From pony-fan dark comedies to student showcases, the USC Theatre and Dance season has a wide variety of sights, characters and twists to offer this semester. The USC Department of Theatre and Dance will have new student productions beginning in February 2026. The season features five performances.
The Metamorphoses Project (Orpheus)
“The Metamorphoses Project,” adapted from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” by USC history professor Andrew Berns, tells the life and afterlife of Orpheus. With dance, live music and spoken word, the play explores grief, creativity and the cost of love. The story is a dialogue between Orpheus and the writer, Ovid, as they tell Orpheus’s story of love and loss.
Other myths featured in "The Metamorphoses Project" explore floods, transformation, flying too close to the sun and proving ancestry.
Within an ever-changing world, “The Metamorphoses Project” meditates on the possibility of reconciliation. The play will show Feb. 12-14 at Drayton Hall.
Orlando
“Orlando,” adapted by Sarah Ruhl from Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name explores time and gender through Orlando, a young poet who becomes a woman after she stops aging and lives for centuries. The play begins in the Elizabethan age and ends in the 20th century.
The original novel was written as a love letter to Woolf’s lover, Vita Sackville-West. Ruhl’s adaptation highlights the queerness of the story in a fluorescent light for modern audiences. The play will run from Feb. 26 to Mar. 1 at Benson Theatre.
The Antelope Party
Inspired by “bronies” (male fans of the children’s show, "My Little Pony"), “The Antelope Party” by Eric John Meyer tells the story of a peaceful, outcast friend group, "The Rust Belt Ponies Meet-Up Group for Adult Fans of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” They devote their lives to magic and ponies, but their community becomes torn apart by a neighborhood watch.
The dark comedy covers how paranoia and fear-mongering can cause safety to become total authoritarian control. It will run from April 3-12 at Drayton Hall.
Limón Dance Company in performance with Betsy Blackmon Dance Company
The Limón Dance Company is celebrating its 80th Anniversary this season. Acclaimed for its dramatic expression, technical mastery and nuanced movement, the company was founded by José Limón and Doris Humphrey in 1946 and helped the growth of modern dance. Limón will be in-residence with USC’s Betsy Blackmon Dance and perform alongside artists from the Joffrey Ballet.
The Betsy Blackmon Dance program is made up of student performers, blending dance classrooms with a studio environment. Students take ballet and contemporary dance classes and can participate in supplementary options such as pointe, jazz and West African dance.
The groups will perform together at the Koger Center for the Arts on April 11 at 6:30 p.m. A gala fundraiser will accompany the performance.
Student Choreography Showcase
To cap off the season, Betsy Blackmon Dance Program students will present original works at the second showcase of the 2025-2026 school year, following its fall 2025 showcase. Students create their choreography throughout the semester to find their preferred dance style.
The showcase will be April 25-26 at the Drayton Hall Theatre. Ticket information for all performances can be found on the department’s website.