With “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” the first offering from Acadia Repertory Theatre this year, the real mystery is: Can they pull it off?

The play is a send-up and an homage – movies, literature, theater and Victorian melodrama in general, all are in the crosshairs of Charles Ludlam’s snarky pen. “Irma Vep” is rife with running gags and crammed with literary and cinematic references, everything from Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and the Bronte sisters, to “Psycho.”

But the real kicker and conceit of the piece is that all the characters – male, female and supernatural being – are played by just two people. Fabric flies backstage as Cheryl Willis and Mike Kissin hustle offstage, flinging off one persona and donning the next with the help of three people whose only job in this show is to help with the costume changes.

It’s the very definition of a “mad dash,” and none of it would happen without Chris Dougherty of Tremont. She made the costumes.

A longtime associate of Acadia Rep, as well as Mount Desert Island High School’s drama program, she’s never worked on a show quite like this.

“It’s a challenge because of the sheer volume, and the fact that in many cases the actors have, at a maximum, a minute and a half to change,” she said. “But the biggest challenge is really that we have two actors playing several different people of both genders, and frequently they’re playing opposite.”

So she had to create costumes that fit the actors, help them embody each character, are easy to get on and off, and that help the audience keep track of who’s who.

“You need to make something that’s visually interesting, but you want the audience not to get confuse and say ‘Who are they now?’” said Ms. Dougherty.

“And it still has to be functional and they still have to get onstage.”

A self-proclaimed “black-wearing backstage techie,” Ms. Dougherty says, “To me it’s really interesting how clothes can reveal a lot about a person and a character.”

Editor’s Note: Ms. Dougherty is married to Islander reporter Mark Good.

For more arts & entertainment news, pick up a copy of the Mount Desert Islander.