From an old Forum player

DublK66 · From an old Forum player

I was in a high school production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" when I was 17 years old, a full 23 years ago. I'm now 40, and have gone on to other things (including more acting), but I have never really forgotten my "Forum" stint. I went through the auditions just like everyone else. I originally wanted the role of Miles Gloriosus, then when I knew I wasn't going to get that part, I tried for Senex. Again, when I knew that Senex wasn't my role either, I asked my Drama teacher if there were any roles that were left. He told me that nobody else had auditioned for the part of Erronius, the "befuddled old man", so that's the part I originally got. Come rehearsal time, however, it was clear that my voice wasn't strong enough (even for an old man), so I was downgraded one more time. The part I finally was given was that of a soldier. Not a Protean, mind you, but just a soldier. I had no lines, apart from the songs, but I WAS given a special distinction. I was the unlucky dope who had the misfortune of going into Senex's house and telling Miles Gloriosus that his "bride" was dead. The actor playing Miles, whose name was Ron, had a device made of two pieces of wood that when snapped with the wrist, made a loud slapping sound. Then I would scream, as loudly as I could. My only real "line", I guess you could say. Then I would stagger out, holding my face. All in all, it was a small role in a big production (although the teacher made a few changes of his own that weren't in the script to make it "funnier".) It was my first big part, a "no-name/no-line" part, but it was fun anyway. I still know most of the songs, and most of the lines, even after 23 years, so I guess it's stuck in my brain. For those of you reading this who have a chance to appear in this play, I say go for it!

bwaybrunette21

I auditioned for this show hoping for Philia, Domina, or Pseudolus (they were debating making it a female). It's also double casted and I thought I had a great shot at it. Well, I ended up getting Lycus for half the shows and Tintinabula in the other half. It was such a blast, and still is - our final shows are this weekend. They chose operaticy type voices for Philia and Domina and the girls playing Pseudolus are both comedic people - better actresses than singers (and great singers, too!) I am very happy with my part and this show is such a blast.

JelliclePat

I went into auditions knowing that there was only one role I had any chance of getting - that of Domina - because I'm waaaay overweight. I did have competition, though, so I was delighted to get the role. I had a blast. I hadn't realized just how funny the role could be (the film version leaves much to be desired). The scene with Miles was precious, and her song got laughs I didn't even know were there. So, I had a great time.

Needless to say, I agree wholeheartedly with DublK - if you've got a chance to audtion for this show, do so. Every role is important, and you'll have a wonderful time.

Red Head Curls

When I did the show, I was cast as one of the geminae.
I have red hair, and so did my "twin". We actually did look alike, and it was really cool.

Then a few rehearsals went by and my "twin" was out "sick". Turns out she was upset that she didn't get Philia, so she dropped out.

They replaced my twin with another courtesan, and we looked nothing alike. She was a blonde with blue eyes, and about two inches taller than me. In the end (since the costumes were designed with red heads in mind) She wore a red hair piece, and flat(er) character shoes while I wore very tall character shoes.

I was really surprised when I saw some photos taken from the house of our show. We really did look alike! There were afew shots where I literally could not tell which one I was.

---

So on another note- the courtesans and some of the proteans would get reaaaaaally bored during long stretches of the show when we were not onstage, so (UGH we were BAD BAD ACTORS!) sometimes we would all pile into one of the protean's jeep- in costume, mind you- and drive down the street to the convenience store, get some snacks, and return to the theatre with plenty of time to spare.

I know, I know- horrible actors! But it was community theatre so there were no stage managers/ASMS in place to keep count of where the cast was during the show, so they never knew. I still feel kinda bad, but it was kinda fun to be sneaky.

DublK66	From an old Forum player I was in a high school production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" when I was 17 years old, a full 23 years ago. I'm now 40, and have gone on to other things (including more acting), but I have never really forgotten my "Forum" stint. I went through the auditions just like everyone else. I originally wanted the role of Miles Gloriosus, then when I knew I wasn't going to get that part, I tried for Senex. Again, when I knew that Senex wasn't my role either, I asked my Drama teacher if there were any roles that were left. He told me that nobody else had auditioned for the part of Erronius, the "befuddled old man", so that's the part I originally got. Come rehearsal time, however, it was clear that my voice wasn't strong enough (even for an old man), so I was downgraded one more time. The part I finally was given was that of a soldier. Not a Protean, mind you, but just a soldier. I had no lines, apart from the songs, but I WAS given a special distinction. I was the unlucky dope who had the misfortune of going into Senex's house and telling Miles Gloriosus that his "bride" was dead. The actor playing Miles, whose name was Ron, had a device made of two pieces of wood that when snapped with the wrist, made a loud slapping sound. Then I would scream, as loudly as I could. My only real "line", I guess you could say. Then I would stagger out, holding my face. All in all, it was a small role in a big production (although the teacher made a few changes of his own that weren't in the script to make it "funnier".) It was my first big part, a "no-name/no-line" part, but it was fun anyway. I still know most of the songs, and most of the lines, even after 23 years, so I guess it's stuck in my brain. For those of you reading this who have a chance to appear in this play, I say go for it!
bwaybrunette21	I auditioned for this show hoping for Philia, Domina, or Pseudolus (they were debating making it a female). It's also double casted and I thought I had a great shot at it. Well, I ended up getting Lycus for half the shows and Tintinabula in the other half. It was such a blast, and still is - our final shows are this weekend. They chose operaticy type voices for Philia and Domina and the girls playing Pseudolus are both comedic people - better actresses than singers (and great singers, too!) I am very happy with my part and this show is such a blast.
JelliclePat	I went into auditions knowing that there was only one role I had any chance of getting - that of Domina - because I'm waaaay overweight. I did have competition, though, so I was delighted to get the role. I had a blast. I hadn't realized just how funny the role could be (the film version leaves much to be desired). The scene with Miles was precious, and her song got laughs I didn't even know were there. So, I had a great time. Needless to say, I agree wholeheartedly with DublK - if you've got a chance to audtion for this show, do so. Every role is important, and you'll have a wonderful time.
Red Head Curls	When I did the show, I was cast as one of the geminae. I have red hair, and so did my "twin". We actually did look alike, and it was really cool. Then a few rehearsals went by and my "twin" was out "sick". Turns out she was upset that she didn't get Philia, so she dropped out. They replaced my twin with another courtesan, and we looked nothing alike. She was a blonde with blue eyes, and about two inches taller than me. In the end (since the costumes were designed with red heads in mind) She wore a red hair piece, and flat(er) character shoes while I wore very tall character shoes. I was really surprised when I saw some photos taken from the house of our show. We really did look alike! There were afew shots where I literally could not tell which one I was. --- So on another note- the courtesans and some of the proteans would get reaaaaaally bored during long stretches of the show when we were not onstage, so (UGH we were BAD BAD ACTORS!) sometimes we would all pile into one of the protean's jeep- in costume, mind you- and drive down the street to the convenience store, get some snacks, and return to the theatre with plenty of time to spare. I know, I know- horrible actors! But it was community theatre so there were no stage managers/ASMS in place to keep count of where the cast was during the show, so they never knew. I still feel kinda bad, but it was kinda fun to be sneaky.

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From an old Forum player