Over the course of 30 years on the writing and theater scene, Tess Onwueme has traveled around the world as an internationally recognized and award-winning Nigerian playwright, author and speaker. The English professor at UW-Eau Claire has received several requests from institutions to acquire her creations as a literary artist.

But Onwueme said now is the right time to house her work in a place that is important to her.

“My works have my DNA in them, and they are extensions of me, like children I have also authored,” she said. “I thought it would be best to hand those pieces of me to a place I call home, the University of Wisconsin (Eau Claire).”

To honor Onwueme’s career and her donation to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation, an event  from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Saturday in Schofield Auditorium will showcase her work as well as a production of her play, “The Reign of Wazobia.”  A celebration with speakers will begin the program, followed by the play and reception afterward.

The play tells the story of Wazobia,  a regent of a mythical kingdom during a period of transition between one governmental era and another. In speaking out to question the male power structure of the kingdom, Onwueme dramatizes issues of women and the masses as well as crises in leadership, environmental concerns and the tension between change and tradition.

Jennifer Shaddock, professor of English and the English department’s liaison to the committee organizing the event, said the celebration is a chance to take notice of Onwueme’s accomplishments, on the world stage and at Eau Claire.

“I think the university has been significantly transformed by her presence,” Shaddock said. “It’s an important time to honor who she is and all that she’s done.”

The Tess Onwueme Papers include typed and hand-written manuscripts, lectures, photographs and other pieces held in McIntyre Library’s Special Collections and Archives department. On the fifth floor of the library, 35 brown boxes filled with stacks of pristine papers and gently worn pages will sit among rows of other volumes in preservation.

In helping gather these materials, Greg Kocken, head of special collections, archives and records management, said he has seen how vast and significant Onwueme’s work is. The process started in the spring when Kocken met with Onwueme to pitch the idea of donating the archives to the university. He then spent the summer, along with special collections intern Melissa Schultz, transferring the archives from Onwueme’s home to the library, sorting the extensive collection into categories.

“It really is an astonishing collection of a pioneer of her field and really something very special to have in this university,” he said.

Through the collection, scholars and researchers will be able to see Onwueme’s editorial progress as her work grew from ideas to concrete pieces, Kocken said. In his experience, it is unusual for a collection to be this complete from start to finish of the process. He said he believes these archives will draw scholars to the university for years to come.

“I can say that with confidence,” Kocken said. “For archival collections, their value only grows through time.”

Onwueme said this donation has also given her the opportunity to look back on her endeavors.

“It’s been a very powerful awakening and stock-taking moment for me to look at memories that are now being quilted through all that I have seen in the collection,” she said. “It’s one that has renewed my creative spirit.”

The last time one of Onwueme’s plays showed on campus was in 1998, and Onwueme said even though she wrote “The Reign of Wazobia” in 1985, its issues are relevant today.

“The significance of her work transcends boundaries,” Kocken said.

For this performance, students, faculty members and community members act in a diverse group spanning different backgrounds, ethnicities, professional experience and ages. Onwueme also pulled from universities across the Atlantic to produce the performance. The directors are Steven Daniel, a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, and Grace Adinku, a lecturer at the University of Ghana. Musician Michael Osuji is also from Nigeria.

Julie Eklund, senior lecturer in English and communication and journalism, plays the lead role of Wazobia and said the diversity of the cast helps show the subjects in the play are wide-reaching.

“It emphasizes that these are human issues and human conditions that are not unique to a particular place,” she said.

Eklund said she is looking forward to the celebration of Onwueme, whom she described as humble and down-to-earth.

When she is not writing plays, Onwueme teaches at the university  in classes like Women in African Literature. Kaeleigh Wilson, a senior secondary English education major, has taken two classes with Onwueme and said she thinks her addition to campus is greater than her donation.

“Not only does Dr. Tess write with a passion, she teaches with it,” Wilson said.

Wilson said Onwueme’s donation is especially important to the English students at the university who will be able to study her creative process. She said she believes this is an opportunity for students to learn not only how to write plays, but to teach them.

“Her ideas are universal, and being able to teach from them and about them is huge,” Wilson said.

Looking at the entire celebration, Onwueme said she is grateful that the university has heard her voice and acknowledged her work.

“The fact that they’re welcoming and urging me on is something that I know is a special privilege,” she said. “That is not something one should take for granted.”