Orion Lopez-Ramirez, Sophia Vernon and Rowan Johnson (left to right) rehearse a scene from A Thread of Golden Ashes by Le’Naya Wilkerson '25 and directed by Wasif Sami ‘25. Photo by Brandon Lee

(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Lewis Center for the Arts' Program in Theater and Music Theater at Princeton University presents A Thread of Golden Ashes, a new play by Princeton senior Le'Naya Wilkerson from October 4-6, 2024. In the play, an Earthly family and fantasy kingdom collide to explore loss, family relationships, and how our lost loved ones might stay with us in surprising ways. The production is directed by senior Wasif Sami with lighting design by Wilkerson.

A Thread of Golden Ashes opens in an empty home, fractured in the wake of loss. Two once-close cousins return on the anniversary of their father-figure’s death, only to unexpectedly encounter each other instead. Moving forward proves difficult for everyone as feelings of betrayal, misunderstanding, and heartache surge to the surface, haunted by unresolved grief. The story then turns to the fantastical kingdom of Irridia, shattered after the deaths of its sovereigns. In the midst of their own grief, two royal siblings strive to fulfill the oaths made to their parents: protect Irridia and one another. But as one sibling transforms into someone unrecognizable, the kingdom is left wondering: can things really return to what they once were? These two worlds collide as the story that a father left behind for his family spills into the living room. A Thread of Golden Ashes explores loss, how families learn to meet each other where they are, and how our lost loved ones might stay with us in surprising ways.

The production contains depictions, discussions, or allusions to violence, mental health struggles, war, and murder. Flashing lights, strobes, and loud noises are used throughout the performance.

Performances take place October 4-5 at 8:00pm and October 6 at 2:00pm in the Wallace Theater at the Lewis Arts complex on the Princeton campus. Free and open to the public, tickets can be reserved through University Ticketing. The Wallace Theater is fully accessible with an assistive listening system. The October 5 performance will be open captioned. Guests in need of other access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week prior to the event date.

Wilkerson’s and Sami’s work on the project represents their independent project toward a minor in the Program in Theater and Music Theater, in addition to their major areas of study. Students earning a minor take the course “Introduction to Theater Making,” four other theater, music theater, music, or dance courses, and provide non-performing support for one or two other Program productions, with the option to propose a senior project in spring of their junior year; the Program’s season is primarily shaped by the interests and proposals of the students in the Program. Students’ senior projects are advised by the faculty with support from the professional staff in music, costumes, scenery, light, sound, stage management and producing. Any student can pursue the minor; no application or audition is required, and students with no prior experience are welcome.

Wilkerson, who is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is an English major pursuing minors in both theater and music theater and in Chinese language. Before coming to Princeton, she didn’t have opportunities to participate in theater but always enjoyed creating and writing stories to share with her family and friends. At Princeton, she got her start at Theatre Intime, a student group on campus, for the Freshman One-Act Festival, co-directing with Sami on an adaptation of Medea by Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang. She then became interested in lighting design after taking a lighting design course taught by Lecturer in Theater Tess James, who also serves as the lighting design advisor for this production. Since these theatrical beginnings, Wilkerson has been involved with numerous productions on campus, including serving as lighting designer for Hamlet and Love Type Beat in the Program in Theater and Music Theater, an adaptation of Theresa’s Breasts by Amber Palmer, and for various Theatre Intime productions. A play she wrote and directed titled Autumn Rewind, exploring the journey of a prime minister’s daughter who travels back in time to stop the assassination of her childhood friend, was produced by Theatre Intime for its 2022-23 season. These theatrical experiences over the past three years have led to A Thread of Golden Ashes, a play inspired by her own love of fantasy and mythology and storytelling with her family. While writing the play, she was advised by R.N. Sandberg, a retired lecturer in theater and English and playwright, and faculty project mentor Rhaisa Williams, both of whom Wilkerson notes were of great help in shaping and polishing the production. Through this play, she states, she hopes to bring her own share of magic to Princeton’s theater season. After graduation, she plans to continue telling stories using both words and lighting to touch the hearts of audiences.

Director of the production Wasif Sami is an anthropology major from Hillsborough, New Jersey, and is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow in anthropology, through which he studies with Professor of Dance and Lewis Center Chair Judith Hamera as his mentor. He is also pursuing minors in theater and gender and sexuality studies. On campus, Sami has directed eight productions, including Heroides by Katie Hameetman ’23, Underneath the Lintel by Glen Berger, and an adaptation of Medea by Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang with Wilkerson. He also directed and co-produced the play Theresa’s Breastsby Amber Palmer, which was presented in Princeton’s Carl A. Fields Center in October 2023 as an independent production. The play is a genderqueer love story that explores the experience of being with someone during their transformation and questioning whether that change will still include you.  Sami and his co-producer, Emily Yang ’26, secured funding from Princeton’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and hosted talkbacks after each performance. He notes the process was an experience of queer inquiry, discovery, community, and joy. A Thread of Golden Ashes is his first time directing a new play with the playwright in the rehearsal room. In addition to his work on campus, Sami has supported work at Clubbed Thumb, a new play development theater in New York City; Soho Rep theater company in New York; the Kennedy Center in Washington; and on the musical How to Dance in Ohio, which had a Broadway run during the 2023-24 season. Sami has worked with Trenton Arts at Princeton’s Youth Theater, serving as the year-long student fellow as a first-year student and most recently as the student director of the group’s anniversary showcase performance at Richardson Auditorium. He is a recipient of a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship to study Urdu in Madison, Wisconsin; a Martin A. Dale ’53 Summer Award to visit Bangalore, India and conduct the project “South Asian Performative(s): A Summer of Theater, F(am)(i)ly, and (Home),” and most recently, was granted an Alex Adam Award from the Lewis Center to engage with queer theater and community in New York City and Bangalore. As a performer, Sami is an improvisational dancer and solo performance artist and last May marked his first solo performance in New York City with a piece about shame, weddings, grandmothers, and forgiveness, which was presented at Grace Exhibition Space in the Lower East Side. After graduation, he notes that he hopes to continue creating and studying theater and performance, including directing, teaching, moving, and above all, being in relation with others.

The student cast includes Matthew Cooperberg, Dominic Dominguez, Rowan Johnson, Orion Lopez-Ramirez, Sophia Raes, Sophia Vernon, Mary Grace Walker, Jessica Waters, and Moses Yang.

In addition to Sami and the writer/lighting designer dual role Wilkerson is undertaking, student members of the production team include Sahaf Chowdhury as scenic designer, Ryan Gonzales as sound designer, Alex Picoult as stage manager, and Radon Belarmino as assistant stage manager.

Visit the Lewis Center website to learn more about this event, the Lewis Center for the Arts, and the more than 100 public performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, concerts, lectures, and special events presented by the Lewis Center each year, most of them free.