If you plan on seeing N*W*C* at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, the university also encourages you to participate in the question-and-answer sessions that are scheduled after each performance, Jan. 23-26.

"I think this participation is critical to how these performances will impact our community," said Associate Executive Vice Chancellor Rahim Reed, who heads the Office of Campus Community Relations. The OCCR is co-sponsoring N*W*C* at the Mondavi Center.

The full title for this production from Los Angeles-based Speak Theater Arts is N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK. Even with the asterisks, and even when shortened to N*W*C*, the title is offensive to some people -- so much so that the company sometimes has difficulty placing ads.

This despite the fact that a black, a Latino and an Asian wrote N*W*C* and star in it -- and that the whole point of the production is to explore the negativity of the title's three ethnic slurs.

The Mondavi Center is billing the production primarily as N*W*C*, though the full title also appears in the center's printed materials and on the center's Web site.

The Web site states: "N*W*C* mixes comedy with the real-life stories of three young men from different ethnic backgrounds to deconstruct the notion of race in America. Drama, hip-hop, slam poetry and stand-up comedy are intermingled to communicate the show's overall message: 'There's only one race: the human race.'"

In a statement to be included with the event playbill, Speak Theater Arts members offer their thoughts as to why, in the years since the play's creation, N*W*C* continues to have such an impact on audiences:

"The co-creators of the show have since come to better understand how this production with such modest roots has become a national phenomenon. It gives voice to a generation who have been largely silenced in the race dialogue by both political correctness and the painful legacy of the past.

"N*W*C* invites audiences to experience the catharsis of laughter while, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, 'presenting an inspiring vision of the world they'd like to see.' "

Don Roth, the Mondavi Center's executive director, said: "As a university presenting organization, we at the Mondavi Center feel a particular responsibility to bring to the campus and community events that promote thoughtful consideration of the important issues of our time.

"We feel that the Speak Theater Arts production of N*W*C* confronts issues of racial discrimination in a way that is personal, thought-provoking, moving and insightful."

WHAT: N*W*C* (The Mondavi Center advises playgoers that this production includes the use of offensive language.)

WHEN: Jan. 23-26, Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center. The originally scheduled shows, four nights in a row, Jan. 23-26, all at 8 o'clock, were likely to sell out; check for late ticket availability. Added show: 10:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Question-and-answer sessions after every show, except the added show at 10:30 p.m. Jan. 26.

TICKETS: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org.