The oddities and downright craziness of student life at Penn State can make students feel like, at times, they're on another planet.

No Refund Theatre (NRT) can empathize this week as it presents the original sketch-comedy I'm in a Spaceship! Friday and Saturday nights at 8 in 111 Forum.

I'm in a Spaceship! was written and directed by Kasey Soska (senior-psychology).

While the majority of NRT shows each semester are reproductions of existing plays, one or two original plays are produced each year, Soska said.

"I've been working on this one for a while now," he said.

"I began writing the sketches my sophomore year and really wanted to produce them as a play by my senior year. I guess you could say this is my life's work, at this point."

Soska's work is composed of 10 sketch comedies tied together by a running subplot.

The play revolves around four Penn State students who decide to plan a party and the melee and hilarity that abound from that decision right through the party itself.

"When I first started, it was just a sketch comedy show," Soska said. "I came up with four characters I liked and a subplot that ties the sketches together."

Eric Witmer (junior-film and video), who plays Bobert -- the most eccentric of the show's main foursome -- said the comedic nature of the play and the strength of the characters and writing have made it fun to create for those involved.

"[Bobert] is the dufus; he's the dumber in Dumb and Dumber," Witmer said.

"He still believes in Santa Claus and even mispronounces his own name. I get a chance to be emotionally crazy and spontaneous; it's been a lot of fun."

Assistant director Beth Peters (senior-architectural engineering) agreed that the strength of the show's writing has contributed to a final product about which cast and crew alike are excited. The show's combination of sketch comedy and other elements make it a one-of-a-kind production, she said.

"The writing is terrific," Peters said.

"You get to hang out and be yourself and really bring your own brand of sketch comedy to the stage."

Peters added that there's more going on than the plot summary would make one think.

"We've been doing this for over a month now and the actors are doing such a great job that Kasey and I are still laughing our asses off every night. I don't think NRT has done anything quite like this before," she said.

While the cast has come together well, many Penn State students just may recognize a bit of someone they know -- or something they've experienced -- in each character and sketch.

"I think NRT is at its best when you have random, crazy wackiness going on, and this show definitely has all of those," Witmer said.

"There's so much freedom and creativity to these characters, and they're very much tailored to Penn State. A lot of the scenes have characters that we've all sat next to in a class, roomed with or know from being around campus."

Soska said that familiarity is what makes I'm in a Spaceship! so unique and allows him to reach out to the audience accordingly.

"It's a very absurd show that breaks a lot of the bounds of theater," he said. "We do a lot of things that involve audience interaction. There are a lot of just wacky elements during the sketches that make it a fun show to be a part of, whether you're on the stage on in the audience."