The Hope College Department of Theatre has been invited to the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) in Indianapolis to perform the original production “The Line Between.” Devised last spring with Hope theatre alumni Dan Kwiatkowski and Erik Saxvik, the production will be revived in January in Indianapolis.

West Michigan will have an opportunity to see the production locally at the send-off benefit performance on Sunday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the DeWitt Center main theatre.   The performance will be free, but donations will be accepted to help with the associated costs of touring the production.

The festival will take place on Tuesday-Sunday, Jan. 9-14, hosted by the University of Indianapolis.

Director of Theatre Michelle Bombe is especially proud of the student work. “‘The Line Between’ is the culmination of the training, creativity and hard work of our student actors, designers and technicians,” she said.  “The group was guided and inspired by our alumni Dan Kwiatkowski and Erik Saxvik, who directed this project with heart, talent and imagination.  Not unlike a student presenting research at a conference, touring this production is the way our theatre students present their artistic work.  We are extremely proud to share ‘The Line Between’ at our regional festival.”

As Kwiatkowski put it, “I think our story is an important one to tell.  It bares relevance in this world we are struggling to understand. What a gift to be able to reunite with our Hope theatre family and take our story to a new audience.”

“The Line Between” follows the hero’s journey through two worlds — a clean and crisp community separated from a band of wild, expressive nomads. With a clear boundary between them, the play discovers what it means to see the world from someone else’s point of view. With the bond of sisters, family and friendship, “The Line Between” explores the hope of humanity and the power of forgiveness.

The Hope College Department of Theatre participates in the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. The annual theatre festival is a gathering of more than 1,200 college theatre students and faculty who join together to showcase the best work of the five-state region of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.  In addition to invited productions that are juried and selected to perform, theatre students also have the opportunity to display their work in dramaturgy, design, stage management, directing, playwriting, musical theatre, as well as acting.

Hope College Theatre has previously been honored with selection to the festival, most recently with “Gone Missing” in 2012 and “Rose and The Rime,” which was also selected to perform at the National Festival in 2008.

The DeWitt Center is located at 141 E. 12th St., facing Columbia Avenue between 10th and 13th streets.