Many are familiar with the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, two lovers doomed to be torn between separate worlds.
In the original story, Eurydice is bitten by a snake and transported to the underworld. Her husband, Orpheus, tries to convince Hades, god of the underworld, to let her return to the mortal world. Hades lets Eurydice leave with Orpheus on one condition: he can’t look back at her as the two leave. It seems like an easy task, but ultimately, Orpheus turns around out of fear and doubt, and his actions sentence Eurydice back to the underworld.
This story has been renditioned many times throughout pop culture, such as in the Disney movie “Hercules,” the animated film “The Book of Life,” the Broadway musical “Hadestown” and the Apple TV show “Severance.”
SDSU Skull and Dagger presented the classic through different eyes in their performance of “Eurydice,” a play by Sarah Ruhl. “Eurydice” frames the story through the perspective of Eurydice rather than Orpheus, and alters the ending so she is the one who doesn’t follow the directions she is given. It gives the fearsome Hades a goofy, childish persona – he even wears a rainbow hat with a spinning propeller on top.
The play ran April 10-12 in the cozy and intimate Experimental Theatre. While the outside was bustling with crowds for Admitted Student Day, the noise didn’t make it into the theatre, which was turned into a quiet, reflective performance space.
Valerie Sanchez, fourth-year theatre performance major, directed the show — a project she had been wanting to do for a couple years.
Sanchez’s favorite part of directing was collaborating with the cast and getting their input on what they envisioned for their characters or specific scenes. Her work as director didn’t solely rely on her perspective, but the perspectives of everyone around her.
The cast consisted of Jazmine Watson as Eurydice, Lucien Escarguel as Orpheus, Jaysten Merced-Ares as Eurydice’s father, Carter Tompkins-Bischel as “Nasty interesting man” and Arianna Carrillo-Bedrosian, Emily Campos and Maliyah Aranzamendez as “the stones.”
“Getting to talk with them about that and diving into the characters in a deeper way really shocked me because I had worked on this project for a couple years, but they were coming up with things I’ve never even thought of; they’re so insightful,” Sanchez said.
As a student director, Sanchez said that her advice to students aspiring to direct is to “pick something based on passion, and also practicality.”
“I think when you’re pitching, if the people who are listening to you and interviewing you see that you have this passion and you have such a drive for it and you know the material you’re working with, it makes the decision that much easier,” Sanchez said. “Being sure about what you want to do makes making hard decisions a lot easier.”
For Sanchez, she was positive that “Eurydice” was the show for her. She had been working toward getting this show to the stage since 2024 and started casting and arranging meetings with designers in February.
“I chose this show specifically because I have been a big Greek mythology fan since I was 12,” Sanchez joked.
She took two theatre classes that assigned students to read an adaptation, which is when she was first introduced to “Eurydice.”
“I realized I really wanted to direct for my senior year, and I know this show inside and out,” she said.
“Being able to pick a piece that you know in your heart you’re able to do and have such a drive and passion for is the best advice I could give,” she continued.
The stage was bare, with the exception of scrambled letters spelling “Orpheus” and “Eurydice” in the background and a tent made of strings.
Sanchez said she intentionally designed it to appear empty, since she wanted to focus on limiting big, scenic elements. Instead, she emphasized the role of props in the show, such as Orpheus’ guitar or Eurydice’s parasol and suitcase.
Getting to see everything come together in the final product was both gratifying and emotional for Sanchez, as this is the senior’s last big project with Skull and Dagger before she graduates in May.
“I don’t think it’s hit me yet that it’s almost over,” Sanchez said.
“I feel like such a proud parent,” she continued. “My cast – they’re such great actors and they’re such great people and they put themselves into everything. They push themselves and drive themselves, so getting to see their hard work come to fruition in this way, I’m like ‘I took them half the way, they did the rest.’”
Love was one of the biggest themes of the story that stood out to Sanchez – one she wanted to highlight as a driving message of the show.
“We live to love and loving is what we’re here to do,” she said. “In this day and age, being kind and loving one another is something we desperately need.”
