FRS 004 — Sec. 002 — (2 units) — CRN 92653 — W 5:10-7:00 pm — Mondavi Center Administration Building Conference Room
Backstage at the Mondavi

Instructor: Barbara Sellers-Young, Department of Theatre & Dance, College of Letters & Science

Description: This seminar focuses on the Mondavi Center as a site of cultural production. As such, it provides an opportunity for the participants to become familiar with various aspects of the Mondavi Center from the creation of the Season of music, theatre, dance and distinguished speaker events to how these performances intersect with the technology of the building, the marketing division, the arts education and development program. During the seminar, students attend two Mondavi Center events, a performance by avant-garde theatre company Cul-de-Sac and Richard Florida’s presentation based on his best selling book The Rise of the Creative Class as well as meet with members of the Mondavi Center staff.

Format: This seminar provides an opportunity to understand the relationship between the performances on stage and the backstage aspects of Mondavi Center events through discussions with members of the Mondavi Center staff. Grading: The assessments are based on the following scheme: participation in seminar 20%; team presentation 40%, final discussion paper (5-7 pages, double spaced, 12 point type and if applicable appropriate endnotes) 40% (due June 10th).

About the Instructor: Barbara Sellers-Young is a professor in the Theatre and Dance Department. She has been the recipient of a contemplation Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies to study the practice of contemplation and its relationship to creativity. She is the author of Breathing, Movement, Exploration (Applause Press, 2001), an approach to bodily practice that combines eastern and western conceptions of the body. She has presented workshops on breath and consciousness for the American Theatre in Higher Education and the International Federation of Theatre Research.