Enrichment Activities
The Pacific Humanities Scholars experience is enriched by a variety of cultural and social excursions, available exclusively to our scholars. From great opera houses to intimate regional theatres, the coasts of California to Oregon's Rogue Valley, our scholars travel far and wide to observe the role that the Humanities play in modern society.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Each year, the Humanities Scholars Program makes a trip to the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. The festival is one of the most highly regarded Shakespearean theater companies in the world, performing numerous Shakespeare productions each season along with several contemporary works. This trip exposes our students to a high quality theater experience in an authentic venue- America's first Elizabethan Theater.
During this past season, students had the opportunity to see Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Timon of Athens, the modern play Roe by Lisa Loomer, and an adaptation of The Yeoman of the Guard by Sean Graney, Andra Velis Simon and Matt Kahler.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
SFMOMA is one of the most prestigious museums of modern art in the United States, dedicated to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the best art in the world. They feature both modern and contemporary artwork in a seven story gallery in the heart of San Francisco, and earlier this semester our scholars had the opportunity to experience these works first-hand.
The Dickens Fair
The Dickens Fair in San Francisco is an annual festival dedicated to the time and culture of Dickensian England, featuring shops, food, and performers in period dress. Last year, our scholars dove in- costumes and all- to explore the unique culture and history represented by this event.
CalShakes
California Shakespeare Theater, better known as CalShakes, is a Shakespearean theater company based out of Orinda, near Berkeley. Much like the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, this company performs both period and contemporary works, synthesizing the past with the present in ways that are interesting and enlightening. This season, the Humanities Scholars had the opportunity to witness a live performance of Othello, including a question and answer session with the actors toward the conclusion of the play.
San Francisco Opera House
The historic War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco has been spotlighting operatic theater since 1923, and earlier this season our Humanities Scholars had the chance to view one of the first ever performances of Dream of the Red Chamber, the world premiere of the opera based on the book by Cao Xueqin. Performed in English with subtitles in Chinese, the opera showcased an incredible melding of cultures, as well as a unity of past and present.