Read through the roles to decide what you would like to do. After roles are assigned, reread your instructions carefully. You are responsible for the prop/performance as outlined in the description. Your grade will be determined by the following:
Prop/performance is enthusiastically enacted according to specifications below
Behavior in class is appropriate to role and meets any/all expectations below as well as normal classroom expectations
Behavior in class does not impede any other classmate being able to accomplish their role
****Don’t forget a TOGA in class on Thursday!
:
At the Senate Meeting:
During the funeral:
Caesar
Nuntius
Brutus
Senator (up to 3)
Antony
Calpurnia
Octavian
Vilicus
Augur (up to 3)
Musicians (up to 4)
Entertainer (up to 2)
Imagines (up to 4)
Placards (up to 4)
(Toga tying)
Senate meeting and the Death of Caesar
(here we pretend that it’s 3 days later)
Funeral speeches from: Octavian, Calpurnia, Antony
Funeral Procession around the 1 st floor
Taking the auspices
Funeral Feast (?!)
CAESAR
Role: You are tough, arrogant, and the leader of the biggest empire in the world at your death. You have been warned that something dangerous might happen on the Ides of
March but you’re not that concerned because you’re Caesar!

Performance: At the senate meeting, act normal until the conspirators start to mob you.
Fend off your attackers as best you can – remind them that they are your friends and that you have always tried to do best by them and by Rome herself! You must give your last words (et tu, Brute?) loudly, then die dramatically and heroically. (You won’t get a script so please memorize your line!) After that, you’re dead so keep quiet as the senators move you through your funeral procession.
NUNTIUS
Role: You are the master of ceremonies for the senate meeting/funeral proceedings.
Performance: Your job is to welcome everyone to the senate meeting. Announce the date, the senate’s topics for debate today (your invention), and announce the arrival of the dignitaries (Caesar, Brutus, Antony). Plan what you will say in advance. You will receive an outline reminding you of the order of events but your job is to elaborate on that. At the funeral, you will also announce the dignitaries (Antony, Octavian, Calpurnia).
SENATORS
Role: You are part of the conspiracy that will kill Caesar. You have a love/hate relationship with Caesar – he may have been your friend in the past, but he’s taking away your power and you don’t like it. You take a grim pleasure in killing Caesar because you believe you are saving the Republic.
Prop: Sword. Your sword may be made of paper, cardboard, or foam ONLY and can be no longer than 12 inches in length.
Performance: At the senate meeting, act cool and normal until you get the signal to attack
Caesar. Stab him twice max but let Brutus give the final blow. (NOTE: actually harming your classmate who plays Caesar will result in disciplinary consequences, so have fun but be smart). At the funeral look sorry that Caesar died and – above all – remember that you are a senator of Rome and always act dignified.
BRUTUS
Role: Caesar has been your friend for a long time; he protected your political career and has been like a father to you. You feel conflicted: you don’t want to kill Caesar, but you’re mad and everyone else says you should. Your motive for being part of the conspiracy is (as
Shakespeare puts it), not that you loved Caesar less, but that you loved Rome more (i.e. you were protecting Rome from being ruled by Caesar).
Prop: Sword. Your sword may be made of paper, cardboard, or foam ONLY and can be no longer than 12 inches in length.
Performance: When the senate meeting happens, act awkward around Caesar – he’ll know you’re hiding something. When the attack begins, you should be the last to strike Caesar.
(NOTE: actually harming your classmate who plays Caesar will result in disciplinary consequences, so have fun but be smart) Caesar will be most upset seeing you attack him, so look ashamed but determined. At the funeral, mostly look ashamed and contrite.
ANTONY
Role: You are a trusted friend of Caesar and a major politician of Rome. You warned him about the danger of the Ides of March, but Caesar didn’t listen. You think that he might get attacked at the meeting, but you are not involved in the plot. At the funeral, you are

Caesar’s main eulogizer: it is your job to give the funeral speech that will immortalize
Caesar (and make you look really good to everyone else).
Performance: When the senators attack, stand back and look horrified; try to yell for help.
Your main job is to read Mark Antony’s speech (you will be given a copy); Read it loudly and with emotion! You want to make Brutus look bad and make Caesar look like he wasn’t trying to be king. At the funeral, avoid Brutus (whom you do not like) and Octavian (who will eventually fight you for control of Rome).
Here’s the speech:
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest--
For Brutus is an honorable man;
So are they all, all honorable men--
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honorable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honorable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
OCTAVIAN
Role: You are Caesar’s great-nephew and adopted heir. Caesar has been good to you and he was grooming you for success (which you achieve! One day you will be emperor of Rome!)

You are not at the senate meeting since you’re still too young, but you feature prominently in the funeral procession.
Performance: At the funeral, say a few words about how much Caesar meant to you – how he was a great uncle, a wonderful ruler of Rome, a friend to his people, etc. Talk about how you’re looking forward to following in his footsteps someday. You will not be given a script, so plan what you will say in advance. During the funeral procession, avoid Mark
Antony. He is sort of your friend now, but you will fight him one day for control of Rome
(spoiler: you win).
CALPURNIA
Role: You are Caesar’s third wife. You got married for political gain only and may not really love him and he cheated on you with Cleopatra, but in spite of all that, you care for him and are deeply distressed at his death. You are not at the senate meeting (no women allowed there), but you feature prominently in the funeral procession.
Performance: At the funeral, say a few words about how much Caesar meant to you – how he was a good family man and how (if she had survived), the death of Caesar would have torn Julia (his daughter) apart. Talk about how life will never be the same without him and say how hopeful you are that he is happy in the afterlife. You will not be given a script, so plan what you will say in advance. During the funeral procession, focus on looking sad and mournful and – what is most important for a Roman lady – look dignified.
VILICUS
Role: You are the slave overseer (that’s what vilicus means) of the funeral procession.
Performance: You are responsible for keeping members of the procession on task and reminding them of the solemn nature of the event. If the procession becomes unruly, it will reflect poorly on you and, because you are a slave, you may be punished! You are also responsible for the recording of this historic occasion through the modern magic of digital photography. Be sure to take at least one picture of each role throughout the course of the cultural experience. In your role as overseer, you may speak to others, but when you are taking pictures please defer to the importance of the events and do not interrupt others.
AUGUR
Role: You are wise and dignified priests of the Roman religion, well-respected by the people. You are not part of the death of Caesar, but you lead the funeral procession and take the auspices. Your job is to interpret the will of the gods through signs in nature.
While the gods speak to you in your priestly role, remember that the people will be putting pressure on you to interpret the will of the gods favorably.
Performance: During the funeral procession, your responsibility will be to announce to the people what sign we are looking for and determine whether we have seen it (typically the signs were about birds). You must ask the gods for a sign by repeating “Dona nobis signum bonum” three times. If you see the sign, the gods have approved of the funeral procession and we may feast. If not, you must think of a new sign to seek the gods’ approval.
MUSICIAN
Role: You are responsible for providing the soundtrack to the funeral procession (real or imagined). High class Romans often hire you to play at funerals, so you are a pro.

Typically, you would sing a song accompanied by your instrument of choice, but this is the funeral of Julius Caesar – so make sure to make this performance special.
Prop: Musical instrument (real or made of cardboard). If real, it must be portable (e.g., flute, guitar) not stationary (e.g., electric keyboard).
Performance: You will follow the body and the priests in the procession. Feel free to actually sing or play songs and encourage others to do the same. Remember that sad songs are more appropriate for the occasion. (NOTE: your musical stylings should not distract others during the eulogies or auspices).
ENTERTAINER
Role: Although funerals are solemn affairs, the Romans hired entertainers to keep the crowd engaged. You can imagine that there are thousands of people lining the streets to see Caesar’s funeral procession, and they are bound to get bored. Typical entertainers were akin to medieval jesters.
Prop: Items to juggle or other appropriate prop (see Magistra)
Performance: During the funeral procession, you will juggle or do magic tricks to placate the sad but bustling crowd. Keep in mind that you will be entertaining while walking in a procession, so make your task simple enough. If juggling will not work, think of another comparable skill to please the crowd. Remember, your job is to keep the crowd lighthearted amid all the doom and gloom, not to disrupt the funeral.
IMAGINES
Role: Wealthy Roman families often hired professional mourners to play their ancestors in the funeral processions. These actors wore death masks – typically wax casts of a family member’s face – and walked in the funeral to remind the family that their dead relatives are still with them. You are a comfort to the family; you remind them that they will see their relative again in the afterlife.
Prop: “Death mask” of an ancestor of Caesar. Find a picture of a Roman (a google search for the face of a Roman statue should do the trick), print/cut it out, and glue it to cardboard.
Attach a popsicle stick to the bottom so that it is easy to hold up in front of your face.
Performance: Act solemn and calm as you march in the funeral procession. If you must speak, make sure you lament the death of Caesar and look very sad.
PLACARDS
Role: Wealthy Roman families hire you to attend their relatives’ funerals and look sad. The more people looking sad at a funeral, the more it seems that the deceased is honored.
Caesar being a big deal, he needs a lot of people mourning him.
Prop: Poster/Sign commemorating Caesar. This should be poster or cardboard at least
11x17” with BIG lettering so that it is easily readable. Choose from the following statements: “In Memoriam”; “Ave, Caesar”; “Veni, Vidi, Vici”; “Alea iacta est”
Performance: Your job is to march in the funeral procession while crying, lamenting (e.g., groaning, wailing, etc.), and otherwise looking upset. Hold up your sign to commemorate
Caesar’s life and accomplishments.
REMINDER ABOUT WEARING A TOGA: you will need a solid colored flat sheet (not fitted).
Wrap it around yourself and secure it tightly (with a rope or safety pins). Check youtube

for different methods of toga-wrapping. To accompany your toga, senators may want purple cloth (to signify their rank), and sandals. NOTE: togas do NOT replace clothing. You must be fully clothed.