This site drew its initial inspiration from the video, Performing Cicero’s Speeches, an Experimental Workshop, developed by Jon Hall of the University of Otago and Robin Bond of the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. An extract from their work is reproduced here by permission. The full video is available from Bolchazy-Carducci Publishing, Inc., catalogue number 0-86516-488-6. Details of the New Zealand experiment are provided by:

Jon Hall and Robin Bond, “Performative Elements in Cicero’s Orations: An Experimental Approach,” Prudentia 34 (2002) 187-228.

The UCLA version of the proposopeia offers a different interpretation, which attempts to be less histrionic though no less “rhetorical” in gesture and delivery. The performer is Bryan Lockett, who at the time of filming was a doctoral student in the Department of Classics and an experienced amateur actor. Questions of pronunciation and verbal emphasis were resolved with the assistance of Professors Brent Vine and Andrew Dyck. Realization of the gestures owes much to G. S. Aldrete, Gestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1999.