“It’s a mountain of a play,” said CCE student Derrick DuBois of the senior thesis project, “K2,” performed on April 20 and 21 to showcase the talent and hard work of four graduating theatre studies majors. With little faculty assistance, the students collaborated with each other for one semester and performed “K2.”

DuBois and Noah Forman acted in the show with Aaron Goldfarb directing and Tim Scales serving as production manager behind the scenes.

“It’s a lot of work when there are only four of you,” Scales said.

“With anything, especially in the arts, there’s always more work to be done, but . we did the best job we could . I’m proud of it; I’m proud of them,” DuBois said.

The play, by Patrick Myers, is about the second highest peak in the world, the Himalayan mountain called K2.

The entirety of “K2” takes place on an icy ledge at a high elevation where two climbers are stranded with only one rope.

As the two friends struggle for survival, they sit and discuss the meaning of life from two very different perspectives.

“It’s not a big crowd pleaser, but it’s not about that,” said Professor of Theatre Studies Jack Zerbe.

For the first 30 minutes or so of the show I definitely agreed with Zerbe; as an audience member, I wasn’t pleased.

Maybe I was just cranky because Sternberger was cold, or because my friends blew off their agreements to go to the play with me (it being 4/20 and all), but the idea of watching two guys pretend to freeze to death for 80 minutes without an intermission didn’t seem too appealing.

Yet somewhere in between futile attempts at reclaiming lost rope and discussions about “eating pussy,” “blind faith” and the fate of existence on earth, I became genuinely concerned, intrigued and engaged.

“I thought my character was fun; I had some colorful language,” Forman said. “When you get inside the character, he doesn’t think of himself as a prick . it becomes natural.”

Forman played the role of Taylor, a hot-tempered, irrational and womanizing attorney who is both lovable and detestable.

DuBois played the role of Harold, a physicist with a broken leg who finds spirituality in science and in his love for his wife and young son. In their desperate situation, Harold is the calm voice of reason.

Taylor refuses to look at their situation realistically and nearly goes crazy, but Harold remains relatively composed.

After exhausting all other options, Harold finally convinces Taylor to leave him there on the mountain, alone, and use the one rope to save his life.

With nightfall quickly approaching, Harold knows that odds are that he will not survive another night on the ledge with his broken leg; Taylor must endure and live on for both of them.

Harold asks Taylor to tell his son when he gets older, “Life is about holding on.”

Taylor lets go of his attachment to his friend and attempts to hold on to his life; Harold accepts that he must let go of his own.

At the bittersweet end, Harold recites a letter to his wife as Taylor descends the peak.

As he recites the letter, it seems as though tears are growing in DuBois’ eyes. Admittedly, they were falling from my own.

Sure, we were in a dark theatre in Founders with an abstract set and the sound of outside conversations seeping through but, at moments, DuBois and Forman made me believe that they were truly stuck on a cold, precipitous ledge high on a savage mountain, and I was there with them.

“The play is less about mountain climbing and more about a metaphor for letting go and moving on,” Forman said.

Most of us are not mountain climbers, but we must all face the immense struggles of holding on and letting go.