Anything goes (wrong)

Anything could happen in the play that goes wrong.

Jay County Civic Theatre presents “The Play That Goes Wrong” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Jay County Campus of Arts Place.

Director Brad Younts describes “The Play That Goes Wrong” as a classic British farce.

“The concept is the audience is coming to see an amateur theatre company’s production of a murder mystery, and everything that could possibly go wrong during a show does indeed go wrong,” Younts said. “The comedy comes from watching the cast and crew do their best to ensure that the show goes on.”

“The battle cry for the people on stage is definitely, ‘the show must go on,’ emphasis on the must,” added Younts, a Winchester native.

The slapstick comedy follows actors and actresses in fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s production of a 1920s murder mystery. Characters are fighting to keep the set in one piece, with various tricks — they include misplaced props, catching items on fire and other controlled accidents — throughout the show. They’re also engaged in various conflicts with one another to keep the play moving forward.

“It is probably the most physically demanding show that isn’t a musical that I’ve ever worked on,” said Younts, who co-wrote and produced award-winning “Musical of the Living Dead” in Chicago about 15 years ago.

Jay County Civic Theatre members began building the set before the cast started rehearsals in an effort to give performers ample time to rehearse with the interactive set.

“(We did that) so they could rehearse with all of those bits and pieces and figure out where it was safe to stand or where a bit needed to happen, how far they could stretch their bodies to get from point A to point B, that helped us determine where things would hang on the set,” Younts said.

The show also pokes fun at theatre archetypes, he added, with each character representing exaggerated stereotypes within the theatre community.

Ric VanSkyock performs as Max Bennett, who plays Cecil Haversham.

“Max is a loner, he’s not very personable, not many friends, but being part of the drama society, he’s able to come out of his shell and become bigger than life, and he likes the attention of the audience, he likes it when they laugh and they clap,” said VanSkyock, who has starred in past Jay County Civic Theatre productions including “Miracle on 34th Street,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Shrek the Musical.”

Hartford City resident Becca Rankin stars as conceited actress Sandra Wilkinson, who plays Florence Colleymoore.

“Sandra wants nothing more than to be the big showstopper, but the show keeps stopping her,” said Rankin.

Although Rankin has been involved in community theatre productions for more than 20 years, she noted it’s her first time performing in a physical comedy show.

“It’s been a big learning curve and really fun to stretch myself as an actress,” she said.

Mandy McIver — she stars as Dennis Tyde, who plays the murder mystery’s butler, Perkins — said it’s the hardest show she’s done.

McIver has been involved with various civic theatre productions over the years, including as Maleficent in Jay County Civic Theatre’s production of “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical.” She said the physical aspects, tied in with pacing and keeping an accent, have made “The Play That Goes Wrong” more of a challenge than when she performed in “Xanadu” at six weeks pregnant.

“I’m most looking forward to hearing the audience reaction,” McIver said. “We know it’s funny … so I’m excited to hear it from the fresh eyes, the fresh perspective, and to see people enjoying it as much as we’re enjoying doing it.”

Tickets are available for $12 for students and $14 for adults. They may be purchased by visiting bit.ly/JCCTTPTGW, calling (260) 726-4809 or going to Arts Place, 131 E. Walnut St., Portland.

“I can’t wait for the audience to see how much fun this show is,” Younts said. “The cast has been having a blast doing it, they’ve been working very, very hard to make sure that all of this precision feels spontaneous, and I can’t wait to hear that first laugh.”