Traveling through different eras of time, three Victorian women learn what it means to wear trousers, know the taste of Cool Whip and learn to use slang from each time period.

“On the Verge” will play at 7:30 p.m. April 30, May 1 and 2 and at 2 p.m. May 3 at the Maintenance Shop.

Without realizing it, the three explorers are walking through time periods as they travel. From 1888, the women travel until 1955, where they discover each of them have their own paths they need to follow.

Amanda Petefish-Schrag, director and assistant professor of ISU Theater, is a new faculty member this year. “On the Verge” is her first show at Iowa State.

As a Minnesota native, Petefish-Schrag was familiar with Iowa State.

“I had the opportunity to respond to a couple shows here and I knew some of the other faculty here,” Petefish-Schrag said.

“I was just really impressed with not only, certainly the students in the programs, but sort of their hard working attitude and it seemed like a great mix of students with a lot of talent, humility and hard work, which sometimes is not always what you find.”

Petefish-Schrag was not the only one impressed. Students who took her class at Iowa State like her as a director.

Noah Allyn, senior in performing arts who plays the main role, chose to try out for the play because Petefish-Schrag was the director.

The actors agree, Petefish-Schrag is a patient director, a trait all of them admire because this play can be demanding.

Kim Paul, who graduated from Iowa State last December, plays the role of Mary. According to Paul, she found the script very smart, but there were challenges she and the other actors faced.

“It was hard to act like we weren’t familiar with everyday things like Cool Whip. We obviously know what Cool Whip is,” Paul said.

As the actors traveled through time, they were presented with objects that were not a part of the Victorian era, like Cool Whip. Paul at one point smears it on her face, thinking it is a face moisturizer.

Besides Cool Whip, each of the actresses were given an egg beater from different time periods, so they had to continue to act like they did not know what they were. They would move the handles as fast they could, thinking it was a toy.

Rosie Zbaracki, sophomore in elementary education, plays the role of Alexandra, who is a spunky, curious part that will keep the audience entertained because of her fearlessness toward strangers.

Zbaracki and Anne Feenstra, senior in performing arts, who plays Fanny, agrees the play is about three ladies who, while discovering new places, discover themselves.

“On this journey, part of how they find who they are is by discovering who these other remarkable women they are with and what makes them tick. I think that’s part of this journey of discovery and yearning, too, is finding your place not only within yourself but within the larger community,” Petefish-Schrag said.

“On the Verge” is a play that will show how the three women successfully fulfill the role of curiosity and how Allyn can adapt to a variety of characters.

Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors and $12 for students. Tickets are available through miswestix.com, the Memorial Union Maintenance Shop ticket office or at the door before the performance.