A spirit of camaraderie and laughter pervaded Sequim High School Auditorium at a recent rehearsal for the Operetta Club’s production “The Play that goes Wrong.”

It runs Nov. 21-24 at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at the school auditorium, 533 N. Sequim Ave. Tickets are $10 for ASB students and youth 12 and under, and $15 for everyone else at the door or at Sequim School District’s website sequimschools.org.

Students spoke of a group experience of harmony and hilarity at their practices of this “play within a play,” which they have been preparing for two months.

Director Anna Pederson said that she “didn’t have to do trust building exercises” with the eight person cast and small crew as the trust is already there, which is crucial, she said, because the comedic play is “physically demanding” and prop heavy, requiring coordinated comedic timing.

The play is so physical they have to save the costumes for the performances, she said.

The students, Pederson said, “have a great work ethic,” taking the play seriously and preparing a good quality show from the script by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre Company, which won the Laurence Olivier Best New Comedy in 2015.

The play is about a troupe of actors trying really hard while everything is falling apart around them, said actors.

The play within the play, a 1920s style murder mystery called “The Murder at Haversham Manor” is supposed to be very serious, said Sariah Weller, who plays light and sound person Taylor, but it “ends up being like a comedy, because everything’s falling apart around you.”

Reid Randall, debuting as actor Max playing Cecil Haversham and Arthur the Gardener, said that actors’ actions are “like my grades — the harder they try the worse it gets.”

Emma Gilliam, playing director Christine and Inspector Carter, said the show is very much an ensemble effort, “meaning that there’s not really a true lead.”

The crew is also often seen onstage as part of the jokes, too, she said.

Pederson, said Gilliam, “has a way of making it easy to bring the characters to life.”

Aason Judd, playing Dennis playing Perkins the butler, said her directing is never set in stone, so students are able to bring their own ideas into play. But, clarified students, if an actor feels lost in a scene or with a character’s direction, she advises.

All actors auditioned and are part of the school’s Operetta Club, which uses their productions to raise money for the ASB fund and future productions.

Sequim High doesn’t offer drama classes. All extra study is done on students’ own time, Pederson said.

The cast includes: Emma Gilliam, Boden Cowgill, Aason Judd, Sophia Treece, Mark Adrian Dulfo, Reid Randall, Lily Tjemsland and Sarah Weller; crew members include: Ginger Hiatt, Kimberly Heintz, Julia Reandeau, Olivia Folstrom, August Folstrom, Izzy Piennell and Jeremy Pederson as set designer, who, said Pederson “last year constructed a turntable set and this year built a set designed to fall apart!”

Emma Gilliam, Mark Adrian Dulfo and Bowden Cowgill joke around at a recent rehearsal of “The Play That Goes Wrong,” a comedy slated to be performed Nov. 21-24 at Sequim High School Auditorium.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Sophia Treech and Lily Tjemsland are two of the eight actors in the ensemble production “The Play That Goes Wrong,” Sequim High School Operetta Club’s fall performance, slated for Nov. 21-24 at Sequim High Auditorium.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Sequim High School actors Bowden Cowgill, Emma Gilliam and Reid Randall rehearse for their upcoming ensemble production “The Play That Goes Wrong,” directed by Anna Pederson.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Director Anna Pederson speaks to Sequim High School Operetta Club students as they prepare the upcoming production “The Play That Goes Wrong.”