Shelley Cooper

Associate Professor of Theatre Arts

• Phone: 309-794-7194
• Email: shelleycooper@augustana.edu
• Office: Brunner 223

Shelley Cooper is an actor, director, choreographer, singer, and educator specializing in musical theatre. Her previous teaching engagements include musical theatre voice and performance professor at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, and musical theatre voice specialist at the University of Central Florida.

Shelley Cooper made her Off-Broadway debut with her original one woman show "La Divina: The Last Interview" at United Solofest on Theatre Row. Her Off-Broadway debut performance won her "Best One Woman Show" 2022.

Cooper has performed and directed all over the world for a number of companies such as Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Orlando Fringe, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Monroe Symphony, Chicago Summer Opera, Opera Quad Cities, Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse, Orlando Repertory Theatre, Shawnee Summer Theatre, Redhouse Arts Center, Varna Opera Theatre, Bangkok Theatre Festival, and the Simbiose Produções (MOVE Studio) in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Venetian Macao in Macau, China.

Most noted performances are Johanna in "Sweeney Todd," starring Tony-Award-winning actress Faith Prince; Nellie in "South Pacific," Cinderella in "Into the Woods," Ariel in "The Little Mermaid," Armida in "Rinaldo," Edith in "Pirates of Penzance," Berta in "Il barbiere di Siviglia" at the Varna Opera Theatre in Bulgaria, and the soprano soloist in Handel's "Messiah" with the Bangkok International Orchestra. 

Cooper is also an accomplished director/choreographer specializing in musical theatre and is a proud associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Some of her favorite credits include "The Drowsy Chaperone," "Big River," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "The Light in the Piazza," "Company," "Elegies for Angels Punks and Raging Queens" and "Beehive." She has former students working around the world, including the Broadway production of “Holiday Inn,” NBC’s “Hairspray Live,” “The Festival of the Lion King” in Hong Kong, national tours of “Rock of Ages,” “Wizard of Oz,” “Flashdance,” “Beauty and the Beast” and the West End revival of “Miss Saigon.”   
 

Specializations: Musical theatre, Choreography