Arts and Theater

Columbia has a well established theater and arts community.

The Town Theatre of Columbia, one of the oldest community theaters in the US, and the oldest in continuous operation. The theater has a rotating bill and regular, seasonal youth theater programs.

Trustus Theater is a non-profit theater with focus on modern theater; the theater also hosts a playwright festival and theater classes, and is a venue for music and other live shows. Season tickets are available.

The Nickelodeon Theater, "the Nick," is an art house cinema for not-blockbuster, art, documentary, and revival films, and home of the local Columbia Film Society.

The Columbia Marionette Theatre is dedicated to marionette puppet theater and keeping good puppet theater alive in the modern world, for audiences of all ages. The CMT also hosts birthday parties, accepts field trips, and occasionally gets their show on the road for local schools and other groups.

The Columbia City Ballet presents classic ballets, such as the Nutcracker or Giselle, and more modern ones, such as Dracula or Alice in Wonderland, in downtown Columbia. The ballet has an educational outreach program, and recruits youth for roles.

The Columbia City Jazz Dance Company is a company and school with a broad dance basis, including jazz, pre-ballet, and tap, basic to professional level.

The Palmetto Opera performs classic operas, ("Love, Jealousy, Rage, Murder, and that's just Act One") and runs Opera Thursday events for introduction to this classic Western art, with soap opera plot lines, extensive costuming, and power projection singing.

The South Carolina Shakespeare Company presents classic works and more modern plays, with youth education programs - the Young Actor's Company and Kidz Holiday Show.

The South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra has played classical music for Columbians since 1964 (not continuously), and offers not only a variety of live music, but also youth education in real music performance.

The Columbia Choral Society continues Columbia's tradition of choral music with seasonal concerts and events.