I was blissfully unaware of the world of college audition coaches until I joined CC a few months ago. Now, during the audition process, the panic is starting to set in… I’ve received two rejections already, and am coming to the realization that the possibility that I may not get in anywhere is very, very real. I’ve taken private voice lessons for the past 5 years, but the only dance/ acting training I’ve received has been through school classes, or through camps and the many workshops I’ve taken over the past few year. I’ve only ever auditioned for school shows and local community/ youth theatre. I’m starting to feel overwhelmed in this process, and I’m not sure if I have enough experience auditioning to make it into one of these programs. Is an expensive college audition coach really worth it? By looking on the websites, I’ve seen super high prices for only a few hours of coaching, and with the added costs of fees and traveling, I’m not sure if my parents will be okay with that.
My main guide through this process is my voice teacher, and an accompanist who she has asked to help me with video recordings. They give me feedback on my acting and vocal technique with my songs, but I’m not really sure what to do about the monologue and dance portion of the audition. Does anyone know of any good coaches who have more affordable prices, or are there any other resources other people have used to help them prepare? Thanks!
@jessieburnett many people go though this process without a coach; and many say that the best decision they ever made was to hire a coach. My D is currently a senior, and going through “the process” herself, so I am certainly no expert. So I will put on my “mom hat” and say this: You, and only you (and your parent(s), if they are involved in the financial aspect) should do a cost/benefit analysis, and decide how important this is to you: Would you be happy with a non-audition program? An audition BA program? Would you rather (and could you) take a gap year, and spend that time working with a coach and/or taking more classes, clinics, etc? Is your heart set on MT, or would you be just as happy in an acting, or general theater program? Many parents and students here will tell you that 2 successive prescreen rejections is par for the course, and has happened and will happen to THE most prepared and skilled student. As I replied previously-there are so many programs out there. If you want this, go for it. The only certain “no” is if you don’t try.
My S is a junior MT in a competitive audition-based BFA program. We did not use a coach, but his mom "haunted CC from the time he was in junior high. Everything turned out fine, but he was rejected from 4 of his 7 schools. He only wanted to go for “the top”. In retrospect we should have diversified his list much more than we did and although we had what we thought were very “in touch” teachers and coaches work on his material, my S’s outcomes were a bit shocking to his voice teacher (a CCM masters in vocal performance alum). We thought the program my S is currently attending was a “safety”. We couldn’t have been more wrong. If we had to do again, I think we might have sprung for a national coach just to better align his audition material with his true “type”. His training was excellent, but S went for material he thought would make him “stand out” - not what showed him at his best. I’m not sure we would spring for traveling to a coach, but from what is shared on CC I understand that skype sessions can be very beneficial. As @owensfolks said, there is no right or wrong decision here. Only what works best for you and your family. And if you don’t try, you already know your outcome.
@mom4bwayboy - I am confused by the phrase “if you don’t try, you already know your outcome”. Not try auctioning? Or not try coaching?
@jessieburnett - I have read a lot of posts written by people who are happy they used coaches… but to be 100% honest, I think a lot of what they provide (helping choose schools, materials etc) can be done on your own if you work hard enough at it. Now, a qualified coach might have a whole list of info to give…and it might take you hours/weeks to find the same thing… but it can be done. You have to decide what is more valuable… $$ or time at this point.
My D did not use a coach- she went to a PA HS and got help choosing material there, and her voice teacher. The school list was all us. I did heavy lifting on research (it was my main activity for several months). We had very specific criteria for schools. In fact, the head of her school made a number of suggestions that we did NOT take - because they did not work with a primary deal breaker of academics. (He had no problem with pure conservatory- I did) If I had it to do all over again, there would be things I would do differently- specifically schools I would not have on list, (b/c they didn’t belong there, she got sucked into a couple b/c “all” her friends were auditioning there) but I still would 't do a coach. For better or worse- we made on our choices, and that made the process feel more “ours”.
You may want to consider expanding the list of programs you are applying to and/or the types of programs. It sounds like the bulk of your training has been in voice. Have you considered applying to some vocal performance programs in addition to MT programs? Without knowing what schools are on your list, it is difficult to give you suggestions of programs you may want to consider, but CC is full of stories of people who only got in one program, or who got in a program they added late in their search, or who went to their BA safety and found it ended up being the absolute perfect fit in the end. Your audition journey is still just beginning. And hopefully it will end with finding the perfect place for you. So here are my thoughts:
- Have someone other than your voice teacher and accompanist review your materials. Get some honest feedback. It could be you may want to consider changing your material if it is not going over well in initial auditions.
- We did use a coach (Mary Anna Dennard) and were very pleased. We typically worked with her via Skype because we did not live near her. I know MTCA coaches work this way. Other suggestions would be Dave Clemmons and Chelsea Diehl. We did not have people in our community familiar with the college audition process so her knowledge about programs, audition material and the audition process was invaluable for us. But coaching is not for everyone. You might just reach out to a few coaches and see how much they would charge to give feedback on where you are so far. Having said that, and this is important, NO COACH CAN INSURE ANYONE OF AN ACCEPTANCE. So do not hire a coach thinking they can get you in a program. That is totally up to you. What they do is prepare you for the process. But it is still you and you alone in the audition room that gets you in a program. So make sure if you consider hiring a coach you do it because you feel they can provide you with some help that you do not currently have but need. Not because you think that if you hire them you are assured of getting in somewhere.
Were your rejections from prescreens or from live auditions? What programs were they from? As has been stated, rejections both during prescreens and the live auditions are quite common. Very few people get through this process without a number of rejections. Do not take it as a commentary on your talent. This business takes a lot of patience and perseverance and practice. So keep moving forward, evaluate if anything needs to change (your materials, your school list, your coaching, etc.) and stay positive. We will be rooting for you!
@vvnstar The schools that I got no’s from were Coastal Carolina and Elon, both from prescreens.
I’ll definitely look around for some coaches who might be able to help through Skype calls. Thank you so much for your suggestions, I really appreciate it!
Somebody said this before and my daughter said it again tonight. You only need one acceptance and you can only go to one college. You are early in the process. At least by not passing a prescreen you can cross those schools off your list. How many schools are you applying too? Do you have a safety or safeties. Do you have any alternatives. My daughter applied to 11 schools for BFA’s which was risky. If she didn’t get accepted she would have gapped. There are so many factors out of your control.hang in there.
We used Chelsea Diehl/MCA for our S and could not be more pleased with that decision. I also had done a LOT of research beforehand but Chelsea and team helped immensely in several ways:
- Helped S compile a focused list with more realistic choices. His original list was all the normal Reach schools and little else.
- He was confident of his song choices with his voice teacher but MCA helped him select monologues.
- MCA coaches helped him prep monologues and fine tune his songs so he was truly "acting" the songs, not just "presenting" them.
- They did a mock audition to walk through the entire process including possible adjustments and interview questions.
- Their professional wisdom in all these conversations has been SO valuable. Some of it echoed what I had been telling my S, but to hear it from pro's who know the landscape carried a lot more weight for him.
As a result, S was fully prepared and confident. He went to first audition in early Nov at a reach school (one of his Top 3) and got a phone call 10 days later that he was unanimously accepted!
All of the coaching was done via Skype. We paid for about $1,000 worth and did a la carte sessions. TOTALLY worth it because it will save us probably 3x more in applications, auditions and visits that we won’t have to do.
In January, we will be starting the process for the third time. My S is an MT (Jr.) and my D is an Acting BFA (Freshman). D2 will be pursuing MT. My kids attend (or attended) a PA HS for 1/2 days Junior and Senior year of HS. I feel they have very good guidance for monologue material and presentation. We also use a voice teacher in our area who has worked with students in many top MT/Acting programs across the country. We did not use a coach for S or D1. We spent inordinate amounts of time researching schools and building the lists. We were quite fortunate to have the PA faculty as well as Stagedoor folks (for my S) assist in the list build.
I feel between CC resources and the knowledge we have from going through the process multiple times (and helping a student this year), we have a handle on what it takes to get through the process. All said - we are still seriously considering a coach for D2. I don’t think we need a full complement of services but the good national coaches have built relationships with the schools and seem to be able to help with “will my student fit in that program.” It is also useful to receive critical feedback from someone who works regularly in the college audition space; it is its own beast! Also, in my experience, putting the package together for MT applications is more difficult and time consuming - a little help can’t hurt! I agree with @vvnstar - no college coach can insure acceptances but a college coach can help put your best foot forward.
@MTmom70, when did you begin the process of working with Chelsea (spring of junior year? earlier? later?)
@2wuhanmom Short answer: First call in May of junior year, then began in August.
Long answer: We first reached out to her in May of junior year and had a call at the end of that month to build an initial, HUGE list of schools. Then we let that list simmer and took a few months off from thinking about college because honestly, my S was fried by the end of junior year and we were overwhelmed by the idea of 12-14 schools. We seriously entertained a gap year bc this application/audition process is SO involved and can be a full-time job.
During those months, my S rested a lot and then we went to London to do a week-long MT intensive at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. That experience helped clarify his goals and direction so on the flight home we narrowed down his list of schools (seven schools, 14 programs) and wrote out a month-by-month game plan. In August he began applications and the audition coaching process and by end of Oct he was done with apps and prescreens and ready for his first audition. He dropped two more schools along the way so ended up with five schools for auditions.
@MTmom70 Thanks so much - very helpful!
I think if your budget allows, a good coach is a good investment. But be sure the coach is connected to the current college scene and is very aware of monologues that would be appropriate for you and the college. Running through an audition complete with a mock interview is really invaluable.
How long you have the coach really depends on your budget as well as your own kid. My S only had a coach for around 2 months as we couldn’t afford more, but also because he himself knew more what he wanted. If I’d been able to afford it, though, my D would have benefited from much more extensive coaching. Everyone is different here.
It’s also very important to understand your character within the context of the play, for each monologue (and for each song). Many callbacks will ask you to take direction or even improv. Be sure to know your character well, and context, so you can be prepared to take direction. A good coach will help you with all this.
@jessieburnett My D is a sophomore in her BFA MT program. She did not use a coach. Looking back I now know how “green” we were in the whole process and her experience. In the end, it comes down to your passion for this field, your preparedness and knowing who you are. If all of those are in place, you will shine in an audition…coach or no coach. Do your research of the programs, choose material for your type and just let your personality shine through!
We used My College Audition (Chelsea Diehl) and we are glad we did. We ended up getting about 12 lessons, but the ones that we would have been completely lost without were the lesson where we talked about the different schools and developed a list and the monologue selection lessons (2 lessons). Totally happy with Chelsea and her gang, they know what they are doing. All the lessons were by Skype and it worked fine. We were a little late starting (Late August of senior year), but we got everything done in time for prescreens.
Hey! I’m going through the process now without a coach and (a routinely scheduled) voice teacher. I was rejected from my pre-screens too but live auditions feel like a total different thing. It is so possible to do this without a coach. But you need to work hard and be self motivated. I found all of my material myself and I had a blast doing it. You just need to take your time and anytime you read the name of a play or musical you’ve never heard of look it up. Read the plot. Listen to the songs. I felt overwhelmed too but once you find what your looking for it will feel like a weight has been lifted! If you really think a coach can help ease your stress that’s ok too! I believe some people who have used coaches were talking about how they sometimes offer scholarships and I would definitely look into that! Best of luck to you!
@WhiteRaven1 it’s awesome that you’re doing all of this on your own without a coach! I hope all is going well, and that you’re killing it. BAL on the rest of your auditions.
@GordiaH Thank you very much! It means a lot!!!
Honestly, you could find almost everything you need to know OBJECTIVELY (meaning: we don’t know your kid) here on the pages of CC. But there are a LOT of pages. (And please - if you go this route - READ them before you ask questions.) OTOH, a coach can pretty quickly assess your actual in-person kid and give you some advice re school list and material. A coach who does this day in and day out and knows who gets in where pretty much DOES know what they are talking about (though you know your kid better so…) And here is another advantage: even if you (mom or dad) have poured over CC since your kid was in diapers and can recite every page, kids often hear things from an outside person that they can’t hear from us. Maddening but true, amiright?
Oh, yeah. ^^