The stages and theatres of the Greeks and Romans were so immensely large that the actors, to be heard, were obliged to have recourse to metallic masks, contrived with tremendous mouths, in order to augment the natural sound of the voice. The mask was called by the Latins "persona/' from pcrsonare (to sound tlrougli). Delineations of such masks, used in each piece, were generally prefixed to it, as wo now prefix the names of the characters in our modern plays. Hence "Dramatis Personae" (masks of the drama), which words, after masks ceased to be used, were understood to mean persons of the drama.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19330429.2.206.32
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Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 99, 29 April 1933, Page 7 (Supplement)
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103Untitled Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 99, 29 April 1933, Page 7 (Supplement)
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