Our students shine on stage and behind the scenes. Come see the many ways that the
university's theatre and dance performances enhance the arts scene in Columbia, South
Carolina and the Midlands.
2020-2021 Theatre Season
Love and Information
October 1-4, 2020 Written by Caryl Churchill Directed by Steven Pearson
Online Performances | 8pm, Oct. 1-3; 3pm, Oct. 4
From the pen of the legendary playwright Caryl Churchill comes a riveting theatrical
experience that’s rooted in the chaotic nature of our information-obsessed age. Comprised
of 57 short scenes – some just seconds in length – Love and Information is an exhilarating, kaleidoscopic play about how we spend our lives thirsting for
knowledge, yearning for love, and struggling to make sense of it all.
“Leave it to Ms. Churchill to come up with a work that so ingeniously and exhaustively
mirrors our age of the splintered attention span…” – The New York Times
November 6-15, 2020 Written by Qui Nguyen Directed by Lindsay Rae Taylor
Online Performances Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm; 3pm on Sundays
Qui Nguyen’s wildly popular comedy-adventure centers on Agnes Evans, a young woman
coming to terms with the death of her geeky kid sister, Tilly. When Agnes discovers
Tilly’s homemade Dungeons and Dragons module, she embarks on a quest to complete her sibling’s game, and becomes immersed
in an imaginary realm that opens her eyes to a fantastical world of secrets. Specially
adapted for online performance, She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms is a raucous journey through the land of elves, wizards and faeries that, as reviewed
by The New York Times, “will slash and shapeshift its way into your heart.”
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
February 5-13, 2021 Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield Directed by Dustin Whitehead
Longstreet Theatre
All 37 of The Bard’s plays (and maybe a sonnet or two) get the spotlight in this irreverent,
unpredictable comedy. One of the world’s most produced plays, Complete Works will have Shakespeare lovers and haters alike rolling in the aisles (and maybe rolling
their eyes) as every timeless tale is frantically recreated by three madcap thespians
in tights in a fast and furious hour-and-a-half!
“Shakespeare as it was back in the Bard’s day: bawdy, irreverent, sublimely entertaining.”
-- The Miami Herald
“Shamelessly heretical!” -- Time Out London
You on the Moors Now
April 9-17, 2021 Written by Jaclyn Backhaus Director TBA
Drayton Hall Theatre
Freeing four iconic fictional heroines from the social confines of their 19th century
novels, Jaclyn Backhaus’ rip-roaring You on the Moors Now brings a fiercely modern sensibility to antiquated ideas of love and romance. Rather
than waiting for their fates to be decided by marriage proposals, Jane (Jane Eyre), Jo (Little Women), Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice) and Cathy (Wuthering Heights) band together to reject their famous suitors, leading to a literal battle of the
sexes.
“…providing respectfully irreverent new angles on these not-so-little women -- complete
with an unexpected, gleefully anachronistic but thoroughly satisfying epilogue --
Moors scores.” -- Time Out Chicago
Constellations
April 21-24, 2021 Written by Nick Payne Directed by Cat Thomas
Lab Theatre
There are countless ways that relationships can suddenly change, and Nick Payne’s
remarkable drama takes that reality to the nth degree. Incorporating the mind-bending
concept of the “multiverse,” Constellations innovatively illustrates the multiple possibilities of one couple’s romance, with
scenes often repeated to present different outcomes. The arc of their journey brings
to mind questions about the roles of choice and fate in our own lives, and demonstrates
the infinite power of love.
“Who knew that higher physics could be so sexy, so accessible—and so emotionally devastating?”
– The New York Times
“Short and sweet and strangely haunting… With each iteration Roland and Marianne grow
closer to one another… And by the end of the play…we’re fully invested in their lives.
All of them.” -- Variety
