College Audition Coaches

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>I think audition coaches can be extremely useful, and depending on the resources in your area, may be a good investment. My D attended a regular HS, but was able to participate in both good quality community theater as well as a well regarded regional theater in our area. She took weekly voice lessons from the time she was about 12, but did not use a vocal coach except for once her junior year to get ready for a competition. She did not take acting until she got into college, but did get a lot of direction in her theater experiences. She did not attend any theater type summer camps or programs. While she tried to fit dance in where she could, theater rehearsals generally interfered and she got most of her dance in the IB dance program and the dance team at her high school.
The one thing she has is a LOT of audition experience which I think made her pretty comfortable in college auditions. She did not use a college audition coach and yet had good results with auditions. The program she did not get into was a non-audition program. </p>

<p>I think if you are in an area with limited resources and do not have a lot of experience auditioning for more than high school musicals, it would probably be a very good investment to work with an audition coach. They can give you a lot of help picking appropriate monologues and song, critique your presentation, and teach you tricks to feel more in control at auditions. However, there are a lot of kids who do not use coaches and see great college audition results, so it is definitely not a necessity. Just know your strengths and weaknesses, and use whatever funds you have to best prepare for college auditions.</p>

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<p>takeitallin…you brought up something I was thinking of posting myself, but didn’t but will reiterate the point now that you made. I think auditioning is a skill in itself. I feel like you do that I think my kid had a plus that she had done so many auditions in her life and was used to being in such situations (albeit with college auditions, more is at stake, as she used to say). Kids who have only auditioned for things like school shows have limited audition experience. My daughter had auditioned for school, community, regional, summer program, and professional shows (including Broadway). Knowing how to present oneself in an audition, as well as having some self confidence in doing so, can only help.</p>

<p>One piece of advice is to audition a lot in the years prior to college. While vocal, acting, and dancing are skills one needs to develop through training, auditioning is also a skill to hone.</p>

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<p>I know this topic has been discussed a lot, but I thought I would share how my daughter and I worked out the coaching issue. She really felt she needed help with auditions for college and wanted coaching. I was focused on her improving her math grade and doing well on SATs. So we agreed I would cover prep for SATs and help with math and she would use her savings from babysitting and gifts for years (intended for college spending money) and she would agree to get a decent job summer after senior year to replenish some of her savings. I think this arrangement worked out well on so many levels. She loved the coaching she got (she chose MTCA after looking into several other options). She’s already in one auditioned program and one great liberal arts college, so we are both very happy already. We’ll see about the rest, but I know she grew enormously from the coaching experience and got much better at handling auditions, by the end she was almost relaxed about it. She especially liked the mentoring she got from current professionals who were working as actors and singers. I think she really appreciates the importance of paying for training now that she had to do it and I expect she will always make this part of her budget post college. For full disclosure she didn’t pay for everything, I ended up paying for headshots and accompanists for a dvd, an audition outfit, and the mock audition, but I think the arrangement really helped us feel we were sharing the financial burden. She has already arranged a job for the summer and knows she needs to work hard to make up her funds that were very well spent.</p>

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<p>I agree with soozie that auditioning is an acquired skill in of itself. I would recommend that up and coming students audition every chance they can possibly get, even if they feel they don’t have a remote chance of getting a part (however always be prepared to accept if offered a part that you have auditioned for). It is quite different performing on stage in front of a theater full of people versus walking into a room where 5 people are sitting at a table and staring at you and judging you. By practicing auditions, you know what to expect and learn how to take control of the room while in an audition, from taking time to review music with an accompanist, to thanking each of the panel before leaving. Auditioning is really an art and the more you practice, the better you will get. Auditioning for high school plays really does not prepare you, especially as so many of the kids here are “the very best in their towns”. Some kids are so used to always getting the leads at their high school or in community theaters. It is quite different to get out into the audition world and find that almost everyone there is as good as you- the confidence can start to dwindle quickly when you first realize you are not the best anymore! I remember seeing kids at the Unifieds who just melted when they heard some of the voices warming up in hallways- it can be very intimidating! I don’t think I can emphasize enough the importance of auditioning over and over. So for those kids who do not have access to audition opportunities, I am sure a coach can help prepare you so that you know what to expect.</p>

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<p>The question the OP raises here regarding if artistic audition coaches are worthwhile, was the same question raised in a recent thread on the Theater/Drama Majors forum, where the OP asked if coaches are beneficial:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1098084-tips-preparation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/theater-drama-majors/1098084-tips-preparation.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I posted twice on that thread…post #5 to address the OP, and then post #7 after a member asked if the coach needs to be a college audition coach necessarily. Here are my two posts which I will paste below since this thread on the MT Forum is about the same topic as the one on the Drama Forum and I don’t want to rewrite my response:</p>

<h1>5:</h1>

<p>

</p>

<p>^^part of my response above also addressed a member who asked about hearing that kids should not be “over coached” and also asking if it is really necessary to have coaching if the student does her homework to prepare…</p>

<h1>7:</h1>

<p>

</p>

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<p>I cross posted with you, takeitallin, but you bring up high school show auditions. And another thing about those is that not only are some of these kids used to being cast well at school (I know mine was used to getting leads every year at school), but the people casting your HS show know you before you even walk in the room. That is not the same as a college audition, professional or regional theater audition, etc. where the only way they know you is at the audition itself. It truly is different. I venture to say at our HS, before my kid even walked in the audition room, they had some pre-conceptions of who they MIGHT cast in various roles given the kids at the school they had to work with. But at a college audition, they know nothing about you and so what you do in the audition room is all that counts (as far as the audition portion, not counting the rest of the application and admissions decision aspects).</p>

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<p>thx for all the great information. I have a lot of information to go through and think about while we decided if we are able to re-allocate some money to swing something like coaching. I am so glad I found this website and started to research and plan now</p>

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<p>I think this is a very worthwhile discussion for those up and coming. I do not disagree with anyone that has been posted…I think it is helpful to know of different ways to approach the audition year.</p>

<p>Like some, my daughter graduated from a public school, with little theatre teacher support. She had private voice lessons since the age of 12, some dance, and many experiences auditioning, for school, community and regional theatre, summer programs, and Broadway. I will have to add, my daughter loves to audition!! She was also very mature for her age and always has been!! She also comes from an area that few ever leave the state to go to college and certainly almost never for MT!!!</p>

<p>One advantage that my daughter had was she also competed in Dramatic Interpretation in the National Forensic League and competed regionally, state wide and went to nationals all four years of high school. Although this competition is not truly the same as performing a monologue for college auditions, it did teach her how to pick an appropriate piece and do the research necessary. She did not have a coach for this, and it helped her to trust herself and do the work!</p>

<p>One of the best things that happened for her was to attend a nationally auditioned summer camp for the two summers prior to college audtions. This experience gave her the opportunity to see herself among some of the most talented young students and see where she fell into line, it gave her many needed skills, great contacts and confidence! It also solidified her list of schools and where she chose to audition.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, money was an issue for us, so our daughter was only allowed 6 auditions on campus. She had full ride safeties in state. She ended up auditioning for 5, being accepted to 4 and waitlisted for the fifth, she cancelled the 6th audition. She also received academic and talent scholarships to all of her schools…so grades do matter!!!</p>

<p>My point here is that there is no question in my mind that a top notch coach is helpful, it can also be done with hard work, raw talent and all the information you can arm yourself with! lol. We feel so fortunate, no one from our area had even attempted such a thing! At my daughters graduation they announced all the scholarships dollar received for each student and my daughters scholarship awards were the second highest for the entire school…second due to a full ride to the naval academy!!</p>

<p>For those up and coming…there is not one path, there is not one right way. Know your child, know your resources and know your schools. This forum is a wonderful resource, use it well!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>My son is a freshman MT student at UArts. When he was a senior in HS we did not even know that audition coaches existed until we began reading this forum. It panicked me that he was not using a coach, but he could have cared less. He felt very confident with the skills he developed through his HS theater experience and his 10 months of private voice. He picked his own monologues and song selections and had no “mock auditions”. He was excepted to 6 of the 10 school he auditioned to. Could he have been accepted to more programs with a coach??? Maybe, but i believe he is in the program that fits him best and he is very happy with where he ended up. We could not have afforded to pay for a coach. I guess if you have the money then it would be a good idea, but if you are a family who does not…it can be done without.</p>

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<p>mommamt brings up another point…by attending a summer program that draws students from a national pool and/or participating in some sort of national adjudication (her D did Forensics, which we don’t have here, but for example, my D entered NFAA YoungArts which I had read about on CC as a matter of fact or would not have known of it back then), allowed our kids to self evaluate against a national talent pool and see how they fared among such kids, which is similar to BFA auditions. While we were VERY nervous about the VERY low odds involved in BFA in MT admissions, and my D only applied to 8 schools total, we had some inkling that she was a competitive candidate due to her being able to be among a national pool and having fared well. It gave us some indication that she was an appropriate candidate at least. Those who have not gone to a summer program or been in any sort of competition on a national scale, can still be admitted to BFA programs but may have more difficulty ascertaining their competitiveness in such a talent pool. For those kids, it really would help to meet with an audition coach OR a voice and acting teacher who have worked with others who have been successful in BFA admissions who can give an honest evaluation if your kid is an appropriate candidate for such programs.</p>

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<p>Let the buyer beware! A bad coach is worse than no coach. Look for coaches with strong, successful, track records. You want a frank and honest assessment of your talent/chances based on their experiences and their knowledge of the marketplace. Remember though, coaching IS A FOR-profit business. Just like summer camps and two week intensives. I personally like the two week intensives for the smaller budget, especially the summer going into senior year.</p>

<p>That being said, a good coach is well worth it. Through the years my daughter met with both acting and vocal coaches monthly and her growth as a performer was evident.</p>

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<p>We decided to go with a coach because as Mom24girls said, choosing to audition for a MT BFA is already a HUGE investment and we wanted to feel that we had done everything we could to give our D the best possible chance. </p>

<p>We didn’t want to end up feeling we had spent thousands on travel to auditions, applications, etc. only to stint that last “little” bit (and I realize it can be a considerable amount when we had the option to do so. I think she will feel better about whatever outcome she has knowing she had the best preparation we could afford. Yes, it means we are sacrificing in other areas this next year but we will sleep easier next year while we’re waiting for results.</p>

<p>Also, we really had no way to evaluate our D’s competitiveness in a national pool. Sure, we think she’s awesome, but naturally, we’re incredibly biased! And getting the lead in a bunch of local Youth Theater shows doesn’t really tell you where she’ll fit in the “real” world. \ Since she had never done any camps or anything where she had to compete in a larger pool of talent we really didn’t know if it was even realistic for her to dream about pursuing an audition-based BFA. I think hiring a coach will help us to determine that.</p>

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<p>Usually, there is an initial consultation before you or the coach commit. So you can decide for yourself if you like and trust the coach well enough to trust your student’s training to them. I would look for someone who is a recent product of this MT school industry and who is currently still very involved in both the schools and the business itself. Obviously you want to see that they have successes in the students they place, and an ethical coach won’t take the money from some one who really, honestly, needs to pursue another path. BUT on the other hand, if they just cherry pick kids who could pretty much start working now, I don’t see how that really proves much about their ability to actually help a kid who needs help. I mean, there has to be something there for them to work with; no school list or audition pieces out there will create talent where there isn’t any, but if there’s talent that just needs the right pieces and places to show and help with getting them them there, that’s what a good coach provides. (then there’s luck which they can’t provide but they are awfully good about cheering you on or being a shoulder to cry on depending on how it goes as well as advice about how to soldier on.) </p>

<p>I think I was most grateful just to have expert opinions, and even if I didn’t really like the truth they were good at explaining it so I at least understood it. (this sounds like they had to tell me some very hard unpleasant things about D which actually isn’t the case; I am actually referring to certain things about colleges and degrees that we were hoping were possible, but weren’t. Just to avoid speculation here. :wink: )</p>

<p>If you hear dodgy sounding things like promises that nobody could really honestly make, (they can’t promise you will get into ANY school, nobody can promise that) or evaluations of a kid’s current ability that you know in your heart are just not right - keep looking. I would expect that with most kids, they are going to have both strengths and weaknesses, so I would expect a good coach to be able to assess fairly quickly a pretty good idea of what those were.</p>

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<p>My D wasn’t made any promises and was actually turned over to a wonderful vocal technique coach a few months into her training to help her with her voice technique and to help her manage her allergies. They have been a godsend as well through all the stress and waiting for decisions! I don’t regret it one iota!</p>

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<p>And some coaches require and audition. We auditioned with a friend and our friend was referred to someone else that she just loved. There has to be a fit.</p>

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<p>TracyVP</p>

<p>It’s been my experience that there are vocal coaches and acting coaches. VERY rarely is there one coach that can perform both duties. A good coach in NYC runs about $100.00/45 minutes.</p>

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<p>We paid $100 for an hour.</p>

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<p>Sounds like a bargain. LOL</p>

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<p>Yes, we are also going with a coach that charges $100 per hour. With the coaches we have chosen, we have the option to do either vocal or monologue coaching (with a different person for each) and we will probably choose the monologue coaching first. I think we have the vocal stuff covered with our local options.</p>

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<p>Look into MTCA (musical theatre college auditions). They offer help with song selection, vocal coaching, acting coaching as well as mock auditions. They were reasonable and offered great moral support as well as guidance throughout the process. I don’t know how we would have done it without them. They gave my daughter invaluable advice and support. They have coaches in NYC but Skype with people all over the us-wect coach and midwest. We definitely felt we had a whole team behind us and it was comforting seeing MTCA students and their families at auditions.</p>