Maria Arozamena

The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi will welcome audiences into their sticky basement, where they can witness the hazing phenomenon that is “Fuck the Goat.” From March 27-29 in the Crescent Underground, four pledges are brought together and assigned the ultimate pledge task: one of them must have sexual intercourse with a goat. 

Tensions soar and relationships are tested as they decide who must “Fuck the Goat.” Tickets are available here. 

“It’s not about actually fucking a goat,” said Meridian Monthy ’25, the director. “It’s about sitting in a basement and looking at your peers and being like, ‘Are you in this with me too?’”

The play is the senior thesis and brainchild of Chap. While brainstorming ideas for this project, she came across an article about hazing scenarios of different universities, one of which involved a special relationship with a goat. 

What started out as a suggestive gag slowly morphed into a full fledged production.

“I really wanted to write something that felt really outside of myself,” said Chap. “One of my really close friends went to college and joined a frat. So I got some exposure to seeing that dynamic.”

Chap wanted to capture the reasons and motivations why a college student might want to join a fraternity. While there are no direct references to Yale’s Greek Life, Chap said that she incorporated humor and language that felt “pretty Yale.”

“I think a lot of the show is about when to speak up and in what places we feel comfortable speaking up,” Chap said. 

Taking inspiration from “Lord of the Flies,” she crafted four distinctly different characters that all find themselves in this animalistic conundrum. Playing the demure dummy Drew is Leo Levitt ’28. Shivraj Singh ’28 plays the emotionally intelligent Toby, while Harry Lowitz ’28 plays the zany and neurotic Harry. 

Playing the “alpha of the group” Michael is Wyatt Fishman ’27. “Fuck the Goat” is Fishman’s first foray into Yale theater, but will unlikely be his last, he said. 

“Michael is kind of the enemy,” said Fishman.“He wants to appear some way that maybe deep down he’s not. As emotions and backstories unravel, you find out he’s trying to hide something.” 

As the only cast member in a fraternity, Fishman said that he was able to connect to the material. However, the Sig Nu brother stressed, the audience members do not need to be a part of any brotherhood to enjoy the show. 

“The show is very grounded in the college experience and what freshmen may think of college when they first get here,” said Fishman. 

Despite the harrowing nature of bestiality, Fishman said the underlying subject matter of the play — navigating college and its unlikely friendships — is almost a universal truth across college campuses. At its heart, the show is an examination of relationships against the backdrop of a dingy college basement. 

“It’s about friendship, and the pain we’ll put ourselves through in order not to be lonely,” said Monthy. 

“Fuck the Goat” is Monthy’s directorial debut, although she is no stranger to the stage. After four years of performing, she wanted one last go at a Yale production — this time behind the curtain.

“Direction is ownership, it’s artistic, it’s managerial, it’s action. It’s all the things that felt out of my control as an actor, suddenly in my hands,” she said. 

For Monthy, directing has been a way of cementing her legacy. By working with a small cast of relatively new actors, she said that she has been able to pass on lessons she learned from her past directors. 

Monthy hopes to prepare the next generation of Yale actors to know what it means to find a character — even if that character is a douchey business major who, one way or another, is going to be initiated into the herd.  

“Even though nobody at Yale has experienced this specific situation, it feels very recognizable. Lots of people have experienced the crazy stuff you do to get into clubs,” she said. 

Rounding out the production team is co-director Noah Bradley ’25 and producer Victoria Mnatsakanyan ’27. 

Fear not, no goats were harmed in this production. Audiences can expect to leave with “a deeper sense of nuance about people, community and friendship,” said Monthy. 

Prepare for a night of bleats, beers and blurred lines as the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi test their newest pledge class.

The Crescent Underground is located between Morse and Stiles colleges.