), ''fores crepuerunt'' ("the doors creak"), or ''intus'' ("inside"), which signal any character's departure or entrance, are standard in the dialogue of Plautus' plays. These verbs of motion or phrases can be taken as Plautine stage directions since no overt stage directions are apparent. Often, though, in these interchanges of characters, there occurs the need to move on to the next act. Plautus then might use what is known as a "cover monologue". About this S.M. Goldberg notes that, "it marks the passage of time less by its length than by its direct and immediate address to the audience and by its switch from ''senarii'' in the dialogue to ''iambic septenarii''. The resulting shift of mood distracts and distorts our sense of passing time."<ref>S.M. Goldberg, "Act to Action in Plautus' ''Bacchides''," ''Classical Philology'' 85.3 (1990), pp. 191-201.</ref>

===Relationship with the audience===
The small stages had a significant effect on the stagecraft of ancient Roman theater. Because of this limited space, there was also limited movement. Greek theater allowed for grand gestures and extensive action to reach the audience members who were in the very back of the theater. However the Romans would have had to depend more on their voices than large physicality. There was not an orchestra available as there was for the Greeks and this is reflected in the notable lack of a chorus in Roman drama. The replacement character that acts as the chorus would in Greek drama is often called the "prologue".<ref>Goldberg, 1998, p.19.</ref>

Goldberg says that "these changes fostered a different relationship between actors and the space in which they performed and also between them and their audiences".<ref>Goldberg, 1998, p.16.</ref>  Actors were thrust into much closer audience interaction. Because of this, a certain acting style became required that is more familiar to modern audiences. Because they would have been in such close proximity to the actors, ancient Roman audiences would have wanted attention and direct acknowledgement from the actors.<ref>P.G. Brown, "Actors and Actor–Managers at Rome in the Time of Plautus and Terence," in ''Greek and Roman Actors: Aspects of an Ancient Profession'', Ed. P. Easterling and E. Hall. (Cambridge, 2002.), p. 228.</ref>

Because there was no orchestra, there was no space separating the audience from the stage. The audience could stand directly in front of the elevated wooden platform. This gave them the opportunity to look at the actors from a much different perspective. They would have seen every detail of the actor and heard every word he said. The audience member would have wanted that actor to speak directly to them. It was a part of the thrill of the performance, as it is to this day.<ref>Goldberg, 1998, p. 19.</ref>

===Stock characters===
Plautus' range of characters was created through his use of various techniques, but probably the most important is his use of stock characters and situations in his various plays. He incorporates the same stock characters constantly, especially when the character type is amusing to the audience. As Walter Juniper wrote, "Everything, including artistic characterization and consistency of characterization, were sacrificed to humor, and character portrayal remained only where it was necessary for the success of the plot and humor to have a ''persona'' who stayed in character, and where the ''persona'' by his portrayal contributed to humor."<ref>W.H. Juniper, "Character Portrayals in Plautus." ''The Classical Journal '' 31 (1936), p. 279.</ref>

For example, in '' Miles Gloriosus'', the titular "braggart soldier" Pyrgopolynices only shows his vain and immodest side in the first act, while the parasite Artotrogus exaggerates Pyrgopolynices' achievements, creating more and more ludicrous claims that Pyrgopolynices agrees to without question. These two are perfect examples of the stock characters of the pompous soldier and the desperate parasite that appeared in Plautine comedies. In disposing of highly complex individuals, Plautus was supplying his audience with what it wanted, since "the audience to whose tastes Plautus catered was not interested in the character play,"<ref>Juniper, 1936, p. 278.</ref> but instead wanted the broad and accessible humor offered by stock set-ups. The humor Plautus offered, such as "puns, word plays, distortions of meaning, or other forms of verbal humor he usually puts them in the mouths of characters belonging to the lower social ranks, to whose language and position these varieties of humorous technique are most suitable,"<ref>J.N. Hough, "The Reverse Comic Foil in Plautus." ''The American Philological Association'' 73 (1942), p. 108.</ref> matched well with the stable of characters.

====The clever slave====
In his article "The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy," Philip Harsh gives evidence to show that the clever slave is not an invention of Plautus. While previous critics such as [[A. W. Gomme]] believed that the slave was "[a] truly comic character, the devisor of ingenious schemes, the controller of events, the commanding officer of his young master and friends, is a creation of Latin comedy," and that Greek dramatists such as Menander did not use slaves in such a way that Plautus later did, Harsh refutes these beliefs by giving concrete examples of instances where a clever slave appeared in Greek comedy.<ref>P.W. Harsh, "The Intriguing Slave in Greek Comedy," ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'', 86 (1955), pp. 135-142.</ref> For instance, in the works of Athenaeus, Alciphron, and Lucian there are deceptions that involve the aid of a slave, and in Menander's ''Dis Exapaton'' there was an elaborate deception executed by a clever slave that Plautus mirrors in his ''Bacchides''. Evidence of clever slaves also appears in Menander's ''Thalis'', ''Hypobolimaios'', and from the papyrus fragment of his ''Perinthia''. Harsh acknowledges that Gomme's statement was probably made before the discovery of many of the papyri that we now have. While it was not necessarily a Roman invention, Plautus did develop his own style of depicting the clever slave. With larger, more active roles, more verbal exaggeration and exuberance, the slave was moved by Plautus further into the front of the action.<ref>Harsh, 1955, p. 135-142.</ref> Because of the inversion of order created by a devious or witty slave, this stock character was perfect for achieving a humorous response and the traits of the character worked well for driving the plot forward.

====The lustful old man====
Another important Plautine stock character, discussed by K.C. Ryder, is the ''senex amator''. A senex amator is classified as an old man who contracts a passion for a young girl and who, in varying degrees, attempts to satisfy this passion. In Plautus these men are Demaenetus (''Asinaria''), Philoxenus and Nicobulus (''Bacchides''), Demipho (''Cistellaria''), Lysidamus (''Casina''), Demipho (''Mercator''), and Antipho (''Stichus''). Periplectomenos (''Miles Gloriosus'') and Daemones (''Rudens'') are regarded as ''senes lepidi'' because they usually keep their feelings within a respectable limit. All of these characters have the same goal, to be with a younger woman, but all go about it in different ways, as Plautus could not be too redundant with his characters despite their already obvious similarities. What they have in common is the ridicule with which their attempts are viewed, the imagery that suggests that they are motivated largely by animal passion, the childish behavior, and the reversion to the love-language of their youth.<ref>K.C. Ryder, "The '''Senex Amator''' in Plautus," ''Greece & Rome'' 31.2. (Oct., 1984), pp.181-189.</ref>

===Female characters===
In examining the female role designations of Plautus's plays, Z.M. Packman found that they are not as stable as their male counterparts: a ''senex'' will usually remain a ''senex'' for the duration of the play but designations like ''matrona'', ''mulier'', or ''uxor'' at times seem interchangeable. Most free adult women, married or widowed, appear in scene headings as ''mulier'', simply translated as "woman". But in Plautus' ''Stichus'' the two young women are referred to as ''sorores'', later ''mulieres'', and then ''matronae'', all of which have different meanings and connotations. Although there are these discrepancies, Packman tries to give a pattern to the female role designations of Plautus. ''Mulier'' is typically given to a woman of citizen class and of marriageable age or who has already been married.  Unmarried citizen-class girls, regardless of sexual experience, were designated ''virgo''. ''Ancilla'' was the term used for female household slaves, with ''Anus'' reserved for the elderly household slaves. A young woman who is unwed due to social status is usually referred to as ''meretrix'' or "courtesan". A ''lena'', or adoptive mother, may be a woman who owns these girls.<ref>Z.M. Packman, "Feminine Role Designations in the Comedies of Plautus," ''The American Journal of Philology'' 120.2. (1999), pp. 245-258.</ref>

===Unnamed characters===
Like Packman, George Duckworth uses the scene headings in the manuscripts to support his theory about unnamed Plautine characters. There are approximately 220 characters in the 20 plays of Plautus. Thirty are unnamed in both the scene headings and the text and there are about nine characters who are named in the ancient text but not in any modern one. This means that about 18% of the total number of characters in Plautus are nameless. Most of the very important characters have names while most of the unnamed characters are of less importance. However, there are some abnormalities—the main character in ''Casina'' is not mentioned by name anywhere in the text. In other instances, Plautus will give a name to a character that only has a few words or lines. One explanation is that some of the names have been lost over the years; and for the most part, major characters do have names.<ref>G.E. Duckworth, "The Unnamed Characters in the Plays of Plautus," ''Classical Philology'' 33.2. (1938), pp. 167-282.</ref>