Orpheus

Name: Orpheus
Start: 2026-02-12T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-12T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 1214 College St, Columbia, SC 29201-3946, United States

Schedule

Thu Feb 12 2026 at 07:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

1214 College St, Columbia, SC 29201-3946, United States | Columbia, SC

A first-century epic takes contemporary form February 12-14 when the USC Dept. of Theatre and Dance premieres "Orpheus," a dance theatre adaptation of Ovid’s "Metamorphoses," at Drayton Hall Theatre.
Showtimes are 7 p.m. nightly with an additional 2 p.m. matinee performance February 14. Admission is $15 for students, $20 for USC faculty/staff, military, and seniors 60+, and $22 for the public. Tickets may be purchased online at sc.universitytickets.com or at the door. Drayton Hall Theatre is located at 1214 College St., across from the historic USC Horseshoe.
Directed and co-choreographed by USC Associate Professor of Dance André Megerdichian with text drawn from an adaptation of the original Latin by USC History Professor Andrew Berns, "Orpheus" fuses choreographic movement and theatrical performance to navigate ancient stories in the context of our own time. This unique collaboration between USC Theatre and the Betsy Blackmon Dance Program features an original score composed and performed by musical director Amos Hoffman, an internationally renowned jazz guitarist and oud player. Berns will also accompany on mandolin.
"Orpheus" originated from a presentation Berns gave at USC in 2021 about his work on "Metamorphoses" (2021, Special Problems Press), a book of contemporary photographs by Kate Joyce which included Berns’ translations from Ovid’s original poetry. Megerdichian, who attended the talk with Associate Professor Jennifer Deckert, was confident there was a new performance work to be found in Berns’ text.
“There was a simplicity to Andrew’s translation that evoked worlds of imagination and story,” says Megerdichian. “It’s incredibly poetic and evocative.”
The project got a boost with the awarding of an Excel grant from USC’s Office of the Vice President for Research, leading to the writing of "Orpheus" last year. This contemporary distillation of "Metamorphoses" focuses on the well-known tragedy of Orpheus, who endures the death of his beloved Eurydice twice – once by snakebite and a second time in an attempt to lead her out of the underworld. "Orpheus"picks up where that story ends, as the title character deals with his double loss.
The narrative serves as a framework to explore several of the myths contained in Ovid’s epic work – tales of creation, transformation and fate such as Daedalus and Icarus, Deucalion and Pyrrha, Arachne and Philomela. In this adaptation, Ovid appears as a character that Megerdichian likens to a “therapist in limbo,” guiding the main character through his torment.
“I think the great plight of humanity is that we don’t give ourselves the compassionate conversations we would give to the ones we love,” says Megerdichian. “We’re trying to make that journey palpable for Orpheus so that others can see it for themselves.”
Berns and Megerdichian are working with a team of artists to bring "Orpheus "to the stage. Evocative dance, used predominantly to bring Ovid’s mythic tales to life, is being co-choreographed by Betsy Blackmon Dance Program Director Jennifer Deckert, while acting scenes are being co-directed by Assistant Professor Lauren Wilson and Instructor Marybeth Gorman Craig from the theatre program. The production is being designed by second-year graduate theatre design students Egba Evwibovwe (scenic), Helen Ryser (costume), and Garreth Hayward (lighting), with Senior Instructor John Kiselica designing the production’s soundscape.
Amos Hoffman’s Middle Eastern-influenced score will be performed live, with Hoffman on oud, Berns playing mandolin, and percussion performed by guest artist Dan Aran. Now based in Columbia, Hoffman is a lauded Israeli-born jazz musician who has released six solo albums, contributed to multiple recordings around the world, and, in 2013, received one of Israel’s most prestigious awards, the Landau Prize for Arts and Sciences.
“What’s so inspiring about the musical style of Amos’ score is that there are almost infinite possibilities,” says Berns. “And, to me, that parallels what we’re doing with this adaptation – wandering out, exploring, and then coming back to Orpheus’ journey.”
For Berns, the work of bringing Ovid’s 2000-year-old text into the 21st century has led to a metamorphosis of his own.
“I’m a history professor. When [Kate Joyce] convinced me to take this on, it was an almost life-changing experience to break out of the confines of formal academic research and deploy some of those talents toward something more creative. Now, when I’m in rehearsal…I sometimes feel the presence of Ovid smiling and saying, “This is what I want – to make these stories come to life again.”
“And we need him. We need Ovid to teach us something about this moment.”
For more information about "Orpheus" or the theatre and dance programs at the University of South Carolina, contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at [email protected].