Center for Performance Experiment
Invention and imagination come to the forefront at the Center for Performance Experiment.
This unique performance space is dedicated to actor training, so you can expect new
and traditional works presented in exciting, experimental ways.
The University of South Carolina has closed the Columbia campus for the remainder
of the semester in an effort to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In accordance
with the shutdown, our scheduled performances of Black Snow have been canceled. Please visit the University’s dedicated COVID-19 web page for updates about additional policy changes as more information about the impact
of the virus becomes available.
2019-2020 CPE Season
The Center for Performance Experiment is located at 718 Devine Street. Ticket prices vary and can be purchased at the door or online.
Stories of Dislocation
September 26 - October 6, 2019
An Original Work
Conceived & Directed by Robyn Hunt
& Developed by the Ensemble
Professor Robyn Hunt's original play utilizes interviews with immigrants whose stories
of migration, of things and people left behind, and of discoveries in the new country
have shaped their lives. The piece offers two very different movements: one with spoken
words, and the other in silence, as the characters travel in slow tempo toward the
unknown, toward the next thing, possibly even deliverance.
Show Times:
8pm, September 26-28; October 3-6
3pm, September 29
MFA Solo Shows
November 15-17, 2019
Created and Performed by 2nd-Year MFA Actors
Our 2nd-year MFA Acting candidates will present solo plays, which each has written
and directed. Join us for a special performance of diverse, original works!
Show Times:
November 15: 7pm
November 16: 7pm & 10pm
November 17: 3pm
Black Snow
March 19-28, 2020
Performances Cancelled
Written by Mikhail Bulgakov
Adapted by Keith Reddin
Directed by Steven Pearson
Keith Reddin’s adaptation of legendary Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov's 1936 novel
is a semi-autobiographical account of Bulgakov's experience with the Moscow Art Theatre,
headed in part by influential director Konstantin Stanislavski. In Black Snow, a writer
named Sergei Maxudov is persuaded to submit his novel to the "Independent Theatre"
to have it adapted for the stage, but quickly finds himself and his creation subject
to the whims of the theatre's figureheads. Censored for its criticism of the Soviet
government, the original novel didn't actually see publication until 1967, more than
twenty-five years after Bulgakov's death.
Show Times:
8pm, March 19-22; March 24-28
3pm, March 28
