If you found yourself at the southeast end of Pomona’s campus this weekend, you may have heard laughter echoing from the Seaver Theatre Complex. The sounds were flowing from the crowd, which had gathered together to watch a senior thesis performance.
The Pomona College Theatre Department’s production of the “Yoga Play,” originally written by Dipika Guha, ran from Thursday, March 5, to Sunday, March 8.
“Yoga Play” is a biting satirical comedy that focuses on the dynamics at the intersection of wellness culture and capitalism. The play, directed by Pomona theatre professor Lina Patel, follows recently appointed CEO Joan, played by Phebe Mason PO ’26, as she attempts to save athleisure company Jojomon from a PR crisis. Together with CFO Raj, played by Annsh Kapoor PO ’26, and COO Fred, played by Chris Chow PO ’26, she must learn to manage not just the company, but her own anxiety.
Throughout the play, Joan, Raj and Fred embark on parallel emotional journeys. Against a backdrop of corporate absurdity, they all strive to discover what they truly want and how to pursue it in a world that encourages everyone to put on a front.
For Joan, this means working through her anxiety and panic attacks; for Raj, this means overcoming the apathy instilled in him by the corporate world; for Fred, this means reconciling his past in Singapore with the new life he’s built in America. Along the way, they encounter overenthusiastic employee Nooyi, played by Caoilainn Christensen PO ’28, idealistic yoga instructor Romola, played by Fabi Parés Gutiérrez PO ’28 and the mysterious Guruji, played by Eli Hamre PO ’27.
“Yoga Play” serves as the senior thesis — and final show — for three of its six cast members, making this production an especially significant one for all involved. Mason, Kapoor and Chow all chose to perform in this play as the culmination of their acting studies, combining the performance with a written paper to fulfill Pomona’s theatre major requirements.
Kapoor, who plays Raj, discussed his decision to be in this play for his thesis.
“I suggested ‘Yoga Play’ because I love the play, and I think it’s such a funny play,” he said. “It’s so relevant and so fast-paced and so witty at the same time. I just thought it was a great play to do as a thesis.”
The show also provided an opportunity for representation; Kapoor was able to play a South Asian character, something he had not gotten the chance to do before, and Chow also felt a strong connection to his character.
“I’m originally from Hong Kong,” Chow said. “I was born and raised there, so I feel like I have a very international perspective. Fred is an immigrant from Singapore who has only lived in the U.S. for like four years, and he has lived in Singapore his whole life, and so I felt like there was a huge connection there.”
Choosing to be part of this show was one thing; the rehearsal process was another. After auditions and casting, the “Yoga Play” team hit the ground running. They only had four weeks to rehearse, so they couldn’t waste any time — but that didn’t mean sacrificing any fun.
The cast found the rehearsal process to be fast-paced and adventurous, and appreciated the creative and comedic risks they were allowed to take while developing the show.
“The rehearsal process was great,” Mason said. “It just felt very collaborative, like we were all there helping each other and working on it together; it wasn’t a top-down approach in any way.”
“Yoga Play” weaves sentimental moments together with hilarious jokes, all while being firmly grounded in the corporate world of Jojomon. To do this, the actors had to dive into their characters.
“I would say the most fun part was creating Jojomon and making it feel really alive, like it’s a company,” Chow said. “We played with a lot of dynamics between Phebe, Annsh and me. We did a lot of thinking about our backstories and how we got here, like, why do we need this job, and things like that. Building the world was really fun.”
The show also featured many moving parts and technological touches, with several scenes featuring a voice call between onstage and offstage actors. The climactic final scene, in which Raj gives a livestreamed speech to all of Jojomon’s customer base — or “family,” as they say in the company — features a video call projected onto the stage.
Both Kapoor and Mason found this scene particularly difficult due to the projected video call, as they were unable to see each other, making the scene’s success reliant on the actors’ precise timing.
Despite difficult technological moments, the cast and crew came together to create something larger than themselves.
“I think when you’re working on theater with a group of people,” Chow said. “It’s really about sacrifice, and putting yourself aside for this thing you’re creating that’s so sacred and beautiful.”
“Yoga Play” provided a tender farewell for the show’s three seniors, who commented on the impact of theater on their college experience.
“I feel like my four years in the Pomona Theater Department made me not just a better artist, but a better human being,” Kapoor said.
It is never easy to leave such a meaningful community behind, but the lessons they’ve learned and the connections they’ve made will stay with them long after graduation.
“I think it’s shown me how important the people around you are in determining your growth as an artist,” Mason said. “The experiences I’ve had in the Claremont theater department have been made by the people I’ve done it with.”
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