February 12-14, 2026
Drayton Hall Theatre 

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 also accompanied on mandolin.

Berns and Megerdichian worked with a team of artists to bring Orpheus to the stage. Evocative dance, used predominantly to bring Ovid’s mythic tales to life, was co-choreographed by Betsy Blackmon Dance Program Director Jennifer Deckert, while acting scenes were co-directed by Assistant Professor Lauren Wilson and Instructor Marybeth Gorman Craig from the theatre program. The production was 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.