Greek Myths Make Waves in UMD’s ‘Metamorphoses’

Actors from the University of Maryland’s School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) are diving into a mythical world of Greek gods and legends—and actually getting wet.

In the school’s latest production, “Metamorphoses,” directed by Assistant Professor KenYatta Rogers, a 500-gallon pond takes center stage in the intimate Kogod Theatre. The pond serves as both setting and symbol, helping to explore the theme of transformation woven throughout each of the tales adapted from Ovid’s classic epic—from Midas’ golden touch to Orpheus’ descent.

This adaptation of “Metamorphoses” was written in 1996 by director Mary Zimmerman, who envisioned water as a central character, both as a tribute to ancient maritime cultures and as a metaphor for transformation and change. Her unique vision earned her a Tony Award in 2002. For Rogers, the play has had a lasting impact: He first saw it on Broadway shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, and remembers how the stories offered “a way to renew faith in the miracle of healing.”

“Water can act as a purifier; it can act as a baptism; it can act as a conduit to sail away from something and to sail back,” Rogers said. “It is both a pathway and something you pass through, emerging transformed on the other side.”

Constructing a pool for students to immerse themselves in was a challenge in itself. In a six-month collaboration between TDPS designers and The Clarice production team, a crew designed and built an 11-by-8-foot pond, 3-feet-deep, using sandbags, a pond liner, foam mats and plastic rocks. It also features a heating and filtration system designed for baptismal pools.