Why is Ciplusius a man?

When the lights go up, a statue of Dante Verticordia is revealed in the centre of the stage. Two people hold a red ribbon in front of it. A shy youth in a white robe holding a giant pair of scissors walks up to the ribbon, and is photographed by the crowd as they cut the ribbon. Lights go down.

When the lights come up again, the statue has been moved a little off-centre, and a framed photo of the youth in white is now hanging beside it, with a plaque: ‘Ciplusius, dedicating statue of Dante Verticordia’. Crowds pass by, stopping to look at and admire both pieces. Lights go down.

When the lights come up again, the statue is now in ruins (missing an arm, maybe the head), but the photo is still intact. The plaque has been updated: ‘Chaste Ciplusius, dedicating the statue of Dante Verticordia. 3rdcentury BC’. Crowds pass by, stopping to look only at and admire the photo. A couple of people sit on a nearby bench, contemplate the photo, and then begin furiously writing in their notepads. When each reaches the end of a page, they tear out the page and place it in a pile between them on the bench. Lights go down.

When the lights come up again, the statue has been removed, and the plaque has been taken off the wall. The photo is still there, but has been destroyed by time. Crowds pass by, only taking quick glances at the unidentified photo, if any. One person stops for a rest and finds the pile of pages on the bench, reads them, looks up at the photo, and then stands up and quickly tapes them up over the photo. Lights go down.