NOMADS
NOMADS (New And Original Material Authored and Directed by Students) is a performing arts group founded in 2003. The group is recognized officially at Barnard only (by Barnard's Student Government Association). The current president is Charlie Dinkin, with Lauren Lepow as vice president.
Mission
NOMADS (New and Original Material Authored and Directed by Students) provides Columbia/Barnard undergraduates a unique space for the creative development of expressive, imaginative, and challenging new theater. Since 2003, NOMADS has produced student-written dramas, comedies, musicals, multimedia, and interdis- ciplinary works of only the most professional quality. Through each production, NOMADS seeks to engage and attract progressive theater artists and new diverse audiences - both within Columbia, as well as in the wider New York theater world.
Full Length
NOMADS currently stages one student written full length play per year, usually in the Fall semester. It is one of the few venues at Columbia where an experienced undergraduate playwright can see their work staged in full in a black box theater.
Spring Festival
Each spring, NOMADS puts on a festival of student work. Past festivals have included puppetry, close up magic, dance and multi-media works by interdisciplinary artists. NOMADS tries to recruit participants from the wider arts community, and serves as a venue for inter-disciplinary collaboration.
Word Play
Word Play is a writers workshop run each year, where undergraduate playwrights are mentored by a SOA graduate student. The workshop culminates in a staged reading as part of the festival.
The Leap of Ersatz!
NOMADS staged the first show in the Glicker-Milstein Black Box theater in the Vagelos center. The Leap of Ersatz! was created by Rolando Rodriguez and directed by Charlie Dinkin, and featured painters, dancers, musicians and puppetry. At the time of the production, there were no lights in the theater, so NOMADS purchased and ran a portable lighting kit which is still available for student use.
