ABOUT MUSICAL THEATRE UNIVERSITY
David Green's Musical Theatre University (MTU) is the most intensive and comprehensive, pre-professional training ground in the performing arts for talented young people, grades 8 -13, from throughout the Coachella Valley and neighboring counties and communities, in residence at Rancho Mirage High School. The Coachella Valley Campus is sponsored and presented by The Palm Springs Unified School District. MTU was founded in Orange County, California by David Green in 1999.
Designed for young people who believe they will pursue a career in musical theatre, the MTU gives them the necessary tools and techniques for a successful entry in both institutions of higher education and/or directly in to the professional arts industry.
MTU is committed to a nurturing and “student-affirming” environment, always placing a comprehensive, quality arts education for its participants as its first priority. Students are selected by audition and must display an above average level of talent in their chosen course of study and demonstrate the strong potential for growth. There are a limited number of openings each year to ensure a small, intensive environment with a commitment to offering the highest level of instruction and performance opportunities to each and every student.
Students from both public and private schools are eligible for audition and acceptance into the program and represent the entire spectrum of ethnic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. The program is sponsored by The Pam Springs Unified School District and is offered Free of Charge to the participants.
The MTU faculty consists of professional artist-teachers, who are currently working in their respective fields, giving the students a unique "real-world" experience and practical, “best-practice” instruction. Guest artists and Master teachers of renown, on both a local and national level, supplement the core instruction on a regular basis and include the professional entertainment industries’ most celebrated actors, directors, choreographers, producers, writers, composers and designers. On-site workshops, master classes, auditions, evaluations, and portfolio reviews are an integral part of the core instructional program.
Musical Theatre University currently offers two “Majors”, or specific courses of study. They are Musical Theatre (Acting, Singing and Dancing) and Production and Design (Scenic Design and Construction, Sound, Lighting and Costume Design, Stage Management). Students participate in one chosen “major” and, upon completion, receive a Certificate of Completion and a transcript that outlines their specific course of study. The MTU curriculum meets or exceeds the California State Standards for Arts Education and, in addition, provides a hands-on, “real world” approach to training which serves as a bridge from classroom to career.
Concurrent with their studies, MT students have the opportunity to participate in unique, high-level educational and performance projects including, but not limited to:
o "NEXTGEN Broadway": A nationally renowned performance troupe representing the school and community by performing on television and radio, for charitable and corporate events, and in concert throughout the nation.
o The New Works Project: Working alongside Broadway’s most celebrated composers, writers and lyricists in the development of new musical theatre including readings, workshops and full-scale productions of these new works.
o The Broadway Intensive: A week-long intensive in New York designed for advanced students which includes Master Classes, Internships and Workshops with the leading professional on Broadway, attending Broadway Shows and meeting with the casts and creative teams and culmination in the opportunity to perform in a major Broadway or Off-Broadway venue.
Additionally, students of MTU have the opportunity to participate in professional-level, fully staged musical theatre productions where students work alongside Broadway and Hollywood actors and local professional actors/performers in a three to four show season in the beautiful 600 seat Helene Galen Performing Arts Center on the campus of Rancho Mirage High School. MTU On-Stage provides both and educational “internship” platform for MTU participants and a professional –quality Musical Theatre producing organization for the entire Coachella Valley.
Designed for young people who believe they will pursue a career in musical theatre, the MTU gives them the necessary tools and techniques for a successful entry in both institutions of higher education and/or directly in to the professional arts industry.
MTU is committed to a nurturing and “student-affirming” environment, always placing a comprehensive, quality arts education for its participants as its first priority. Students are selected by audition and must display an above average level of talent in their chosen course of study and demonstrate the strong potential for growth. There are a limited number of openings each year to ensure a small, intensive environment with a commitment to offering the highest level of instruction and performance opportunities to each and every student.
Students from both public and private schools are eligible for audition and acceptance into the program and represent the entire spectrum of ethnic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. The program is sponsored by The Pam Springs Unified School District and is offered Free of Charge to the participants.
The MTU faculty consists of professional artist-teachers, who are currently working in their respective fields, giving the students a unique "real-world" experience and practical, “best-practice” instruction. Guest artists and Master teachers of renown, on both a local and national level, supplement the core instruction on a regular basis and include the professional entertainment industries’ most celebrated actors, directors, choreographers, producers, writers, composers and designers. On-site workshops, master classes, auditions, evaluations, and portfolio reviews are an integral part of the core instructional program.
Musical Theatre University currently offers two “Majors”, or specific courses of study. They are Musical Theatre (Acting, Singing and Dancing) and Production and Design (Scenic Design and Construction, Sound, Lighting and Costume Design, Stage Management). Students participate in one chosen “major” and, upon completion, receive a Certificate of Completion and a transcript that outlines their specific course of study. The MTU curriculum meets or exceeds the California State Standards for Arts Education and, in addition, provides a hands-on, “real world” approach to training which serves as a bridge from classroom to career.
Concurrent with their studies, MT students have the opportunity to participate in unique, high-level educational and performance projects including, but not limited to:
o "NEXTGEN Broadway": A nationally renowned performance troupe representing the school and community by performing on television and radio, for charitable and corporate events, and in concert throughout the nation.
o The New Works Project: Working alongside Broadway’s most celebrated composers, writers and lyricists in the development of new musical theatre including readings, workshops and full-scale productions of these new works.
o The Broadway Intensive: A week-long intensive in New York designed for advanced students which includes Master Classes, Internships and Workshops with the leading professional on Broadway, attending Broadway Shows and meeting with the casts and creative teams and culmination in the opportunity to perform in a major Broadway or Off-Broadway venue.
Additionally, students of MTU have the opportunity to participate in professional-level, fully staged musical theatre productions where students work alongside Broadway and Hollywood actors and local professional actors/performers in a three to four show season in the beautiful 600 seat Helene Galen Performing Arts Center on the campus of Rancho Mirage High School. MTU On-Stage provides both and educational “internship” platform for MTU participants and a professional –quality Musical Theatre producing organization for the entire Coachella Valley.
David Green
Founder/ Executive and Artistic Director
Mr. Green is the Founder and Executive/Artistic Director of The Musical Theatre University (MTU) a comprehensive, pre-professional school of the performing arts designed for young people who have aspirations for careers in musical theatre, currently in residence at Rancho Mirage High School. He was recently named "one of the top ten reasons so many 'stars' come out of Orange County" by Orange Coast Magazine. He is the Regional Editor and Reviewer for BROADWAY WORLD, the nation's leading and largest internet publication on professional theatre and the arts, and hosts a weekly radio show called THE ENTERTAINMENT GPS broadcast nationally on iHeart Radio.
Mr. Green was the Founder/Executive Director of the nationally renowned California Conservatory of the Arts (CCA) and a founding Director of The Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) where he served as Vice President and Artistic Director for fifteen years.
Mr. Green has staged and directed over 200 Musical and Theatrical productions for professional, community and educational theatre and has worked with such stars as Carol Channing, Rex Smith, Davis Gaines, Debbie Reynolds, Rex Smith, Carole Cook, JoAnne Worley, Bruce Vilanch, John Raitt, Betty Garrett, Julie Wilson, Stephanie Zimbalist and Cathy Rigby. His musical "How The Nurse Feels" (Book/Lyrics) has had numerous staged readings in Los Angeles and New York and was selected to participate in the prestigious Disney/ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop under the direction of Stephen Schwartz held at The Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles. In addition, Mr. Green served as the Artistic Director for the California State Department of Education’s Distinguished School/ Blue Ribbon School Awards for ten years.
Mr. Green has produced seven television specials for PBS television and written book and lyrics for stage productions both nationally and internationally including a national tour of a new musical, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, for Columbia Artists Festivals. His performing group, THE KIDS NEXT DOOR, has received national acclaim, appearing throughout the United States on both stage and television and headlining in both Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada.
As an educator, Mr. Green’s alumni are currently starring on Broadway and Film and Television including Stephanie Block (Tony-Nominated star of Broadway’s Mystery Of Edwin Drood, Wicked, The Boy From Oz, The Pirate Queen and Nine To Five), Matthew Morrison (Star of Fox-Television's GLEE and Tony-nominated star of Broadway’s Light In The Piazza and South Pacific), Susan Egan (Tony-Award Star of Disney’s Broadway Beauty and the Beast, Triumph of Love and Cabaret), Lindsay Mendez (Drama Desk Nominated star of Broadway's Dogfight, Wicked and Godspell), Krysta Rodriguez (star of Broadway’s First Date and The Addams Family and co-star of TV's SMASH), Columbus Short (co-star of TV's SCANDAL and star of film STOMP THE YARD), Kamilah Marshall (Broadway’s Rent and Hairspray, currently touring with Bette Midler), Anneliese VanDerPol (Star of Broadway's Beauty And The Beast and co-star of TV's THAT'S SO RAVEN) and Terron Brooks (star of Broadway’s Lion King and VH-1 Feature Film THE TEMPTATIONS), to name a few.
Mr. Green served as resident Director of the internationally acclaimed YOUNG AMERICANS before joining the OCHSA in 1987.
Mr. Green is the Founder and Executive/Artistic Director of The Musical Theatre University (MTU) a comprehensive, pre-professional school of the performing arts designed for young people who have aspirations for careers in musical theatre, currently in residence at Rancho Mirage High School. He was recently named "one of the top ten reasons so many 'stars' come out of Orange County" by Orange Coast Magazine. He is the Regional Editor and Reviewer for BROADWAY WORLD, the nation's leading and largest internet publication on professional theatre and the arts, and hosts a weekly radio show called THE ENTERTAINMENT GPS broadcast nationally on iHeart Radio.
Mr. Green was the Founder/Executive Director of the nationally renowned California Conservatory of the Arts (CCA) and a founding Director of The Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) where he served as Vice President and Artistic Director for fifteen years.
Mr. Green has staged and directed over 200 Musical and Theatrical productions for professional, community and educational theatre and has worked with such stars as Carol Channing, Rex Smith, Davis Gaines, Debbie Reynolds, Rex Smith, Carole Cook, JoAnne Worley, Bruce Vilanch, John Raitt, Betty Garrett, Julie Wilson, Stephanie Zimbalist and Cathy Rigby. His musical "How The Nurse Feels" (Book/Lyrics) has had numerous staged readings in Los Angeles and New York and was selected to participate in the prestigious Disney/ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop under the direction of Stephen Schwartz held at The Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles. In addition, Mr. Green served as the Artistic Director for the California State Department of Education’s Distinguished School/ Blue Ribbon School Awards for ten years.
Mr. Green has produced seven television specials for PBS television and written book and lyrics for stage productions both nationally and internationally including a national tour of a new musical, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, for Columbia Artists Festivals. His performing group, THE KIDS NEXT DOOR, has received national acclaim, appearing throughout the United States on both stage and television and headlining in both Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada.
As an educator, Mr. Green’s alumni are currently starring on Broadway and Film and Television including Stephanie Block (Tony-Nominated star of Broadway’s Mystery Of Edwin Drood, Wicked, The Boy From Oz, The Pirate Queen and Nine To Five), Matthew Morrison (Star of Fox-Television's GLEE and Tony-nominated star of Broadway’s Light In The Piazza and South Pacific), Susan Egan (Tony-Award Star of Disney’s Broadway Beauty and the Beast, Triumph of Love and Cabaret), Lindsay Mendez (Drama Desk Nominated star of Broadway's Dogfight, Wicked and Godspell), Krysta Rodriguez (star of Broadway’s First Date and The Addams Family and co-star of TV's SMASH), Columbus Short (co-star of TV's SCANDAL and star of film STOMP THE YARD), Kamilah Marshall (Broadway’s Rent and Hairspray, currently touring with Bette Midler), Anneliese VanDerPol (Star of Broadway's Beauty And The Beast and co-star of TV's THAT'S SO RAVEN) and Terron Brooks (star of Broadway’s Lion King and VH-1 Feature Film THE TEMPTATIONS), to name a few.
Mr. Green served as resident Director of the internationally acclaimed YOUNG AMERICANS before joining the OCHSA in 1987.
