Thirty-five students and four faculty members from the theatre department traveled to Saginaw, Mich. Tuesday to compete in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF).

The theatre students will present, “In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play),” a play the department premiered during the fall semester.

Written by Sarah Ruhl, the play takes place in the 1800s and deals with the invention of electricity. It also describes the use of technology to cure illnesses like hysteria and emotional distress that afflict women.

Senior theatre major Lyndsey Hill designed the costumes for “In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play),” and will be entering costume designs for another show during the competition.

“The KCACTF is a regional thing, and judges come from different schools and talk to us about our show and nominate actors for awards,” Hill said. “USI has been invited four times and has made it to the competition three times.”

Students are going to be auditioning and doing monologues during the competition, she said.

USI stands in region three, the largest, which also includes Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and certain areas in Ohio. There are eight regional competitions hosted across the country.

Along with production, students will are nominated for scholarships and awards in categories like costume design and technology.

“The judicators tell us what they think, and they really liked our show,” Hill said. “I’m hoping to make it to finals and that some of our actors win awards.”

This will be the first time Hill has attended the KCACTF competition.

“It’ll be really good experience,” she said.

The competition lasts from Tuesday until Sunday. Winners of the competition in Michigan will compete in the national competition located at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Elliot Wasserman, theatre professor, will be among the four faculty members traveling to the competition in Saginaw.

“I’ve been at USI for 23 years, and I remember wondering how we could participate,” Wasserman said. “I’m extremely proud.”

The theatre department has grown rapidly over the past few years, which makes it easier to enter national competitions.

Four students are due to compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship, in honor of the late Broadway actress Irene Ryan who began giving this scholarship in the early 70s.

“We couldn’t do this without university support, hard work and dedication to build a special program,” Wasserman said.