First Performance

It is high time to kick off this blog! Tomorrow we are on Fall Break, so I have the chance to present one of my new characters for the first time at the homeschool co-op our children attend. I will debut Gaius Crastinus, first-rank centurion of Caesar's famous Legio X. Crastinus will be speaking from a time between the end of the war in Gaul and the battle of Pharsalus, which means it is sometime in late 49 or early 48 B.C.

For several years, I have portrayed a fictional character named Publius Sempronius Tuditanus, one of the guards at the tomb of Christ. The armor I wore was assembled from pieces I had received from a former student, a few gifts from my wife, and some items I had purchased. The outfit was okay, but it was incomplete and not as authentic as it could be.

Thanks to a grant from the Lilly Foundation, I have been able to do considerable research into the Roman military, especially the period of the late Republic (last century B.C.). The grant also allowed me to purchase the most authentic reproduction armor.

Inspired by all this, I have launched Roman Personas (full website coming soon!) as a vehicle for presenting four historical Roman characters. I will portray Cicero, Vergil, and Crastinus, and I will continue to present Tuditanus. A full line of Roman Personas products is available online (see link on sidebar), and you can follow RomanPersonas on Twitter and Facebook as well.

This blog will be the home for details of upcoming and past performances, pictures, and other information about Roman re-enactment, such as my involvement with Legion XXIV. Tweets and FB will keep you updated on developments surrounding my performances and other interesting Roman facts.

Because some pieces of armor have yet to arrive from India, I am waiting to launch the full Roman Personas website. It is ready to go and only needs a few pictures of me in the new armor before it hits the Internet.

So tell your friends about Roman Personas! Follow us on the blog, Twitter, and Facebook! Get your Roman Personas gear and remember...Antiquity Never Gets Old!