Events include: Conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall; health psychologist Dr. Kelly McGonigal; critically-acclaimed novelist Mohsin Hamid; urban dance innovator Ephrat Asherie performing Odeon and featuring the movement workshop Shake-a-Leg with Archie & Ephrat; classical music treasures Yo-Yo Ma, cello and Kathryn Stott, piano; novelist and former president of the American Enterprise Institute Arthur C. Brooks; and acclaimed producer and filmmaker Mira Nair
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UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is pleased to announce Spring 2021 House Calls, a new slate of virtual events for April and May featuring intimate, interactive online performances, conversations and Q&As you won’t find anywhere else. Events on sale now, include: Conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall; health psychologist Dr. Kelly McGonigal; critically-acclaimed novelist Mohsin Hamid; urban dance innovator Ephrat Asherie performing Odeon and featuring the movement workshop Shake-a-Leg with Archie & Ephrat; classical music treasures Yo-Yo Ma, cello and Kathryn Stott, piano; novelist and former president of the American Enterprise Institute Arthur C. Brooks; and acclaimed producer and filmmaker Mira Nair. Relax at home, and let A&L come to you!
We’re sharing hope, ideas and fun in a series of interactive digital events. House Calls delivers performance, conversation, thoughtful analysis and witty commentary streaming right to your living room. Featuring the creative thinkers and doers that you’ve come to expect to see on the A&L stage – environmentalists, musicians, novelists, dancers, humanitarians, Grammy winners and more – most programs are 60-minutes, combining what our guests excel at with an informal talk back session and other elements that would rarely happen on stage. This is better than front row seats!
How to Order Event Tickets
Order from UCSB Arts & Lectures by phone at (805) 893-3535 or online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
Get All Six House Calls Events for $70
Advance tickets for most individual events are $10.
Prices are subject to change. Capacity is limited. Buy early, events will sell out.
UCSB students: FREE! (Registration required)
With gratitude to our local media partners: Santa Barbara Independent, KCRW, Voice Magazine, Noozhawk.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2020-21 season.
House Calls Lineup
Founder of The Jane Goodall Institute and a UN Messenger of Peace
Jane Goodall
Hope Fuels a Better World
Sat, Apr 10 / 5:30 p.m. Pacific (note special time)
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 75 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“Hers is a powerful message to protect the inherent rights of every living creature, to provide hope for future generations and to sound an urgent call against the greatest environmental threat of all – climate change. Anyone who has heard her speak, or heard her story, has been mesmerized by her life’s work and moved by her philanthropic legacy.”
– Leonardo DiCaprio, for Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019
In 1960, 26-year-old Jane Goodall arrived in Tanzania tasked with being the first to formally observe and better understand our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom: wild chimpanzees. Goodall’s subsequent groundbreaking discoveries revealed remarkable truths about chimpanzee behavior and humankind. Now, the eminent primatologist turns her attention to humans with her popular Hopecast podcast, among other projects, revealing why she believes hope is essential fuel for a better world. Goodall shares the importance and power of making space for hope, as it spurs the indomitable human spirit to take action, even in the most grim situations. In light of current global threats – climate crisis and the sixth extinction, rampant cruelty inflicted on humans and animals – Goodall will share her hopes for change and how we all have a role to play, as individuals and as a community.
This conversation with Catherine Remak, career broadcaster and co-host of Mornings with Gary and Catherine, will be followed by a Q&A.
Event Sponsors:
Betsy Atwater & Tim Eaton
Susan & Bruce Worster
Additional support provide by Forces of Nature series sponsor Audrey & Timothy O. Fisher in memory of J. Brooks Fisher
Health Psychologist and Bestselling Author
Dr. Kelly McGonigal
The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection and Courage
Tue, Apr 13 / 5 p.m. Pacific
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 75 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“Caring for others triggers the biology of courage and creates hope.”
– Dr. Kelly McGonigal
“A passionate student of the mind and an unabashed believer in human potential. Part scientist, part storyteller, she translates the complexities of neuroscience into inspirational yet practical advice that helps people lead healthier, happier, more creative, abundant lives.”
O, The Oprah Magazine
Dr. Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and a lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, translating insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support personal well-being and strengthen communities. She is the author of several books including The Willpower Instinct,The Upside of Stress and The Joy of Movement which shows how and why movement is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Her 2013 TED talk “How to Make Stress Your Friend” is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time, and in 2020, Oprah Magazine named her the first everO! Visionary, celebrating people whose groundbreaking way of seeing the world means a better future for us all.
This presentation will be followed by a moderated Q&A and a movement experience led by McGonigal.
Critically-acclaimed Novelist
Mohsin Hamid
in Conversation with Pico Iyer
Fri, Apr 16 / 7 p.m. Pacific (note special time)
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 60 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“Hamid has created a fictional universe that captures the global perils percolating beneath today’s headlines.”
The New York Times
Known for his ingeniously crafted literary works, the Pakistan-born novelist Mohsin Hamid has quickly emerged as a clarion voice of his generation. The internationally bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and Moth Smoke, he takes on ethnic identity, class disparity and mass-urbanization in his bold, inventive work. He is the winner of the Betty Trask Award, a Pen/Hemingway Award finalist and has been twice shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, most recently for Exit West.
This conversation with Pico Iyer will be followed by a moderated Q&A.
Supporting Sponsor: Siri & Bob Marshall
Speaking with Pico Series Sponsors: Dori Pierson Carter & Chris Carter, Martha Gabbert, and Laura Shelburne & Kevin O’Connor
Urban Dance Innovators
Ephrat Asherie Dance
Odeon
Tue, Apr 20 / 5 p.m. Pacific
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 65 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“Compact bursts of choreography with rapidfire changes in rhythm and gestural articulation.”
The New York Times
“The talented break dancer Ephrat Asherie is known in the dance world as Bounce…for her uncalculated, effervescent dancing.”
The New York Times
Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie has shown off her formidable street dance chops as a favorite member of Dorrance Dance. A New York-based b-girl with extensive training in ballet and modern dance, the Israel native returns with her own company, revealing and exploring the complexities of street and social dance forms. Odeon, a new work for seven dancers and four musicians, brings together and remixes street and club dances including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue, set to a mix of early 20th century romantic music and popular Afro-Brazilian rhythms.
This performance will be followed by a moderated Q&A.
Movement Workshop: Shake-a-Leg with Archie & Ephrat
Thu, Apr 22 / 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Pacific / Zoom
FREE and open to the public. Register at http://bit.ly/al-ephrat-dance-2021
Come catch some New York City club vibes with the legendary Archie Burnett and choreographer and b-girl Ephrat Asherie. All ages welcome as they share some of their favorite social dances. Get ready to sweat!
Odeon is presented in partnership with The Joyce Theater and Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, and in association with the UCSB Department of Theater and Dance.
Lead Sponsor: Jody & John Arnhold
Dance Series Sponsors: Annette & Dr. Richard Caleel, Margo Cohen-Feinberg & Bob Feinberg, Irma & Morrie Jurkowitz, Barbara Stupay, and Sheila Wald
Classical Music Treasures
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Kathryn Stott, piano
Songs of Comfort and Hope
Wed, May 5 / 5 p.m. Pacific
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 100 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“Gorgeously played serene favourites from a masterful duo.”
The Strad
“Songs bring a sense of community, identity and purpose, transcending boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation and encouragement.”
– Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott
Over their 35-year musical relationship, beloved cellist Yo-Yo Ma and acclaimed pianist Kathryn Stott have “developed a wonderfully warm and mutually responsive musical partnership that has blossomed in performances that are both generous and incisive” (NPR). Their recent collaborative album Songs of Comfort and Hope was conceived in April 2020 when people everywhere were entering a dramatic new world. Ranging from fresh arrangements of traditional folk tunes, pop songs and jazz standards to mainstays from the western classical repertoire, the album encourages a sense of community, identity and purpose, crossing boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation and encouragement. Performing songs from the album selected specifically for this event, Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott share hope that the familiarity and reinvention contained in this music offers everyone some comfort and hope.
This performance will be followed by a moderated Q&A with Yo-Yo Ma.
Former President of the American Enterprise Institute
Arthur C. Brooks
National Renewal
Tue, May 11 / 5 p.m. Pacific
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 75 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“Brooks beholds America’s 21st-century tribal feuds… with a clear, intelligent eye and a hospitable attitude… Only transcendence can open the way to better solutions down the road.”
The New York Times
At a time of historic polarization, public leaders and ordinary citizens alike are wondering how to fight back against the bitterness and contempt washing over America. Drawing on history, cutting-edge social science and a decade of experience leading the American Enterprise Institute, one of the nation’s preeminent think tanks, Arthur C. Brooks shows that what the country needs is not agreement, but better disagreement. Brooks is a Harvard professor, a columnist for The Atlantic, the bestselling author of 11 books on topics ranging from economic opportunity to human happiness and the subject of the hit documentary The Pursuit. His recent bestseller, Love Your Enemies, is a guide to building a better country and mending personal relationships amidst our culture of political polarization.
This presentation will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Katya Armistead, UC Santa Barbara Assistant Vice Chancellor & Dean of Student Life.
Acclaimed Producer and Filmmaker
Mira Nair
in Conversation with Pico Iyer
Wed, May 26 / 5 p.m. Pacific
$10 / FREE for UCSB students (registration required)
Running time: approx. 60 min. Ticket holders will be able to replay this event for one week.
“I look for the humanity in people, however big the politics or oppressive the situation may be. I want to help us hold a mirror to ourselves.”
– Mira Nair
“We all know the power of film; we all know there’s almost nothing more powerful than to see people on film that look and talk like you, like we do.”
– Mira Nair
From her first feature, the Oscar-nominated Salaam Bombay!, to her new six-part series, A Suitable Boy, Mira Nair has established herself as one of the freshest and most fearless directors working today. Raised in India and educated at Harvard, Nair takes us from Uganda to New York City to rural India in her work to give us worlds we’ve seldom seen before. Her groundbreaking films include Mississippi Masala, The Namesake,Monsoon Wedding and Queen of Katwe and frequently explore issues around identity and displacement.Away from the camera, she has worked to support filmmaking and young directors in both East Africa and South Asia and is known for her love of music, acting and literature.
Presented in association with the Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara
Speaking with Pico Series Sponsors: Dori Pierson Carter & Chris Carter, Martha Gabbert, and Laura Shelburne & Kevin O’Connor
Book Giveaways
As part of Arts & Lectures’ Thematic Learning Initiative (TLI), FREE copies of Anne Lamott’s Dusk Night Dawn and Arthur Brooks’ Love Your Enemies will be available later this spring – stay tuned for pickup dates and locations.
TLI extends the conversation from the stage into the community, inspiring lifelong learning opportunities that initiate change and empowerment.
House Calls Sponsors
Community Partners: Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli.
Special Thanks: Santa Barbara Independent, KCRW, Voice Magazine, Noozhawk.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
UCSB Arts & Lectures brings unique, world-class performances, films and lectures to Central Coast and campus audiences. With a mission to educate, entertain and inspire, Arts & Lectures is the largest performing arts and public lectures presenter between San Francisco and Los Angeles, beloved by audiences for its award-winning, diverse and innovative programming that deeply enriches lives and extends the intellectual life of the community beyond the classroom.