The Center Cannot Hold: Part 3 - Beyond Recovery (Free - June 27)

Free • Open to the Public • LIVE "in-person" & "virtual-stream" Performance

Music by Kenneth Wells and Libretto by Kenneth Wells and Elyn Saks, based on Saks’ memoir “The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness”.

The Center Cannot Hold, Part 3 – Beyond Recovery, presented live in-person and virtual stream at the UCLA Semel Institute Auditorium:

• Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 2:00 PM - 5:30 PM (PT)

UCLA’s Healing and Education through the Arts (HEArts) presents the world premiere performance of the opera: “The Center Cannot Hold, Part 3: Beyond Recovery” tells the story of Elyn Saks, law professor at USC of having schizophrenia, becoming a psychoanalyst through training with colleagues, falling in love and marrying Will Vinet, struggling with having cancer and finding it less stigmatizing than mental illness, and continuing her journey with changes in her psychoanalyst, and winning many awards for her creative work and advocacy for those with severe mental illness.
The performance features Jamie Chamberlin, Christina Bristow, Danielle Marcelle Bond, Jon Lee Keenan, Erin Baker Pence, Steve Pence, Raymond McLeod, James Raycrott, with chorus and chamber orchestra conducted by Caleb Glickman, stage direction by Megan Cooper, with assistance from Aleta Braxton.

The opera will have an evaluation (approved by UCLA human subjects as exempt) with optional pre- and post-surveys and post-discussion (for adults age 18+) with optional pre- and post-surveys and post-discussion (for adults aged 18+).
We welcome all to join the opera performance! Together, we will honor efforts to support resilience and recovery for those experiencing serious mental illness!

Join us for the June 2026 celebration!

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Host or Publisher UCLA Semel Institute for Health Services and Society, HEArts Program