Presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater & Music Theater
A Life Worth Living
A New Musical by Jeffery Chen ’25
Run Time
Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 10-minute intermission
Program Note
Setting: Progressions Residential, an adolescent mental health facility in Northern California.
Time: The present?
This project is supported in part by the Lewis Center’s partnership with the IV Fund, which supports student independent work that explores mental well-being and mental health and gives campus audiences a chance to grapple with these matters in generative and generous ways.
Content Advisory
This production heavily focuses on suicide and mental health issues and contains violence, strong language, flashing lights, and loud noises.
Special Notes
No flash photography permitted. Please silence all electronic devices including cellular phones and watches, and refrain from text messaging for the duration of the performance.
Accessibility
The Wallace Theater is an accessible venue with an assistive listening system. The performance on November 15 will feature open/live captioning (CART). Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information about our various locations.
Talkback
A post-show talkback with Dr. Calvin R. Chin, Director of Princeton’s Counseling and Psychological Services, follows the Saturday, November 9 at 2 p.m. performance.
Cast
Gavin: Jeffery Chen ’25*
Riley: Kimberlynn Bjurstrom ’26*
Samuel: Nicholas Pham GS
Adrian: Sahaf Chowdhury ’26*
Talia: Sydney Hogan ’26
Khai: Lucy Grunden ’27*
Penelope/Natasha: Rosa Hernandez Diaz ’27
Cecilia: Kailani Melvin ’28
Jesse: Kareish Thony ’27
Musicians
Keys: Vince di Mura
Drums: Garrett McKenzie ’28
Guitar: Jonathan Palafoutas GS
Bass: Lucien Chidester ’28
Production Team
Director: Chesney Snow
Music Director/Conductor: Vince di Mura
Assistant Director: Ava Adelaja ’27*
Choreographer: Kate Stewart ’25*
Fight/Intimacy Coordinator: Jacqueline Holloway
Set Designer: Annalise Schuck ’26*
Costume Designer: Keating Helfrich Debelak
Lighting Designer: Alex Piccoult ’26*
Sound Designer: Elisabeth Weidner
Stage Manager: Angela Kwon ’26*
Assistant Stage Managers: Blue Carlsson ’25, Le’Naya Wilkerson ’25*
Run Crew: Amira Adarkwa ’26*
Sound Engineer: Emma Nicoletti
A2: Travis Pawelek
Stitchers: Wyatt Kim, Marissa Edwards, Denise Boyle, Isabel Yip ’25, Charlotte Young ’27
Script Confidante: Molly Lopkin ’25*
*denotes a student minoring in the Program in Theater & Music Theater
Faculty Advisors
Shariffa Ali, Primary Advisor
Chesney Snow, Faculty Directing Advisor
Vince di Mura, Music Advisor
Solon Snider Sway, Proposer Advisor
Tess James, Co-Producer
Readers
A Life Worth Living wouldn’t be possible without the generous input of table-readers, staged-readers, friends, and confidants.
Photos from Developmental Readings
Photo courtesy Jeffery Chen '25
Photo courtesy Jeffery Chen '25
Photo courtesy Jeffery Chen '25
Photo courtesy Jeffery Chen '25
Photo courtesy Jeffery Chen '25
Staged Reading Team — May 3, 2024
Gavin: Jeffery Chen ’25
Riley/Penelope: Kimberlynn Bjurstrom ’26
Samuel: Rafael Collado ’24
Jesse: Vincent Gerardi ’25
Cecilia: Ava Kronman ’26
Adrian: Georgia Martin ’27
Talia: Clarissa Allert ’25
Khai: Lucy Shea ’27
Stage-Directions: Mollika Singh ’24
Director: Layla Williams ’25
Pianist: Vince di Mura
Workshopping Table-Readers
Juliette Carbonnier ’24
Sydney Hwang ’24
Sydney Mullin ’24
Louis Pang ’24
Mollika Singh ’24
Steph Chen ’25
Dominic Dominguez ’25
Molly Lopkin ’25
Oriana Nelson ’25
Tate Keuler ’26
Abby Lu ’26
Ceci McWilliams ’26
Elena Milliken ’26
Roya Reese ’26
Joe McLean ’27
Sophia Vernon ’27
Lizzie Diehl
Proof-Readers
Faith Iloka ’21
Chloe Satenberg ’24
Caitlin Durkin ’25
John Venegas Juarez ’25
Alec Abramson
Tekla Carlen
Faculty Proof-Readers
Professor Michael Cadden
Professor Nathan Davis
Professor Aaron Landsman
Professor Shariffa Ali
Professor Georgia Stitt
Note from the Project Proposer
I first conceptualized A Life Worth Living during my mental health journey in 2020—a year that, unsurprisingly, I’m not particularly fond of. My background as a “comedian”—someone who copes by espousing half-baked jokes—meant A Life Worth Living began as a stand-up act. However, I quickly realized that Residentially Treated (the title at the time) could never fully explore the experiences of adolescents undergoing mental health rehabilitation. Since I definitely wasn’t a *gulp* theater kid, I tucked the idea away.
It wasn’t until my first theatrical experience during my junior year (shout out The Winter’s Tale!) that I realized theater was the perfect storytelling medium. By then, I was also a neuroscience major—a field that naturally complemented a story set in the world of psychiatric treatment. The instant I put pen to paper, I was in too deep—A Life Worth Living was more than just a passion project; it was a story I needed to get right.
It’s no secret that Princeton faces a mental health crisis. My freshman year, two students lost their lives within the same week. The tragedies haven’t stopped—we’ve just become desensitized. The administration would send a well-written consolation email, resources would be posted, and the world would move on—except for the friends and families left shattered by grief. Each time, I was brought back to the start of my mental health journey: when I was confused, hurting, and terrified. I remembered those I met—and lost—along the way, along with the ember of an idea that sought to tell their stories.
A Life Worth Living is semi-autobiographical—a tangled mix of my own experiences with those I encountered along the way. Throughout the writing process, I felt an incredible responsibility to represent these individuals—clients, staff, families, and friends—with empathy. The piece needed to go beyond just adolescents “going through it” in an intensive psychiatric program. The teens bicker, gossip, and confide in each other. They form unlikely friendships. They have fears and reservations about receiving treatment, but also a tentative and desperate hope. A Life Worth Living is as much about resilience, friendship, and small joys as it is about the challenges of mental health recovery.
Thank you, Chesney and Ava, for staging the piece expertly while creating a compassionate and energetic rehearsal environment; Vince, for meeting with me almost weekly to discuss everything from chord progressions to life; Professor Michael Berry, for supporting and allowing an unconventional project to become part of my senior neuroscience thesis; and Shariffa, for taking me under your wing from the moment I timidly stepped into Try on Theater, and for every day since. You ignited my passion for theater, and I am incredibly honored to call you my mentor and friend.
Thank you to the brilliant cast and musicians for your boldness and vulnerability in bringing a new work to life; to the amazing production team and crew of the LCA for bringing this story to the stage; and to my friends and Fuzzy Dice Improv for tolerating my incessant yapping about my show. And thank you, Mom, Dad, and Irene, for believing in me, even if my sudden foray into theater has been a constant source of bafflement.
If there’s one thing I hope A Life Worth Living can impart upon you, my esteemed audience member, it’s this: sometimes things aren’t fine. Sometimes we feel like a leaf in the wind—drifting aimlessly, waiting for life to happen. Sometimes we don’t feel worthy of the help others—including our loved ones—extend. But nothing, good or bad, ever stays the same. The only thing we truly control is how we react: whether we choose to seek and welcome help, whether we choose to forgive, and whether we accept circumstances outside our control and push forward. Easier said than done, of course, but I hope A Life Worth Living does these ideas justice, and brings a difficult, messy, and hopeful story to life.
The world waits for you—you just gotta keep going.
With love,
Jeffery Chen ’25 🍁
Playwright, composer, and performer
Note from the Director
I was one of those high school theater nerds, too stubborn to ever quit. That stubbornness led me into a career in theater, one that constantly surprises me and for which I am eternally grateful. My greatest accolade in theater has, without question, been the experience of being an educator, witnessing the blossoming of the next generation of theater artists. As a theater arts educator, I have always been inspired to bring the transformative power of theater to the classroom and the stage, because of what theater and music have done for me on this journey of life. So if you see me in the audience in tears, it is because I truly love this work, the theater, and these young artists.
I first met Jeffery in a course I taught at the Lewis Center called “Beginning Acting Studies,” and I was immediately compelled to champion his artistry first in Winter’s Tale and now in his original musical. I came on board to direct this project for a number of reasons, but ultimately, it was because of my own experience as a teenager living in a facility similar to the one depicted in this musical, in North Carolina.
Mental health in our country is, tragically, one of our most neglected social issues, and the need for conversation and treatment cannot be overstated. Whether you are walking the streets of our cities or experiencing the painful loss of a loved one to suicide or addiction, we are all profoundly affected by the void in mental health care in our country.
It is my hope that you immerse yourself in this American coming-of-age story, which highlights the experiences of young people navigating a deeply fractured sphere of our social lives.
I am grateful to Jeffery for having the courage to write and perform this story. I am deeply proud of his journey in theater here. Thank you, Jeffery, for entrusting me with the task of bringing a new musical to the stage.
To our phenomenal cast: thank you for your commitment, courage, and willingness to bring your best to this space and to the story. I am inspired and deeply grateful for your trust and for sharing your gifts with us. I look forward to working with you all again soon.
I am especially grateful to our assistant director, Ava, for your talent, critical eye, passion, and spirit. I look forward to watching you soar in the coming years and am excited to continue being a part of your journey.
Finally, to our brilliant creative team and production team superstars: thank you. Blue, your support and presence in the room have been deeply cherished, and this show would not be possible without you. Stephenie Chen, thank you for your dedication and for lifting us off the ground.
Please enjoy this moment of play in the theater. Laugh with us. Love with us. Cry with us. Heal with us.
Chesney Snow
Director, Lecturer in Theater & Music Theater
Note from the Assistant Director
I first got the opportunity to read the script for A Life Worth Living about a year ago — in a playwriting course my freshman fall. I was in the midst of writing papers, very anxious about all the new things swirling around me, and, of course, a bit bogged down by the winter seasonal depression setting in. However, I found myself immediately charmed by the world of this imaginative musical — the bleak but somehow inviting setting of Residential, Gavin’s simultaneous stoic humor and kind thoughtfulness for those around him, Riley’s ebullience, The Milieu’s quick and warm camaraderie. At a somewhat stressful time in my life, that script was a reminder of all the things that make life worth living. Friendship, passion, art, the feeling that good things are always around and that it’s up to you to reach for them.
Assistant-directing this show has been a good thing I’m so grateful I reached for.
I never imagined that this musical would come back into my life in such a profound way, but it truly has been such a joy. Watching each actor bring pieces of themselves to their respective characters has been the highlight of so many of my evenings this semester. Learning from Professor Snow how to find and invigorate the meanings between the lines of a script has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Witnessing Jeffery Chen get to write and tell this story so passionately and poignantly is something I do not take for granted.
I hope this musical speaks to all who watch the same way it spoke to me. Life can often be so difficult to navigate: We’re all traversing this planet for the first time, and our paths are filled with struggles. But there’s beauty in even the bleakest of times and places. And it’s important that we allow ourselves to see that, struggle, and persevere, to hope and reach for good things even when it’s hard.
I want to thank my beautiful friends on campus for being so supportive of my artistic pursuits and being constant reminders of what makes life truly worth living. I’d also be remiss not to thank the entire production team from the LCA for helping craft this show into such a beautiful piece of theater. Thank you to all of our actors for their patience and passion as we navigated the best way to tell this story. Thank you to Professor Snow for allowing me to learn what it means to be a director in such a short yet fulfilling period of time. And lastly, thank you to Jeffery for choosing to share this beautiful story with the world. I’ll always be so grateful to that playwriting class and to him for the autumn leaf of a reminder that we all deserve a life worth living, and it’s always in us to make that life possible.
With gratitude,
Ava Adelaja ’27
Assistant Director
Land Acknowledgement
An estimated 10 million Native Americans lived in North America before the arrival of European colonizers. Many thousands lived in Lenapehoking, the vast homeland of the Lenni-Lenape, who were the first inhabitants of what is now called eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.
Princeton stands on part of the ancient homeland and traditional territory of the Lenape people. In 1756, the College of New Jersey erected Nassau Hall with no recorded consultation with the Lenni-Lenape peoples.
Treaties and forced relocation dispersed Lenape-Delaware to Ohio, Kansas, and Oklahoma. We acknowledge the violence of settler colonialism and pay respect to Lenape peoples past, present, and future and their continuing presence in the homeland and throughout the Lenape diaspora.
For more information, see the websites of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton (NAISIP), Natives at Princeton and Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition.
Lewis Center for the Arts
Chair: Judith Hamera
Executive Director: Marion Friedman Young
Director of Program in Theater and Music Theater: Jane Cox
View a list of Program in Theater & Music Theater faculty & guest artists
For a look at all the people working behind the scenes to bring you this event, view a list of LCA staff members.
The programs of the Peter B. Lewis Center for the Arts are made possible through the generous support of many alumni and other donors. View a list of LCA Supporters
