A previous course studied classical Greek history and literature, with readings of several plays of Aristophanes (The Birds, The Clouds, The Frogs, The Knights). Lysistrata seemed a little too racy at that time, but as our student body has matured into high school we felt that the time was ripe. Our troupe of plastic dinosaurs (the performers in our production) have significant theatre experience. In other classes, they have performed scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and creative science fiction dramas.
For Lysisaurus, we built a stage of wooden blocks in our basement. Auditions were held for our basket of plastic dinosaurs. Though perhaps trite, we ended up casting herbivores for the female roles and carnivores for the male roles. Our prop department faced a considerable challenge: we do not recommend asking your local toy store if they have togas and phalluses for plastic dinosaurs. The attached pictures show our success finding a bed for Myrrhine and Kinesias, utensils for the battle between the women and the police, and, yes, togas and phalluses for Kinesias and the Spartan ambassador. As a text, we used Douglass Parker's translation in Four Plays by Aristophanes (New York: Penguin Books 1994).
We welcome your comments or questions about Lysisaurus! To share your thoughts contact Kragmyth.
Pictures from the Performance
Reviews of Lysisaurus