Princeton senior Ugonna Nwabueze, a first-generation Nigerian American, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, but the stories her father told her about being a child soldier in the Nigerian civil war, which began in 1967, haunted her.

Her family history would influence one of her two senior thesis projects, a production of “Eclipsed” by Tony Award-winning playwright Danai Gurira, for which Nwabueze researched, produced and played a leading role.

“Eclipsed” follows five Liberian women during the second Liberian civil war —  the captive wives of a rebel officer who form a fragile community in a dilapidated, one-bedroom shack. Gurira based the script on interviews she conducted with Liberian women. A note from Gurira at the top of the published script states the importance of research to anyone who produces the play — Nwabueze took those words to heart.

To read more about Nwabueze and her experiences producing "Eclipsed," click here.