Columbia Stages production covers M’side in ‘Black Snow’

Make no mistake—Columbia Stages’ new production, “Black Snow,” has lofty ambitions.

Following a young writer as he is catapulted into the throes of artistic recognition, the play—according to its press release—sees the protagonist, a bohemian writer named Sergei, fall “down the rabbit hole into an adventure of ridiculous proportions.” Adapted from Mikhail Bulgakov’s 1967 novel, “Black Snow” addresses the artistic underbelly of Stalinist Russia with razor-sharp wit and an undying love for the insane. The play, showing at Riverside Theatre through Feb. 6, features an Alice in Wonderland-like rendition of mid-century Moscow that serves as a backdrop for one man’s tumultuous journey to greatness.

Upon finding out that the most prominent theater in town wants to adapt his unpublished novel—entitled “Black Snow”—Sergei is whisked into a manic world of bureaucrats, megalomaniacs, and drama queens. Set to an original score by Andrew Gerle and with a text as giddy as it is satirical, “Black Snow” is a trippy showcase of the road to literary fame.

Columbia MFA candidate Mikhael Tara Garver directs the production, her senior thesis. Garver is also the artistic director of The New Ensemble, a New York-based group of actors and designers dedicated to “telling stories in evocative, sensory environments,” according to the group’s mission statement.

“Black Snow” hopes to use the creative forces of the Ensemble to create an engaging and poignant experience that—according to Garver in a phone interview—literally “puts the audience inside of the piece.”

As both a student and a seasoned professional director, Garver believes that many of the play’s intellectual themes are especially important in a university community. Sitting in the theater and watching Sergei at work, “you [the audience] become immersed in ideas of things, and in the romance of what it is to think and learn,” Garver said.

As the young writer on stage struggles to maintain control over his vision and manage the powers that be, the audience is continually invited to question what it means to leave one’s mark on the world, and whether public recognition at a high price is ultimately worthwhile.

But while the play poses many relevant questions on a cerebral level, Garver expects its emotional content to be even more resonant, particularly for college students. “I think that it’s incredibly human, especially in New York, to be surrounded by thousands of people and still to feel what it is to be alone,” she said.

Garver believes that, like Sergei, most undergraduates are forced to deal with constant outside scrutiny for the first time upon arriving at Columbia—an experience that, in spite of the constant presence of colleagues and advisors, can be deeply isolating. “This piece looks at why it hurts to be alone … and how to continue to approach the day with hope and connection. Solitude becomes a revelation—and college, and that time, is a part of it.”