hree of the four walls of Oberlin’s Kander Theater were plastered with hundreds, if not thousands, of sheets of paper covered in text at the dress rehearsal for College fourth-year Ethan Katz’s Where the Yetis Will Be on Wednesday. Looking on at this disorienting set foreshadowed the show’s tone: multitudes of overwhelming, scrambled monologues in someone’s complicated brain.

Written and directed by College fourth-year Ethan Katz, Where the Yetis Will Be follows Jack, a trans man, and Annie, his cis roommate, while he studies for the bar exam and she begins to date another trans man. The show also includes two ‘Others,’ yetis, occasionally acting as narrators while also expressing the characters’ internal thoughts.  

There is always one actor in every show that stands out among the rest; in this show, that performance came from College third-year Ray Davis and his interpretation of Jack. After his initial introduction, it was clear that Jack was the most intriguing character of the group. Davis’ delivery, stance, and emotion all contributed to Jack feeling like an incredibly real and raw character.  

Jack was enjoyable to watch even when not doing much, but that not being true for most other characters ultimately deteriorated the momentum of the play. This short piece comprises conversations between characters, each divided by an interjection from the Others. Unfortunately, not all of these conversations hold. For a play with few large plot points or moments for momentum, the dialogue needs to be more intentional. 

Regardless of said flaw, the characters written by Katz are outstanding. He is incredibly skilled at developing realistic, specific, and intentional characters, and that must be applauded. Even the Others, played by College third-year Quinn Renbarger-Miller and College second-year Camille Sejud, are purposeful in their mannerisms and performance. Katz is relentlessly gifted in his deep understanding of people and being human, which is something beautiful to see in a student production. He succeeds at creating overwhelming moments of incredible anxiety. With lighting design, dialogue overlap, and the menacing Others, it feels as though you are inside the characters’ heads, especially Jack’s.

College third-year Reyna Berry gave a fantastic performance as Annie. She is utterly fantastic at expression without words, and her body language is natural within every character she plays. After seeing her in multiple shows, Berry’s talent is incredibly obvious. Due to her talent, I cannot help but wish we had more time to sit with her and Annie’s all-too-real inner complications.

Where the Yetis Will Be is incredibly ambitious, which is both admirable and a flaw. The idea itself, Yetis, and the connection to the trans experience are impressive and tactile. Sadly, when too much is packed into such a short timespan, it loses some of its effectiveness. While the dialogue and themes are nowhere near forced, the show feels rushed; a 75-minute runtime just isn’t enough. The story itself was openly personal and came from a place of passion. Katz tackles the complexity of life as a trans person and the inner turmoil of how others perceive you. A primary topic throughout the show is the difficulty in being a good person to everyone in your life while also trying to understand yourself. As the subjects covered are heavy and intimate, I cannot help but feel many were underdeveloped. Katz consistently got so close to shattering the glass on so many resonating issues, but tragically, only had time to fulfill a couple. 

Even with the unsatisfying follow-through on certain ideas, some people will undeniably find security in Where the Yetis Will Be. Whether one just wants to be called by the right name, desires to escape unintentional guilt, or merely feels lost, the story delivers moments of comforting recognition.  

Just like its characters, the play felt as though it had much it wanted to say without knowing exactly how to say it. However, watching Where the Yetis Will Be was akin to seeing a story through a window, with Katz’s senior thesis ending on a powerful note.