Forum Redux

On April 30- May 3, 2026, I once again was onstage in a production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.  This time it was with the Sock and Buskin theatre company.  And once again, I played a courtesan, but this time I was Gymnasia- and I got a line!!!  (Where's my SAG card?)

Gymnasia in costume.

Auditions were back in February.  I auditioned for three parts, with my preference being Gymnasia.  They asked me if I would consider a fourth (Marcus Lycus.)  In the end, I got the role I wanted- and the people who got the other roles were all brilliant.  

Gymnasia: "a giant stage on which a thousand dramas can be played". Funny thing was, I wasn't even the tallest courtesan!

So there I was, sitting in a community room of an all but dead mall (with far more elderly walkers than shoppers.)  Around me were people I'd never met and didn't know- yet we were going to attempt creating something special together.  It wasn't the first time I'd done this, but it had been years.  

I didn't know these people, but I was determined not to fail them.  

And over the next few months we would sing, dance, improvise, and laugh like crazy people.  We were given a lot of latitude in creating our characters within the bounds of the story.  My ideas for Gymnasia were either a stereotypical "gym rat" or a dominatrix.  The choreographer thought Gymnasia should be like a drag queen.  Great- have the transgender woman play a drag queen.  

In the end the director sided with the dominatrix idea.  I had some ideas for my costuming, but was restricted by budget- both mine and theirs.  I volunteered to use my corset and offered to use a riding crop instead of the whip that was suggested.

My concept (rendered by AI)

I was also the only "rejected" courtesan to have a line.  Yes, I had a line this time!  The last time I played a courtesan, I was Tintinabula- the first of the "rejected" courtesans who dances for Pseudolus and Hero. The joke was that I can't dance.  And that joke landed well.  But did I get laughs because I was " a guy in a dress" or due to my bad dancing?  

As Tintinabula first time around.  2019.

I'll never really know.  

So we practiced endless repetitions of the opening and closing numbers.  Again and again.  Good thing- I kept screwing it up.  Eventually I managed to get it right.  

And know what?  The harmonies were a lot better than I expected.  Joe, the director, had directed on Broadway (and now teaches at Penn State) so worked with us little by little until it was right.  

During those months, I worked with Jonathan, the guy playing Pseudolus (for the third time!) on our interactions together.  In the play, he falls for Gymnasia.  

I also made several of the props, most of which got used.  I asked for a prop credit, but didn't get it.  Sigh.  One of the wine bottles I made for my first Forum show- I took it out of storage.  The luggage box was an endive crate which I "aged" and created fake travel stickers for.  Thats one of my old bras sticking out of it.  Pandora's Box is a hat box I painted like distressed leather.  The martini glass is a tribute to an MST3K episode.  Most props had an inside joke or three that the audience wouldn't see, but the cast might.  Some they did- some they didn't.

Eventually we moved into our venue: a large wedding reception shed in the middle of nowhere.  There we perfected the routines as best we could.  And after 3 or 4 rehearsals a week for nearly three months, it was showtime!

Exotic locations.  I drew these out and had AI finish them.  

My character's look evolved over time as well. As I sweat a LOT, I knew I'd need a wig.  I tried one of my old ones to see if I would sweat too much.  I didn't.  The amazing and legendary Amanda Richards sent me a wig to use (Thanks Amanda!).  First I tried it in a ponytail.  I looked like Golda Meir.  Then my roomie and bestie Linda not only teased the wig- she got downright sadistic with it.  It was a look that my castmates called "Phyllis Diller."  My first makeup with the wig (last dress rehearsal) went a little too drag, so I refined it over the shows, again with Linda's help.

We did four shows.  I know we sold out at least once, and got great reviews.  And four standing ovations!  

Then we tore down the stage, moved the stuff back to the mall or storage... and it was over.  That familiar feeling of emptiness knowing that for a time I was part of something- that I helped many others create something fun.  Now, nothing. The cast party is at the end of the month.  If my past shows are any indication, I'll rarely see my castmates again after that.  That said, I was older than most of them and then there's that whole trans thing.  

Courtesans (final night)

Still, they seemed to accept me.  And we had fun.  I enjoyed their company.  Oh how we laughed!  

There's auditions next week for another show by Sock and Buskin.  Maybe I'll audition.  Maybe not.  Maybe I'll wait for the next one.  But I don't see how it could top this experience.  

Thanks to Sock & Buskin for allowing me to share a stage with such amazing people.  I'll miss you all!

Final show finale