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The Menaechmi Twins, by Plautus
Our play, the Menaechmi Twins, was a great success. I played the character Messenio. There were three scenes, and they were all funny.
Scene 1 started off with the narrator introducing the play. Then Menaechmus I steals a dress from his wife and he and Peniculus give it to Lady E, who agrees to make them dinner. While they go downtown, Lady E
sends Cylindrian and Andrea downtown to buy food. Then Menaechmus II, Messenio, and Endoria arrive at the city. They meet Cylindria and Andrea in front of Lady E's house, and thinking Menaechmus II is Menaechmus I,
Cylindria speaks to him and they get confused. Cylindria and Andrea go in and Lady E comes out causing more confusion, until Menaechmus II decides he wants to eat the dinner and abandons Messenio and Endoria, who go back
to their ship.
When the dinner is over, Menaechmus II meets Peniculus, who thinks Menaechmus II is Menaechmus I. He gets mad because he didn't get any food, and he goes into Menaechmus I's house. Then Menaechmus II goes to the embroidery shop.
Scene 2 starts with the narrator. Then Peniculus and Mrs. Menaechmus come out and Peniculus tells Mrs. Menaechmus all about the dress and the dinner. Then Menaechmus I returns from town and is met by his angry wife and Peniculus, who send him back to the embroidery shop. Then Mrs. Menaechmus goes into the house and Peniculus goes downtown, never to be seen again. Then, Menaechmus I goes to Lady E's house to get the dress back. Lady E thinks he is trying to cheat her and shuts the door. Then Menaechmus I leaves and Menaechmus II arrives with the dress. Menaechmus comes out, and they get in a fight. She sends Decio to get her mother. When her mother gets there, Menaechmus II pretends to be insane.
Scene 3 starts with the narrator. Then Sencia (Mrs. Menaechmus's mother) goes to get a doctor, and Menaechmus II sneaks off. Then Menaechmus I returns and meets the doctor and Sencia. The doctor orders that Menaechmus should be
brought to the clinic, and then goes to the clinic. Sencia orders three servants to take Menaechmus to the clinic, and then goes to the clinic herself. The servants start taking Menaechmus I to the clinic just as Messenio and Endoria return.
They save Menaechmus I because they think he is Menaechmus II. Then they ask to be free and Menaechmus I says OK. Then Menaechmus I goes to talk to Lady E. Menaechmus II arrives and says he never let Messenio and Endoria free. They
get in an argument and become angry. Then Menaechmus I comes out of Lady E's house and everyone is confused. Then Messenio proves that they are twins and everyone was happy.
The play was a great success, and everyone liked it. The audience laughed at all three scenes, and we enjoyed performing it.
by Ian
Menaechmi Twins
Our class did a play called the Menaechmi twins in front of the school and our parents. I am going to tell you about the play within the next three paragraphs. I am going to explain what happened , who wrote it, and if I liked my part in the play.
The play was about twins that were separated over a long period of time, since they were little boys. One of them with the name of Menaechmus and the other Sosicles. The play was written by a very famous playwright, Titus Maccius Plautus, around 200 B.C. (before Christ). Plautus had to be very funny because of all the things he was competing with.
Menaechmus has been searching for his brother for the longest time now. He is determined to find his brother or someone to tell him that his brother is dead. His partner Messinio is trying to convince Menaechmus to quit looking for his brother, but he won't. Not until he knows for sure about his brother. Well, before Menaechmus II gets to Epidamnus, Menaechmus I has asked Lady E (Kaylin) to prepare dinner for him and his friend. I was a servant and I was sent with another servant (Christina) to get the food and prepare dinner. When I saw Menaechmus II in front of Lady E's house, I started to talk to him. He thought that I was crazy and I thought the that he was the one that was crazy because we had been friends for a while and he acted as if he didn't know me at all.
I liked my part because I got to make fun of people and I had to carry this huge basket with huge pig in it.
I hope you enjoyed my three paragraphs about the play such as what happened, who wrote it, and if I liked my part.
by Serra
Our Play
by Samantha
I think that yesterday we did a good job. We had our lines memorized, Mrs. Byles and Mrs. Finley also helped a lot, and the length of the play was as hoped, 45 minutes.
Thanks to Mrs. Byles and Mrs. Finley helping us practice our lines, everyone had theirs memorized and during the actual performance we barely messed up or forgot any lines.
Mrs. Byles and Mrs. Finley helped a lot with the play. They both helped when we were working on lines. Also on the day of the play they helped with costumes.
As had been planned, the play took about 45 minutes, which was just about perfect because the audience was becoming restless.
I'm glad we did good yesterday. It's a good thing we had our lines memorized, help from parents and a perfect time limit on the play.
Acting in "The Menaechmi Twins"
By Plautus
In the play "The Menaechmi Twins" I played the part of Sencia. My part was split, and I overcame stage fright.
I played the part of Sencia. I was Mrs. Menaechmus's mother. The mother was never invited to the daughter's house unless there was a fight. So the mother helped keep their marriage from coming apart.
My part of Sencia was split because she was in two scenes and had a lot of lines. It was one of the major roles.
I was afraid to get up on stage because I thought, "If I mess up, everyone will think I am a dork and laugh." But the play was a comedy, so I overcame it and I did the play.
That was about my part in the play, my part was split, and how I overcame my stagefright.
by Camille
My Favorite Parts on The Menaechmi Twins
By: Madalaine
I have three favorite things that were in the play The Menaechmi Twins. My first favorite part is when Kellyn twitches and acts insane, my second is when Jessie acts the same as Kellyn, and my third is when I get to yell at everyone.
The reason I like it when Kellyn twitches is because he makes it look good and funny.
The reason I like it when Jessie twitches is because he just looks funny that way.
Last but not least, I like it when I yell at everyone. I like it because it feels good when to let out all your frustrations out and yell at someone. Its fun.
Well those are the three things that I really liked this play. The part where Kellyn twitches, the part were Jessie twitches, and the part were I get to let loose and yell at everybody. Tell me please. What did you like about the play?
What I Learned About the Romans from our Play
We just got done doing a play and some things I learned were the different designs of columns, how Romans dressed, and the kind of humor Romans had.
I learned that Romans had three or more
different columns. They have the Ionic column, the one we used the most tomake the sets in our play. They have the Doric column which was really basic. Then they had the Corinthian, which looked really hard to do. It mostly consists of leaves and plants.
I learned how Romans dressed. Boys dressed in togas and girsl dressed in longer togas. Important men and women would dress with a piece of colored cloth. Slaves and servants would wear a short toga with no collar and a rope used for a belt.
I learned that Roman humor consisted of words and not pictures or actions.
Those are just a few things I learned from the play. I learned about columns and the dressing. I also learned about the humor.
by Beth
What I Liked and What I Learned in the Play
In the Menaechmi Twins there are lots of things I learned and several things I found funny. I liked the play because of the few things I learned and the funny jokes. I also liked the person I played.
I learned that the ancient Romans didn't wear any form of socks. The most interesting thing I learned is that Romans ate split pig's heads and gravy. I think that is kind of disgusting but then I figured if an ancient Roman had a piece of pizza they would probably think it was repulsive and disgusting.
The thing that I thought was funny in the play was when Menaechmus I asked Menaechmus II what they used to call their mother and Menaechmus II says, "I believe we called her, Mommy." I find this funny because that's what most people call their mother when they're kids because they never call her by her real name.
I liked playing Peniculus in the play becuase he was always worried about getting something to eat. In fact, he was so mad that he didn't get to eat the food that Lady E prepared, every time he met Menaechmus he got mad at him for eating the dinner behind his back.
I think the play was really fun because of what I learned, all the jokes, and the fact that my part was fun. I think this was the best play I have ever been in.
by Kyle F.
The Menaechmi Twins
By Plautus
I'm going to tell you about what I learned in the play. First, how the Romans dress. Second, learning lines. Third, how much fun I had.
I didn't know how a Roman dressed before the play. I thought their clothes would be really expensive.
I thought it would be hard to learn lines. But after you learn them you don't think they're hard. It was also more fun after you've learned your lines.
It was fun dressing up in Romans' clothes. Learning my lines was fun also. I liked dressing up like Romans better.
I've just told you first, how the Romans dressed. Second, learning lines. Third, how much fun I had. Hope you liked what I wrote.
by Jonathan
MY PLAY PAPER
by Kaylin
I will be telling you about my role as Lady E, learning my lines, what I liked about the practices, and what I like about the play itself.
I played Lady E, the wealthy noble neighbor to Menachmus I. It was fun to play Lady E. I like being in the "Elite" class. To tell you the truth, I was very happy that I didn't have to be a servant. I really like calling out my cook (Serra), and my maid-servant (Christina) and telling them to go do this and that.
Learning my lines was somewhat tough, but after a while it became like second nature. Like when there's a movie you really love you find yourself saying the lines without knowing it.
What I liked about the practices was that you could kind of have fun and goof off. Like when we first started having costumes I went out on stage all dressed up and I was the only one. And Ivan kept on saying, "Here's the wife I stole from my dress," and he was supposed to say, " Here's the dress I stole from my wife." It was funny.
What I liked about the play was when I went on stage I accidentally said, "Buy some money here's some food." When I was supposed to say, "Here's some money buy some food." It was embarrassing but the audience laughed, (but I don't know if that made me feel better or worse.)
Well next year I hope there is a kid just like me who liked something about their role, learning their lines, play practice's and the play itself.
The Menaechmi Twins Play
By Plautus
What I thought about the Menaechmi Twins Play? In the next few moments I'll be telling you what I thought about the play, by Platus. Some of the things I'll be telling you are things like- what I thought about the play, what it was like working on the play, and what I thought about the audiences response.
I honestly didn't quite get the play at first, but after we got our scripts I realized what the play was about. After that happened I really got the whole play- and I thought it was very funny! Even though we had cut out quite a bit I still thought the play was a great sucsess!
It was a BLAST working on the play, even though I had very few parts it was fun! I didn't
think that some of the actors/actresses knew their lines very well, but some got into it, but we all
pulled through. I really liked going out into the hall to practice our lines, that was one of my
favorite parts.
I was very surprised by how the audience responded. I thought that at least the sixth graders would get more than the fourth and fifth graders got. But I guess I can understand. I think that we got it because we had the scripts and we actually read all the cut-offs, so it was easier to understand, for us.
Anyway as you can see- I thought that the play was pretty funny, that is after I realized what the play was all about. I had a lot of fun working on the play, and I was a little surprised on how the audience reacted. So the next time I do a play I'm always going to remember the part of Endoria that I played, and how much fun I had!
by Katie
The Menaechmi Twins
I am going to tell you about the Menaechmi Twins Play. Like if I liked it, what I learned, and if I liked my part.
From my point of view the play was all right. Just having to watch it over and over it got kind of boring. I have to admit there were some funny parts. For example: when Menaechmus II {Kellyn} was pretending to be out of it just to get people to stop bugging him. Also when the man in the audience threw a tomato up on the stage. The play was getting a lot better after we all started putting some enthusiasm into our parts.
What I learned from the play. I learned that Menaechmus I and II were twins and that they had been separated for a long period of time. Also that when Menaechmus II came into town everybody in the city of Epidamnus were getting very upset because they had no idea what was going on. I learned that servants did everything for the rich back then.
Last but not least, did I like my part? Yes, why? Cause my part wasn't really long. So I didn't have much to memorize. Also I get stage fright and even more so when I know all my friends are out in the audience watching me I get really nervous. Other then that it was really fun for me to be a servant in our play. I think I could have put a little more enthusiasm into my part.
Well I have finished telling you my point of view of the play, what I learned, and if I liked my part. I hope I have encouraged you to look more up on the Menaechmi Twins.
By: Christina
The Menaechmi Twins
There are 3 reasons why I liked this play by Plautus. First, I got to go insane. Second, I got to be twins with Mike. And third, I got to have fun. In these next 3 paragraphs I will explain why liked this Roman play.
First, I got to go insane and holler at god Apollo in the sky, chase down
Camille in my imaginary chariot, and threaten her with an ax. I also got to
twitch, and everybody in the audience cracked up.
Second, I got to be twins with Mike. That was cool because we are good friends and we liked being in the same scene together.
Third, I got to have fun because we got to wear costumes and we looked like Romans. Also because I had a head part in the play.
All 3 reasons I just explained, because I got to go insane, I got to be twins with Mike, and I got to have fun, explains why I liked this play by Plautus.
by JessieOur Roman Play
by Shawn
On the Roman play we did I learned some stuff abut Roman life. I learned about what they wore. I also learned a little about how they lived.
The play was very fun in different ways. One way was I liked my part. It was also easy to learn. I like it because it was in Rome. I think Rome is a good place to do a play. And the audience seemed to like it.
I learned a lot about Roman life in the play and in our book. I learned a little of what they wore and the time it took place. I learned that Lady E would probably be pretty rich to have a good outfit and money to buy fancy dinners.
The kids in my class seemed very good at doing the play. They all knew all their lines. And if they messed up the prompters were there or they would just keep going. In the play I was Peniculus. Not very wealthy but a fun part.
That is most of what I learned in the play. I think it worked out well. I think the class and I had a fun time performing it. I think it was a good idea and think we should do another play sometime.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT OUR PLAY
There are three things I found out about because of our play and I am going to tell you about them.
First I found out how much I like socks. I like them so much because I had to wear sandals THAT HURT! After the play I put socks on that felt really good.
Second I found out how much I like my part and how good it felt to make the other kids laugh.
The third thing I learned was that my favorite part was when I have to act insane or crazy and that it was really funny.
Those are the three things I learned from the play.
by Kellyn
The Menaechmi Twins
by Plautus
We just did a play called The Menaechmi Twins. I was Endoria. I learned how the Roman people wore their clothes, what the columns looked like, and that the Romans did comedy plays.
I didn't know how the Romans wore their clothes, but I learned it after we had our play. The more upper class people would wear their clothes with gold and colored sheets around them. The men sometimes would have a cape. The claves would have about knee-lenth tunic (white).
I learned about how the columns looked. There were the doric, ionic, corinthian. The doric is plain columns. The ionic is my fovaorite. It was swirles on each side at the top, then it has circles in the middle of the swirles. The corinthian is a weird design.
The Romans had comedy plays. The producer of the play had to compete with other things so the play had to be good.
I learned how the Romans wore their clothes, what the columns looked like, and that the Romans had comedy plays.
by Kayla
What I Learned from The Menaechmi Twins
In the play I learned to appreciate socks, never be an old lady in a play, and that I appreciate today. Now I will tell you about my bing, bang, bongo paragraphs.
I feel deeply sorry for the people in the past. They didn't have any socks. They must have had blisters a lot, walking around all day and all there life without socks, unless they had a really good pair of shoes. It must have been horrible.
I didn't really like being an old lady in the play. You have to act like your back is hurting really bad, and after a while your back really does hurt. You also have to have a creaky voice, and that is really hard.
Back then women had no rights. Women should have just the same rights as men do today. Men just think there bigger than women, and boss us around. Especially the rich boys and men.
So as I have been telling you in my paragraphs about my bing (I'm glad that socks have been invented). My bang (I didn't really like being an old lady in the play), and my bongo (women should have the same rights as men have today and especially back then). So that concludes the end of my paper on the play.
By Rachael
The Menaechmi Twins
by ChelseaThe basic outline of the play was a comedy of twins separated at birth. Menaechmus two (or so we called him), has been searching for his twin for six years. When he finally comes to the city where his twin lives, he creates a lot of trouble for the people that live there, including his brother Menaechmus one. all of our class has worked hard on this play for weeks. Now, we hope you enjoyed our play.
Narrator: Samantha, Peniculus: Kyle F., Shawn, Menaechmus one: Ivan, Jonathan, Mike, Lady E: Kaylin, Lindsay,
Lady Phaedria: Sharla, Cylindria: Serra, Andrea: Christina, Menaechmus two: Josh, Kellyn, Jessie, Messinio: Ian, Leroy, Endoria: Katie, Kayla, Man in the Audience: Joey, Mrs. Menaechmus: Maddie, Decio: Kyle A., Menaechmus' mom-in-law: Rachael, Camille, The Doctor: Beth
STAGE CREW: Promptors & understudies: Ashley, Annie
Assistant directors: Kaylin, Kyle F.
Camera: Chelsea
Stage Director: Roland