Submitted photo From left, Sean O. McGuiness, Molly Cravalho, Jenna Cintavey and Harmon Andrews are shown in a scene from “Adulteryhood,” which opens Friday at Kent State University at Trumbull.

It started with a premise, one of those ideas that came to playwright Greg A. Smith a decade ago as he was falling asleep.

He didn’t pause to write it down, but unlike other drowsy thoughts, it’s one he remembered when he woke up the next morning.

That idea becomes a fully realized production when “Adulteryhood” premieres Friday at Kent State University at Trumbull Theatre.

The dark comedy is the story of two married couples, Megan and Louis, and Gemma and Hugh. However, Megan is having an affair with Hugh and Louis is having an affair with Gemma, unbeknownst to the spouses. Their entanglements unfold and complicate over four holiday gatherings.

The play had a reading in Cleveland in 2017, and Smith tinkered with it off and on when he had time, but the inspiration to revisit it came from Kent-Trumbull’s Sips & Scripts series, which presents readings of new works monthly at Modern Methods Brewing Company.

“When I saw the call that Kent-Trumbull put out for Sips & Scripts, it seemed like a great time to open that drawer, dust it off, put it out there and see where it could go to next,” Smith said. “I really appreciated that opportunity.”

And it played a significant role in shaping the production audiences will see over the next two weekends.

“There was a lot of edits based upon that,” he said. “I think hearing an audience respond to it, even if it’s a small bar audience, you definitely get a sense of what’s working, where things are dragging, where you’re losing people’s attention.

“That was actually the second public reading that I had of it, so it was already in kind of a good shape when I got into Sips & Scripts, but it did show me a lot of the specifics that needed to change. I’d say that if somebody read the script before Sips & Scripts and read it afterwards, they may not themselves notice quite so many differences. But I think if you’ve seen the script before and after, as you watch the production of it, you’d feel a very tangible difference. I think it made it a much stronger play as a result of that reading.”

Brian Westerley directed the 2024 reading at Modern Methods and pitched to direct the show for Kent-Trumbull Theatre’s 2025-26 season. However, the cast is different with Harmony Andrews, Molly Cravalho, Jenna Cintavey and Sean O. McGuiness playing the two couples.

“Brian is great,” Smith said. “He is really easy to work with, and he has a lot of fantastic suggestions. He’s not afraid to come to me and say, ‘This isn’t working. Can we change this?’ ‘This doesn’t quite make sense.’ Or, as you can tell, I’m English, and sometimes, it’s as simple as, ‘Yeah, an American would never say this.’

“Because I can’t make it to rehearsals, just from a distance perspective, that’s invaluable for me, because the last thing I want is a director who feels they have to strictly adhere to a script, especially for a first-time production. Then we get there on opening night, and there’s a whole bunch of things that just don’t work, but no one’s said anything. So, yeah, it’s been great working with Brian.”

Smith will be at Kent-Trumbull for opening night and is looking forward to seeing how his play comes to life on stage and how the audience reacts to it.

“It’s going to be, I think, a very enjoyable show,” Smith said. “It’s very funny and also very touching in places. I think it’s going to be very relatable. There’s a lot of very interesting, flawed characters in there who are just regular people trying to do their best and just making mistakes. I think there’s something very fascinating about seeing that on stage, so I hope people are able to come see it. I hope they enjoy it, and if they see me in the lobby, they can tell me whether they like it or not.”

If you go …

WHAT: “Adulteryhood”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through May 10

WHERE: Kent State University at Trumbull, 4314 Mahoning Ave. NW, Champion

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for students and senior citizens and $11 for children ages 12 and younger and free for Kent students and faculty. Tickets are available online at www.kent.edu/trumbull/theatre and by calling 330-675-8887.