UC Davis students, staff, faculty and the general public are invited to participate in a Musical Theatre Summer Intensive, culminating in a full production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

This new program from the Department of Theatre and Dance is being offered through Summer Sessions.

Classes, rehearsals and performances are scheduled from Aug. 2 through Sept. 27. Participants must register through Summer Session II; credit is available for certain high school students as well as UC Davis and non-UC Davis college students.

The Department of Theatre and Dance announced that three-time Granada Artist-in-Residence Mindy Cooper will lead the summer intensive. She led two the UC Davis productions of Urinetown: The Musical in spring 2007 and Oklahoma! in spring 2009, and she is due back in spring 2011 for another Granada stint.

The curriculum for the Musical Theatre Summer Intensive includes acting for musical theatre; sight-singing and score analysis; comedic acting styles; improvisational skills; audition techniques; creating an in-depth and well-rounded approach to musical theatre; scenic, costume and lighting design for a realized production; scenic research, model building, beginning drafting and painting; costume research, design and preparation; practical and theoretical approaches to lighting for musical theatre; and design/director communication skills.

Three courses are being offered:

• Drama 121B — Advanced Acting: Comedy, Acting in Musical theatre

• Drama 130 — Approaches to Theatre Design

• Drama 143 — Dance and Movement Studio

Registration and more information, including faculty biographies.