The new production of “Phenomenon” at the HERE Arts Center highlights one of the dilemmas of experimental and innovative theater – how to find new and expressive ways to update conventional drama without resorting to an entirely different and equally stagnant set of conventions.

“Phenomenon” opened Saturday night and is at once the premiere of a new work, the product of a three-year writer residency, and a thorough example of a belabored point. It is a day in the life of five characters, all converging in the small town of Toutle, Wash., on the same day as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

In the press materials that accompany this production, much is made of the natural disaster that forms the center of the narrative, though when the cataclysmic eruption actually does occur in the play, it passes almost unnoticed. A woman loses a husband she was on the verge of leaving, and a young girl chooses the sweet and stable suitor she is wellacquainted with over an unknown wanderer. But neither of these actions is a particularly monumental or earth-shattering realization. The exploding of an entire mountain feels almost unnecessary in the end, a dramatic device out of proportion to the small personal resolutions it engenders.

The cast here is young, personable, and entertaining, and – when permitted – manages to evoke small moments of sincere interaction. Unfortunately these moments are nearly buried beneath an avalanche of tired drama department antics. Sudden and inexplicable moments of modern dance, the arbitrary and obtrusive appearance of a Greek-style chorus, and a whole medley of songs that can’t decide if they are tongue in cheek or uncomfortably earnest seem committed to some multidisciplinary effect rather than achieving any actual dramatic purpose. The sparse and unimaginative set only adds to the collegiate feeling of the whole production.

That “Phenomenon” manages to both amuse and entertain is a testament to the writing abilities of Gordon Cox. Underneath all the extraneous foolishness, there is a verisimilitude of dialogue and an extremely down-to-earth sense of humor that suits the youthful cast admirably. Julie Jesneck gives a pleasingly understated performance as a disconnected young wife, and Michael Lopez’s hesitant earnestness is completely convincing. But the entire ensemble performs well, evoking a relaxed naturalness most impressive when being sporadically forced into song for no reason or responding to the rather precious incarnation of the active volcano as a female dancer whose footwear changes according to levels of seismic activity.

The group working out of HERE is committed to a noble and worthwhile task. But while the support of working artists and the underwriting of new works are woefully underrepresented in the city, this particular effort could have profited enormously from considerable directorial editing and restraint.

Until March 25 (145 Sixth Avenue at Spring Street, 212-868-4444).