This year’s Cornerstone play is “The Play That Goes Wrong” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. Cornerstone classes can see it this week, and the general public can see it Oct. 2 and 3.

An improvisation group in the United Kingdom called the Mischief Theatre Company created the play. It is set in a community theatre putting on a murder mystery play called “The Murder at Haversham Manor.” In the play, things constantly go wrong, said Director Joseph Banks.

Banks said the show is meant to be pure slapstick comedy with no deeper meaning, contrasting with the previous Cornerstone plays.

“We want to throw in something like a palate cleanser,” Banks said, referring to the show.

The “Play that Goes Wrong” was selected this year by a committee of faculty in the theater department. Faculty felt that after years of Cornerstone plays that had heavy topics and serious tones, it was time for a comedic one, said Banks.

A lot of the students participate in a lot of the roles, from making props to sewing costumes to programming lighting. Referencing the student involvement in the play, Banks said, “Everyone wears multiple hats.”

“We do more performances of this show than any other show in our season,” Banks said. “We thought it would be a nice little night of escapism and comedy.”

He explained that the Cornerstone play is a way to introduce new students to the theater department and encourage them to see more productions by them. This play is a more gentle way to ease someone into theater if they have never been to a production.

The set for the play is a complex part of the play as it falls apart and the cast interacts with it. Students spent a lot more time building this set as opposed to plays in the past, as a concern for safety and looking real, said Eva Barnard, the stage manager for the production.

Barnard, senior theatre major from Dallas, said the cast is less concerned about keeping the attention of the audience and instead, their technique in making the props, set and mistakes look real.

“It’s really fun,” Barnard said. “It’s just a good time.”

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased here.