Advice/Opinions on Specific Coaches

I just received the email blast about Moonifieds Junior and it looks like a great program of offerings for current high school juniors including a master class/mock audition just for juniors with Mark Madama from Michigan. My kids are long past audition season but this would have been a great opportunity and the price looks great - especially if you are close to Dallas. I don’t think we’re allowed to post links, but you can find all the info on Mary Anna Dennard’s website, including the schedule of activities for the Juniors.

@notmath1 In terms of Moonified offers, it depends on which schools you audition for in terms of timeline. Some will give notice within a few weeks. My S got one offer in that timeframe but the others came in March.

@MTTwinsinCA You said the price looks great, so what is the price?? I am not finding that. And it is only for juniors? Thanks in advance.

@Notmath1 the cost is $100 plus hotel room. You must stay in the hotel to participate and yes it is only for juniors

@carriemc95 i read your post about doing the initial consult w both mica and cac w great interest, considered the same but thought i was being silly, cant pm yet as i am relatively new here but would love to chat w you on this topic. Please pm me if you can. Thanks!

Just fyi for those who were interested in Moonifieds, Jr. for juniors — my understanding is that event is sold out for this year.

@vvnstar thanks for that, i felt like traveling from the east coast for that was not great use of time: SAT/ACTs, drivers ed, etc… etc… wonder if anyone strongly disagrees with that?

If you live on the East Coast, MTCA has mock auditions in NYC (as well as one in San Diego), and juniors can sign up to observe one for free. You do have to be an MTCA coaching student, but at least you wouldn’t have large travel costs: just coaching costs.

Best kept secret - You can sign up for MTCA monthly webinars after an initial consultation.

The consult is $100 and available by skype if you are not in the NYC area. (60 min with Leo - reviews college list / makes suggestions to balance and round out the list after interviewing the student for interests etc. 30 min vocal assessment with Ellen). There is NO obligation beyond the initial consult.

Webinars are $30/each. Topics are synced with the audition cycle. Fall is all about apps, prescreens, and early auditions. Winter is about Unifieds, walk-ins, on campus auditions, travel, staying healthy (vocally, physically, emotionally). Spring is about wrapping up the season and finally - selecting a school, managing wait lists, and celebrating.

Everyone needs a guide in this crazy process. Peers, other parents, and local teachers are terrific. MTCA can add a broader view that is informed by many years of (successful) experience. Most important, they have a special way of really connecting with the kids and talking the parents off the ledge. Best return on investment ($100 + webinars) amidst all the MT / Acting expenses.

Thanks @coronado That is a great tip I was not aware and a great deal!

@Notmath1 - you’re welcome. And if you like them (which I am sure you will), the a la carte coaching options for rep selection, song, vocal technique, monologue, and college counsel are truly flexible and affordable. Besides, the mentoring community, support/encouragement, and bonding (among the parents or students) are huge/priceless intangibles. Most notable, the overall cost can actually turn into savings because their advice focuses the search and overall efforts (while keeping you sane). So you won’t spend money unnecessarily by applying, auditioning, or traveling to schools solely out of fear. Measure twice, cut once.

@coronado @notmath timely advice our initial consult with Leo and Ellen is this coming week. thank you

Enjoy the value!

@EmsDad could you please PM me? I can’t firgure out how to and would love to ask you more questions about CAC!! If you would like to:)

A question about MTCA - it seems like you get several separate coaches you can use - i.e. for monologues, for song choice, for singing technique, for dancing - but is there someone who supervises the individual application process for you and helps you with your overall package as a whole. I think it is great to have working professionals as coaches but wondering how much experience they actually have with the college application process? It seems different than auditioning for work as an actor. I’m guessing it varies depending on the coach?

Thanks for all this info!

@cgn626 - You have an initial consult with Ellen and Leo where they get a sense for who the actor is and where they want to go and from there you get a basic plan from MTCA and your various coach assignments. One of your coaches is designated as the main coordinator so they are your go-to for that but you also have Leo and Ellen, who have been through this with hundreds of students, available for consultation. They also have webinars about the process as you go along that are very informative and keep everyone on the right track. Plus they help you at the mock auditions to get to where you should be for the real ones. So there’s no shortage of information / communication / expertise at your disposal as an MTCA client. How much of that guidance and expertise you utilize depends on you and what you think your actor needs. We started coaching too late (imo) and my D had a lot of criteria that narrowed down our schools list so it was not at all “well-balanced”. We didn’t utilize a lot of their expertise deliberately … we did it our waaaayyy… and they were okay with that, too. If we’d wanted more advice and guidance, it would have been there.

@cgn626 MTCA has several people “in the office” who have done this for years who understand the college audition process. Additionally, every individual college procedure and requirement is subject to change, so you still have to keep up on their websites. A huge MTCA benefit for us was you get to belong to their Facebook groups: a parent page, a student page and an alumni page! Lots of people providing input and answering questions. We PM’d several MTCA current parents and alumni with questions. During Unifieds, it becomes a giant “task force” family where people are sharing questions about walk ins and other useful info with each other. They also host monthly webinars to discuss the application process and the hot buttons for that particular month in the application process. All my D’s coaches went through the college audition process themselves and still had contact with their college department and professors.

I don’t know the other coaches such as MCA and CAC, but I’m sure they are similar.

@cgn626 asked about MTCA:

You received great replies as to all the coordination that MTCA does and other audition coaches likely do as well. However, such coaching services are primarily focused on the artistic aspect of the college admission process. Some applicants also work with a college counselor, even though they are also working with artistic coaches like the fine people at MTCA. For example, I am an independent college counselor, and my students who are seeking MT and Theater/Acting degree programs still work with artistic coaches like MTCA on their audition prep. They are working with me on their entire college selection and admissions process that includes many pieces beyond the audition/artistic aspect of the college process. Both aspects are involved in the overall admissions process, and the services complement one another and offer help with different areas of expertise and different pieces of the overall college process and package. I’m not saying you HAVE to have both types of services, but many people do have a college counselor AND artistic coaches, and I see this in my own work.

@cgn626 Yes you will be assigned a coaching coordinator. Sometimes its a seperate person from your other coaches, in our case our monologue coach is also our coordinator. That being said so far our experience has been that all of the coaches we have have experience with the entire application process.

Also MTCA has experts on staff for college advising and for college essay help. If you go to their website under store and click on individual coaching you will see those options available as well as others.