A leap of artistic faith with ‘Ersatz’ at the Diana Black Box's first production

An exercise in experimental theater premiering at a brand new venue on campus sounds like a recipe for disaster. Yet “The Leap of Ersatz!”—the newest offering from New and Original Material Authored and Directed by Students, or NOMADS—will try to overcome such a risk.

“We have tried to do a theatrical experiment,” director Charlie Dinkin, BC ’12, said. “I’m 90 percent sure that it’s going to pay off, but that 10 percent...”

In “The Leap of Ersatz!” the protagonist—the titular, archetypal poet Ersatz—frantically searches for meaning in a life with which he has become disillusioned. One day, while unconscious, he begins to experience his hidden memories and deepest desires, all of which shall be depicted on stage. The play foregoes common dialogue and instead embraces other art forms for these fantastical scenarios.

“The audience experiences these vibrant scenes alongside Ersatz in the forms of dance, film, music, and paint,” producer Lauren Lepow, CC ’13, said. “The artistic team that has created these multimedia components is comprised of the most talented artists Columbia has to offer.”

“Ersatz came to me while writing a brief narrative,” said Rolando Rodriguez, CC ’12, the writer, art director, and poster/costume/set designer. “I had volunteered to brainstorm an idea for a new mixed media work for NOMADS and as I began writing about his journey in the woods, I knew exactly where to take him and where he had come from.” Rodriguez, Lepow, and Dinkin worked as a trio to piece the different parts of the collaborative production together.

Not only does “The Leap of Ersatz!” cast consist of the normal costume and set designers, the production also has two live painters, Danielle Dillon, BC ’12, and Livia Huang, CC ’12, each painting a 10-by-8 foot canvas for the length of the show.

“We are incorporating both representative and abstract forms as another way of telling the story,” Dillon said. She admits her apprehension toward the project, however. “The 10-by-8 canvas is daunting, especially when we have to have it painted in less than one hour.”

The crew also has a choreographer, Dominique Nieves, CC ’12, who moves the story along through dances set to live music. “Having live accompaniment during a performance is an invaluable experience for both the dancers and the audience,” Nieves said.

Of course, as the inaugural show in the black box theater in the Diana Center, which opened this semester, the production has added significance to the both the crew and the community at large.

“As a proud Barnard woman, I am obviously pleased to be in the Diana at all, but I’m also really excited that we are going to have this beautiful space to use for the performing arts on our campus,” Dinkin said. “I hope it attracts more students back to this side of Broadway, and that the University continues to support student use of the space.”

That being said, there are certainly problems associated with rehearsing in the Diana Center. As of right now, there are no lights in the theater, and the crew must move their heavy set in and out of the space after every rehearsal.

Still, the group remains optimistic. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen until opening night,” Dinkin said. “But that’s what makes it so exciting.”