This weekend, with the premiere of “Black Comedy” by playwright Peter Shaffer at Actors Community Theatre of Seymour, the audience will see what really happens when the lights go out.

The show opens tonight and also will be presented Saturday and again July 19 and 20 at the community theatre, 357 Tanger Blvd., Suite 208, Seymour. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are $12. Tickets may be purchased at the door or at seymouracts.ticketleap.com. Snacks and drinks will be available for freewill donation.

The play follows a struggling sculptor Brindsley Miller, played by Rieder MacDonald, and his fiancé Carol, played by Millie Hays, who are hosting a party in hopes to impress Carol’s pompous father, Colonel Melkett, played by Paul Angle, and millionaire Georg Bamberger, played by Zach Thompson.

Without permission, the couple borrowed the furniture of their flamboyant neighbor, Harold, played by Steve Deweese, to make their own flat more presentable. Just before guests arrive, the main fuse blows and plunges the flat into darkness.

What follows in this comedy is a frantic romp with unexpected visitors, mistaken identities and surprises lurking in every dark corner.

“I was in a production of this show in 1986 where I played Carol,” director Erin Ortman said. “I was around 16 or 17 years-old and I just always loved it. It was a great experience for me and the first adult production I was in.”

For Ortman, she has always been involved in both ACTS and the Jackson County Community Theatre in Brownstown, but recently she has hopped back into the director’s chair.

“I felt like this was a good show for me because it’s just one act and doesn’t have a lot of scene changes,” she said. “There are lot of experienced directors in this play that I was able to cast, so I have been able to learn some things from them as well as add my own flair.”

Ortman said every character brings something different to the production, so it’s hard for her to pick a favorite.

“It’s very artsy as it uses play on words and there are some unique lighting elements as well,” she said. “The twist is when the stage lights are up it’s total darkness for the characters and when it’s dark on stage for the characters it means the lights are on.”

When it was time to put a cast together, Ortman proposed a unique test for the auditions.

“While auditioning with the cast I had them show me how they would walk around in the dark,” she said. “So, it’s been a challenge for them in addition to learning lines and stage direction.”

Ortman believes the audience will fall in love with the characters and hopes they enjoy every surprise that is thrown their way.

“At any given time you can be looking at a character being themselves in the dark and not even be part of the action, but what they are doing is hilarious,” she said. “It’s almost like you have to see it more than once to see everything that happens on stage.”

Besides getting back into the director’s chair, Ortman said she decided to take on this role as a way to spend more time with her son, John, who is the assistant director and will be a senior at Ball State University in the fall.

“When I proposed this to ACTS, I told them that it had to be in the summer because I want this to be an experience with my son,” she said. “We’ve had a ball together and this is my way of spending time with him.”

As assistant director, John said having that professional dynamic with his mom has been an interesting experience.

“We have that director and assistant director dynamic and then at home we are mother and son,” he said.

One of the things John has enjoyed the most with his mom is integrating his hobby of thrifting while finding props and decorations for the show.

“Finding all of the art has been really fun,” he said.

John, who plays an electrician named Schuppanizgh, said the most challenging part of the experience has been mimicking a German accent.

“I’ve been working on the accent by watching YouTube tutorials and getting my mind prepared,” he said.

Summer Hall, who plays Miss Furnival — a snooty old woman with a taste for liquor — said the experience has been a joy.

“I have studied drama for over 40 years so, I am not a stranger to theatre,” she said. “I’ve also been working on my upper-class English accent for this play and the cast has been amazing to work with.”

With her major role as Annie Wilkes in the Jackson County Community Theatre’s production of “Misery” last year, Hall said she has learned that even with smaller roles studying is important.

“Even with smaller roles you still have to study your lines,” she said.

Hall said she is looking forward to see the audience’s reactions to this slap-stick comedy.

“It’s not just one thing,” she said. “There are so many things to look at, I think it will be a challenge to the audience on where to look.”

For Deweese, this is his first time back on the stage since being away from the stage for three years.

“I just fell right back in love with it,” he said. “I don’t think I would have done it if it wasn’t for this amazing cast who I adore.”

Deweese said locking down the accents wasn’t much of a challenge, especially with a character as lively as Harold Gorringe.

“I’ve learned to not put so much pressure on myself,” he said. “I let the character come to me and everything will jell as its suppose to.”

Deweese said he is excited to get back on stage with his friends and hopes the audience enjoys the laughs and the underlying message that comes with it.

“Yeah, this play has jokes and people bumping into things, but as cliché as it is, the play is about honesty always being the best policy,” he said.