<p>The college audition process is so complex and unfamiliar, I can understand families panicking and spending a lot of money to get professional help. But is this essential? If so, what parts of it? I thought we might have a discussion about this.</p>
<p>My own take on audition coaches? It helps to have a knowledgeable person help students find monologues and to polish them. If a student is lucky enough to have a competent, supportive drama teacher, that's a great place to start, but it's still good to get another opinion. My son's "coach" was a local theatre professional who had been his director in a couple of plays, and my son felt much more confident at his auditions because of his careful preparation. He felt he was ready to perform at his best, but he was still presenting himself, not a "packaged product." Even professional actors will often work with a good teacher from time to time, while preparing for an audition or a difficult role. It's part of show business.</p>
<p>I am less enthusiastic about getting outside assistance with making audition videos. Frankly, if a student has been working and studying in theatre for more than a couple of years, he or she should have basic video editing skills, and should be able to make their videos with little or no intervention. My son certainly felt strongly about controlling the artistic product that he was going to be sending out. There's something disturbing about having a professional studio producing these videos for high school kids, especially when they are highly "directed" and the applicant isn't in charge. It seems intellectually dishonest. </p>
<p>What do other people think? Are there aspects of audition coaching that you feel strongly about, for or against?</p>
<p>I think finding material it is essential to have a coach. I got coaching and I never regretted it. At the beginning when I asked my drama teacher for monologues he gave me ones for older men because I play older men usually, but that will not work as well. I also if you are from a smaller town of your drama teacher does not see a lot of kids wanting to this professionally they do not know the ins and outs and can not objectively compare you to other students auditioning therefore not giving you the proper feedback that a coach from say MTCA can give you cause they see work and get kids into to amazing programs every year. However, I know people get into schools without them and maybe they have better drama teachers or were featured in roles that fit their actual age where their drama teacher can see them in that light. </p>
<p>I did not get help with my prescreen other than reading I got in, however, my Dad is a great video editor so I am not sure how others do it. Also, I have never heard of a video prescreen producer directing them they just tell them sorta where to look and recommend shots they don’t change your material or anything. I do not think it is dishonest at all and I did not use a company to help mine, and mine were fine. Also, from what I have heard the schools care less about the quality (as long as its not grainy, not audible, and with a zany background) than the talent. </p>
<p>I did coach with MTCA beginning my Junior year and it gave me more than material it gave me confidence. I am from a suburban area in the midwest and when I started I had pictures of people who went to art schools everyday and I felt at a disadvantage in that way. It gave me confidence, material, friends, taught me hard work, and craft. I recommend getting coaching and I personally had a great time and results.</p>
<p>I know I should probably do it, but I resent having to spend the money just to make sure he is as prepared as everyone else. I keep hoping we can piece it all together without true “coaches.” I can put my English degree to work and help him find appropriate monologues. Then I’ll let try to find someone who will work with him on those monologues. I’ve given up on dance, but he’s got a good voice teacher. I hope that’s enough.</p>
<p>Our son used Susan Mascall, and given we knew virtually nothing about the process, her help was incredibly valuable. She helped our son pick his list of schools (and her assessment of his chances is something we could not have done), select his audition pieces, and perfect those pieces. He was completely prepared for his auditions, and we never once worried about whether he had selected appropriate pieces. She also arranged for the video taping of audition pieces, but this was optional, and her students all recorded these on the same day. There also were mock auditions, and she referred us to a photographer for headshots, and an application / essay writing coach to keep our son on track for the rest of the process. (I believe we spent more on the application support coach than on the audition coach. She made a complex, stressful process clear and relatively stress-free. Separately, our son also continued to work with his voice coach. </p>
<p>Our son primarily performs with a regional children’s musical theater that sends a number of people to top schools (BoCo, NYU Tisch, Emerson, Univ of Michigan, etc); some used audition coaches and some didn’t, some attended summer intensives and some didn’t, so it is clear to me that neither is a requirement for success. Having a coach worked for my son.</p>
<p>Edit: It was essential to me is what I am saying with my first paragraph like dcsparent you could try that and your son could be super successful,its all about the kid. It is not a necessity for anyone, but it is helpful for everyone. It is helpful and ethical to answer the questions</p>
<p>There are numerous, previous threads on this forum discussing the valuable role of MT coaches, what they do and don’t do, and how they have helped multitudes of students achieve places in their desired universities. I strongly advise everyone to search these threads out.</p>
<p>As the competition gets more and more difficult, it is a possible advantage that I recommend all parents look at, at least. My daughter worked with MTCA 2 years ago, both for placement in summer programs and then for university auditions. I, truthfully, do not know what we would have done without them. She was able to receive skype assistance and training as well as personal training and the cost for each session was right in line with what regular voice lessons would have been. I felt this to be a very fair investment, especially as it helped win my daughter artistic merit scholarship. They did so much more than just choose monologues . . . song choice, vocal technique instruction, dramatic instruction, complete musical accompaniment recording, college selection, direction through the process and ongoing support in many shapes and forms which continues to this day. </p>
<p>You question the ethics of using coaches. That has also been discussed in this forum again and again. I can assure you that the coaches that are mentioned most in this forum are highly ethical and invested in the success of their students. I just know that going into the process blindly, assuming that it is similar to auditioning for local casting opportunities, is a trap that I have heard many sad stories about. This forum provides much valuable advice about the process, and I encourage all parents and students to take the time to comb through it all. I also encourage parents and students to at least make inquiries about the coaching process before assuming that it is too big an investment or that it is not necessary. For us, it was invaluable!</p>
<p>I posted this on another thread but thought I’d also post it here since it’s applicable to this discussion too:
Just want to add our perspective so that those who aren’t able to access coaching or summer intensive/pre-college programs for whatever reason don’t feel “left out”. As we were starting our journey and I began reading posts on CC regarding the use of coaches and expensive summer/pre-college intensive programs, my heart fell. I started to worry that my D wouldn’t be prepared enough, so I looked at a few of the coach’s websites, but quickly realized that the cost and geographical location of the coaching and workshops were not going to work for us (I know you can access coaching sessions through skype but again there was a cost) and was shocked at the astronomical cost of the summer programs. My D wasn’t the one who was worried—she felt that her excellent voice teacher, high school drama teacher, choir teacher, etc. all had enough experience with the process that she would be fine, and she has been lucky to be involved in some excellent regional theatre summer shows. So we plowed through the audition season, she passed all her pre-screen auditions, did all auditions at Chicago Unifieds due to distance/cost/lack of free time of doing on-campus auditions, and I held my breath the whole time hoping that we hadn’t made a mistake in not getting more “coaching” and attending summer intensives at the various schools. My D was accepted or waitlisted and received scholarships at some excellent schools: Boston Conservatory, Point Park, Ithaca, Texas State, Ball State, and Carnegie Mellon. She will be a Freshman at Ithaca College this fall and could not be more excited. So please------those who are worried about coaching or summer intensives-----it’s not a do or die thing. I am not negating the use of coaches or summer college programs----I am sure they are extremely helpful. But if that isn’t something you can do, then all is not lost. Go for it, get lots of input from those around you who are experienced in voice/drama/acting, and enjoy the process!!! You can do it :)</p>
<p>We came into the process late–last summer–with no coaching, summer intensives or dance. He has a wonderful voice teacher and has had great school theater opportunities. S had his success at the end of the audition season, with acceptances from Northwestern in vocal performance, BW and Elon. I’ll give you a specific example of how coaching would have helped in his earlier auditions. He chose “Let me Walk Among You” from Batboy, and started his cut at an awkward point in the piano accompaniment. Weak. A couple of weeks later, he decided to replace it with “Live in Living Color” from Catch Me If You Can, starting from the beginning. It was a win every audition. Also, this was the feedback from his monologue from Glass Menagerie from the biggies at the beginning of the audition season (UMich and CM)–“extremely adequate.” Learning through trial and error is a great learning experience, but help choosing songs and cuts from songs, and expanding your monologue horizons is priceless. Hope this is helpful to someone. Good luck!</p>
<p>Do I think a coach is helpful? Absolutely. Do I think you have to pay gazillion dollars to some nationally known company that you have to use Skype with, etc? Not really. We were fortunate to have a woman locally who has been through the process and has set up a business as an audition coach. She was amazing. There are a lot of details to the process we would not have known about without her guidance. She probably spent as much time on how to answer questions, how to carry oneself during the audition, what clothes to wear, etc, as she did with coaching monologues and songs. Not that her guidance on songs and monologues weren’t extremely valuable as well. And she also gave my D great insight on schools and how well they’d fit with her goals. So I’d say a coach is great to have, and I’d look to see if you have an asset like that in your community.</p>
<p>As for the videos pre-screens, we had a friend that does video work tape my D, and our church organist did the accompaniment. Again pretty simple, and her coach checked them before submission. I don’t see how that could be construed as unethical.</p>
<p>I’ve seen some promotional material for expensive coaches that just totally turned me off, particularly the implication that these services are necessary. Careful, intelligent preparation IS absolutely essential. Drinking the Kool-aid for hyped coaches… is not. I hate the websites and ads that strongly imply that particular companies have a special “in” with the admissions people. If they do, that’s unethical, and if they don’t, they are unethical to market their services that way. </p>
<p>Needless to say, any coach is going to boast about the students who got into top schools and not mention the ones who didn’t. I have no problem with that.</p>
<p>That I would agree with. If there is a coach out there that gets preferential treatment by a school for his or her clients that to me would broach proper ethics. Don’t know if that happens, though.</p>
<p>For those who are new and unfamiliar with auditioning for collegiate musical theater programs I think coaching can be very helpful. We knew absolutely nothing about the process so chose to get a coach. Our coach, Mary Anna Dennard, made us aware of many programs we had not heard of that we included in our final list of schools. Coaching also helped us select monologues and songs and prepare them so they were audition ready. They helped us know what to expect in the actual auditions so our daughter felt confident in every part of her audition from what she wore to what was in her book to how to handle questions from auditors. Could she have done the auditions without a coach? Absolutely. Were we more prepared and less stressed by using a coach? Most definitely. I also feel strongly that there is nothing unethical about using a coach. It is just one option for audition preparation that some people choose to do. the question of ethics has come up in this forum previously regarding the relationship between coaches and mt program directors. my feelimg is this. The MT world is still small, although growing, so of course MT program heads know these coaches. For anyone to intimate that coaches knowing or being friends with MT program heads is unethical , as has been done in other threads, is just ridiculous and unfounded. Their knowing one another does not mean MT program heads give preferential treatment or consideration to coaches’ students. It does mean coaches have a good understanding of what MT program heads hope to see in an audition. I cannot state strongly enough that MT programs do not select students because of who their coach is. There are so many talented students who audition they have no need to do so. Each school needs to choose a class of students that meets their needs in Terms of type, voice, gender, personality and all of the other things that make the student a fit for their program. Not because of who their coach is. Do not hire a coach assuming they can get your child in a certain program - you will end up disappointed. The acceptance rates at all of these schools is extremely low. No coach can guarantee acceptance to any program. a coach is only there to help with audition prep. the rest is up to the students themselves and how they perform during their auditions. What coaching can do is help your student present themselves in their auditions in the very best possible way. And coaching does not have to be as expensive as everyone makes it sound. You can use a coach only for those things you really need … For example a few sessions to select and work on monologues. Most coaches will give you an hourly rate for their services. I don’t think you will find they cost more than what many people pay monthly for regular voice, dance or acting lessons. In the end, coaching was a good decision for our family but it may not be for you. I would suggest you talk to some coaches, consider your budget and decide what works best for your student. Successful students prepare in many different ways and coaching is just one way some choose to prepare. Best of luck to all of you auditioning this year!</p>
<p>I totally agree with those who have stated coaches are helpful but not necessary. My D is a rising senior and we started with MTCA about a month ago. We have known since middle school, that she would probably be heading down the Musical Theatre pathway so we have been preparing for quite some time. Several of her good friends have been quite successful getting into wonderful programs without professional audition coaches, and a few have used them and had great success as well. We made the decision based on what we felt was right for her-and what her needs were going into her senior year.
To be more specific, her local voice teacher, vocal coach, and high school drama director just didn’t have enough experience we felt to guide her in this process. Especially considering how fast things are changing with prescreens. All the professionals working with my D locally have been with her for so long, we felt a fresh set of eyes would be most helpful…and it has been!</p>
<p>I agree with all that has been said- a coach will not hurt but is certainly not necessary. My D did not use any coach or participate in any summer programs. She had a great local voice teacher, and a lot of local experience in community and regional theater. She was accepted at most schools she auditioned at and with some great scholarships. She just graduated so it has been a few years since she auditioned. Some will say the audition climate has changed in that time, but we know a number of local kids who have been accepted into great programs over the last couple of years, most with no coaching or summer programs. </p>
<p>You do whatever you have to and can do to get ready for auditions. My D picked all of her own songs and monologes, with a little input from her voice teacher. For kids who have been doing this awhile, that may not be a big issue. For those who are newer to the whole MT thing, or maybe live in more remote areas where not a lot of theater is offered, coaching might be an option. We chose not to spend what we thought were exorbitant costs to get coaching. We never even considered the well-known summer intensives as they were well over our budget. There is definitely nothing unethical or wrong about using coaching, but I hate for people who read these forums to think that they have no chance without some sort of coaching.</p>
<p>I agree with the “possibly helpful but definitely not necessary” stance on coaching and would like to add a couple of comments just as things to consider. </p>
<p>First: some schools say that they are very interested in the material kids choose for their monologues; if a coach is literally hand-picking your monologue material (as some promise to do), then it’s extra important for the student to invest as much thought and energy as possible into understanding WHY that material is right for them, not just taking it because it’s been handed to them. They’ll need to be able to analyze and pick material on their own when they get there, right?–not to mention understand their own persona as an actor and what kind of material resonates with them personally. </p>
<p>Second–and I believe this applies to all kinds of tutoring and coaching, not just in theater–it’s very important for students this age to know that they did this on their own and can take primary credit for their college acceptances. Obviously this isn’t a blanket statement, but it’s another example of why it’s crucial to talk with your kid and listen carefully to what they’re saying. In my professional life, I’ve seen a lot of situations where a student’s confidence and initiative were undermined by a parent’s insistence on deploying coaches, tutors, “organizational specialists,” etc., etc., to the point where the child felt like they could do absolutely nothing independently (and why would they bother?). Of course, private lessons, outside opinions, and all kinds of non-school-based experiences are crucial to our kids’ development as students, actors, musicians, and individuals, but it’s really, really important to let them develop on their own and to give them the opportunity to take risks and feel ownership of their own successes (and the inevitable failures as well). To everyone who believes their child would “never have gotten in without their coach,” I would ask that we all really think about what that implies in terms of our children’s own initiative and talent. It’s important to provide the support they may need, but it’s just as important to convey our own sense of confidence in their abilities–we need to know when to take off the training wheels.</p>
<p>Hope that wasn’t too soap-box-y, but I think sometimes we focus on the short-term goal (i.e., getting into that dream school) and overlook the long-term goal, which is to be a self-directed individual and competent adult!</p>
<p>I love what Times3 said about kids developing their own initiative. I’ve seen my son grow so much through this process – and look forward to seeing it some more as he goes to school.</p>
<p>That said, he’s taking private vocal lessons now and making huge process…it would have been nice if he’d had that a year ago.</p>
<p>My son had only his high school experiences. No coaches. I firmly believe he was better served by doing his research on audition materials, etc, on his own. There is no secret information to be had, just different ways to attain the knowledge and confidence. He is halfway thru college, doing very well in his program and in the field. He is in a program with plenty of kids who did audition coaching and they don’t have any advantage over him at all. </p>
<p>Ethical? Obviously coaching in itself is not unethical. </p>
<p>BUT, is the way the coaches and coaching services MARKET and SELL their services ethical? That is a very different question and one that is wide open. On coaching websites, the “soft sell” (or not so soft sell, really) of having pictures of faculty members from top programs and names of faculty members from top programs on your past master class instructor lists is questionable. What is the message there? It is a different message than “hey look at the top programs where our clients have been accepted.” If it was the same message, then “hey look at the top programs where our clients have been accepted” would suffice. One can easily argue that these coaches are implying that they have relationships with decision makers in top programs. People need to draw their own conclusions.</p>
<p>Times3 nailed it perfectly, as did Prodesse. This process is part of the growing process, the maturing that is so needed to be successful. I think coaching is much different from selling the perception that they can get you into a program, which is what some of these services imply. I would be wary of any company that promises or guarantees acceptances into audition based programs.</p>
<p>frazzled35 - you completely hit the nail on the head as to why we also hired MTCA - we have a FABULOUS local voice teacher - and great local dance and acting training - we did want some help selecting monologues - because we just weren’t even sure how to tackle that beast… not confident in what the drama teacher was providing. </p>
<p>But we mainly wanted an “outside” perspective - from someone she hasn’t worked with every day since she was 9 years old. Not because the feedback she was getting from that teacher wasn’t spot on - but because she was no longer listening to it. It’s the same reason she’s currently at the Broadway Theatre Project (which she called me from last night to tell me that her first class on the first day was “life changing”)… to get out of her bubble here - see how she stacks up against a wider national pool - and get some feedback from other professionals.</p>
<p>Her MTCA Dance coach also pointed out that the experience of BTP would leave her with a large group of friends that will be at auditions throughout the year, and the excitement of reuniting with these friends will help take the nervous edge off.</p>
<p>I don’t feel like that by doing this I’m not letting her “develop on her own” - I’m just getting her training to help build her confidence throughout this process. </p>
<p>I do think every family has to make that decision for themselves - but for us - we are happy that we are working with MTCA - and it isn’t costing a “gazillion dollars” - a coaching session costs me exactly what her local voice teacher charges for the same amount of time. We are also glad she’s getting to experience BTP this summer! If you could have heard her voice on the phone last night - you’d understand why… she is completely in her element, and loving every minute.</p>