Production to feature monologues by five mythological women, whose powerful voices speak across the centuries.
by Duane Bonifer
COLUMBIA, KY. (03/31/2026) The Lindsey Wilson University Department of Theatre will retell parts of one of the classic works of literature.
The LWU Department of Theatre will present Heroines April 9-10 at V.P. Henry Auditorium. The production, which is directed by Lindsey Wilson theatre professor Robert Brock, is free and open to the public. Both performances begin at 7 p.m. CT.
Based on The Heroides by first-century Roman poet Ovid, Heroines features contemporary monologues told through a series of letters from the aggrieved women of classical mythology to the lovers who abandoned them.
Heroines will feel a bit like five one-act plays. That’s because it will be presented in five monologues, each of which explores a range of themes that include betrayal, love, longing and neglect. While the monologues will be presented in modern settings, Brock said they do not lose the eternal messages Ovid gave them when he wrote them more than 2,500 years ago.
The five monologues to be featured in Heroines are those by Dido, Briseis, Hypsipyle, Oenone and Penelope — all characters from classical mythology.
Brock said that Heroines is a good example of how “theatre makes the invisible visible” because Ovid gave powerful voices to women, some of whom not a great deal is known.
“These monologues go all the way into the soul,” he said. “It’s powerful stuff.”
Sabrina Ruiz ’26, who portrays Hypsipyle, queen of Lemnos and the mother of two sons by Jason of the Argonauts, said “her story really stuck out to me.”
Shiane Lussier ’26 depicts Dido, the founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage who was abandoned by Aeneas. Lussier said she was not very familiar with Dido’s story. But as she started to prepare for her role, she said she realized, “Oh, wow, this is really powerful.”
“Her story was not something I was anticipating at all,” said Lussier, a theatre and arts administration double major from Bremen, Kentucky.
Also while preparing for their roles, Lussier said that Brock reminded the actors of the larger meaning of their words.
“Robert told us, ‘You are representing this group of women,’ so we’ve had that pushing us, knowing that I am representing something much larger than myself,” said Lussier. “It’s very important to portray it accurately, and give the audience that real, true emotional experience that these characters have had.”
Ruiz — a theatre and arts administration double major from Louisville, Kentucky — said she also conducted a deep dive into her character, which included keeping a journal about her thoughts on Hypsipyle.
“A lot of the power in theatre is you’re not just here to give entertainment, but you’re here to speak for a person who might not be strong enough to say the words they have and feel,” said Ruiz.
And finding the voices of the five characters Ovid wrote about more than two centuries ago is part of that discovery, said Brock.
“That’s the beauty of what Ovid did — he let the women speak and speak powerfully,” he said.
The Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre will present “Heroines” at 7 p.m. on April 9-10 in V.P. Henry. The production is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Lindsey Wilson Theatre Department at theatre@lindsey.edu or 270-384-8044.
Lindsey Wilson University graduate student Zoe Boatright of Columbia portrays the mythological figure Penelope, the queen of Ithaca, in the Lindsey Wilson University production “Heroines.” The free production will be performed at 7 p.m. CT on April 9-10 in V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Lindsey Wilson University student Mayatu Brown ’27 of Campbellsville, Kentucky, portrays the mythological figure Oenone, the first wife of Paris of Troy, in the Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre production “Heroines.” The free production will be performed at 7 p.m. CT on April 9-10 in V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Lindsey Wilson University student Shiane Lussier ’26 of Bremen, Kentucky, portrays the mythological figure Dido, the founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage, in the Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre production “Heroines.” The free production will be performed at 7 p.m. CT on April 9-10 in V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Lindsey Wilson University student Sabrina Ruiz ’26 of Louisville, Kentucky, portrays the mythological figure Hypsipyle, queen of Lemnos and wife of Jason of the Argonauts, in the Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre production “Heroines.” The free production will be performed at 7 p.m. CT on April 9-10 in V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Lindsey Wilson University student Reilly Wells ’26 of Columbia portrays the mythological figure Briseis, a Trojan princess, in the Lindsey Wilson Department of Theatre production “Heroines.” The free production will be performed at 7 p.m. CT on April 9-10 in V.P. Henry Auditorium.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)