<p>After a few months on this forum I noticed that it's a tendency among college applicants to hire private coaches to help them with their monologues.</p>
<p>I was wondering how much are coaches helpful or if coaching leads to the monologues being too unnatural and/or over-rehearsed. Also what are the chances of being accepted without the help of coaching? Is it really necessary?</p>
<p>I can’t tell you what the chances are of being accepted without using a private coach, but I can tell you that private coaching has made me feel substantially more confident in my audition pieces. Working one on one with a professional is incredibly helpful, and I would definitely recommend it.</p>
<p>Coaching certainly does NOT lead to you being too unnatural or anything like that. In fact, it enables you to find more ways to be natural and fresh each time you perform.</p>
<p>Professional actors have coaches too. </p>
<p>Obviously a lot depends on the coach. My son’s acting coach had been his director in a couple of plays (small professional theatre), so we already knew they worked well together. His coach helped my son select monologues – he is very knowledgeable – but didn’t say, “Do this one,” but rather, brought a bunch to his attention to try and select from, insisting, by the way, that if he chose a monologue from a particular play, he had to read the entire play. His coach helped him learn how to craft a monologue from dialogue in a play that doesn’t have any monologues. My son also learned a lot about how the various plays fit into the history of theatre and western culture. They worked on “beats” which my son understands though I do not, and it was a matter of “Take this home and work on finding the beats,” rather than being told where they are. They worked on some improv techniques, some cold reading techniques, and other general audition strategies. Most of all, the coach provided encouragement and inspired confidence.</p>
<p>Oh, and gave us great advice about what are the best college programs and why or why not. And made very sure my son understands that actors need to have theatre tech skills as well as acting skills.</p>
<p>It’s been a good thing. I don’t know how we’d have gone about finding a coach from scratch, though. There are ones who are very much self-promoters, who do not seem to be the best coaches.</p>
<p>My D auditioned for MT which included monologues, and was accepted to most of her programs , w/o a coach of any kind. We have noticed that while a lot of people here on CC use coaches, we do not know anyone locally who used one, and most had good audition results. We are fortunate to live in an area with a good theater community. I have no doubt that a Coach could be very beneficial- especially in an area where there are not as many resources available. However, Coaching can be very expensive and is not a necessity for good results. If money is not an issue then I am sure a Coach could help w/ confidence.</p>
<p>My daughter ended up using a coach recommended here by two CC Moms. She’s an accomplished actress and one time BFA program faculty who sort of fell into working with students on college auditions. Similar to one of the above posts, she helped by presenting a large number of monologues from a very large library she has developed. It was not anything like you should do that one. It was more like her are a huge bunch of possibilities – take the wholel play with you, read in context, and see if it works. Another area she helped with was getting my daughter over her fear of comedic pieces. She’s naturally funny but always was more comfortable with drama because she felt like she always had to try to be funny rather than let it flow. Much of this was less about actual advice – do this, do that, etc. – but building confidence as to what works. She talks to her a lot about the mental aspects of it and keeping the right frame of mind. </p>
<p>With the right choice of a coach, it is hard to imagine it not being helpful.</p>
<p>My son needs to find and perform a monologue for an audition in a couple of weeks for the Governor’s School for the Arts that is held every summer in our state. Though he’s done a lot of community theater, he’s never had to do this before. I’ve dug up some monologues, but I can tell that he doesn’t trust my judgment. So I’m hiring a local director to help him select one and polish it.</p>
<p>A good audition coach will greatly improve your chances of getting into the school of your choice. A bad one will do more harm than good.</p>
<p>But it shouldn’t be too mysterious. There isn’t some sort of “guild” of audition coaches who “licence” people to coach auditions or something like that. What we mean is just someone who can work with you on your audition, someone who knows the difference between a good audition and a bad audition, and can help you make your audition better.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>We never hired a monologue coach for our S because we couldn’t afford it. However, he did talk to his high school drama teacher about monologues, and the teacher was willing to hear S’s monologue if he wanted to run it by him.</p>
<p>However, S did a 5 week summer program (which is why we couldn’t afford an additional monologue coach - LOL!), and he was able to read plays and get advice about monologues there, too.</p>
<p>So it is possible to get help from those folks right around you! But I will say this - the advice can be short-sighted at times. S can sing and does musicals at school, but only wants to act in college. He got suggestions from his voice teacher and his musical director at school to audition for MT, and what songs to pick for it. It was uncomfortable for him to keep saying he only wanted straight acting.</p>
<p>Unless a student has has some sort of training or extensive theatrical experience, coaching (even a very few sessions) can be extremely valuable. The student is competing for acceptance against a lot of very well-prepared kids.</p>
<p>The most important thing to look for in a coach is someone who is familiar with the college audition process…and, ideally, has coached others who have been accepted into the type of program you are interested in.</p>
<p>Selection of appropriate monologues is perhaps the most challenging part of the whole process. A qualified audition coach can be of immeasurable help with that as well.</p>
<p>Coaching can be expensive, but other elements of applying to colleges are expensive too. My personal recommendation would be to apply to no more than 9 or 10 colleges (instead of 14 or 15, as many do) and use the money you save on applications and audition fees for a few sessions with a carefully-chosen coach.</p>
<p>My son didn’t have a coach. He ran his monologues with his HS Director a few times before Unifieds, then off we went. The experience of Unifieds helped him work out some of the kinks - he rec’d some great feedback & suggestions during that time. Two weeks later he auditioned on campus at his #1 choice and was accepted there. So, having a coach may help, but is not necessary.</p>
<p>Neither my son or daughter had a coach but did have a wonderful support system with their teachers and directors from our community theatres. I think if you have no access to professionals, a coach would be most helpful.</p>
<p>After each coaching session, I would ask my son if it was helpful and worth doing again. He always said yes. He’ll be meeting with his coach next week before Unifieds.</p>
<p>As prodesse says, professional actors have coaches too-- just as writers have editors. That ‘other’ can be incredibly helpful. But–we tried one with pretty bad results. Others had recommended her but she was strangely critical and actually damaging to D’s confidence. D kept trying to make it work, which in retrospect was a mistake. So what’s my message? I guess that it’s like anything else, you often need some trial and error first. And don’t hesitate to look elsewhere if it doesn’t feel right.</p>
<p>That’s wonderful that your son received great feedback and suggestions during Unifieds, bazaarshopper. I’d say it’s far from common. Many auditions are pretty cut and dried.</p>
<p>Sometimes the student knows whether or not they need coaching. My son had only limited, patchy training and experience. He knew he needed coaching</p>
<p>Others might honestly not know whether they need coaching or not. One thing that some students do is apply to only a few schools and see how it goes. If they don’t get in anywhere, they take a gap year and then reapply, after obtaining some more training (and possibly coaching). There have been a number of stories in the forum about kids who have reapplied to schools after a gap year and been accepted at great programs.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with the people who say “Our kid didn’t have a coach, they just worked on their monologues with their acting teacher”. In that case, the acting teacher IS the coach. That’s all we are talking about, somebody to help prepare for auditions, whoever they are, whether you pay them or not.</p>
<p>KEVP</p>
<p>My opinion is that most kids need help preparing for the auditions, and solid one-on-one help is extremely effective (as if they had music lessons). Some kids have great mentors and don’t need an official “coach.” I think it’s worth looking into, and knowing whom you’d go to if you’re realizing the preparation isn’t going the way you’d like it to.</p>
<p>Also to follow what Gwen said, it’s again a question of knowing your own kid. My D had some people to work with, people she trusted. Was it enough actual coaching? In an absolute sense, no - she could have been better prepared, could have had some more help dealing with nerves, etc., could (always) have had better monologues. But 1) we could not find someone else that worked for us - would have had to be online or a very long drive; and 2) she ultimately decided she didn’t want to add that kind of expense and complication to this process. </p>
<p>Considering how much my D has learned in her college program - and she says what she understood and could do after even one semester was light years beyond where she was at during application time - having a super private coach could have been great, and might have changed her admissions results. But time and place are also factors - she had to be who she was, had to work within the maturity level, emotional level, personal level that she was at as a HS senior. She worked very hard. And she got into a program that is wonderful for her. If she hadn’t gotten into any auditioned programs, she would have gone to a BA and also learned and grown a lot. </p>
<p>How much intensity and pressure is right for an individual student is a very personal decision. In this field - at least still, for now - it is not standard for all auditioned programs to expect years of coaching or private lessons, or experience much beyond what a basic HS can offer. There is a place for anyone with passion and dedication to learning to have a great training experience, and you do not have to get into the tippy-top programs to have any chance at getting a job. There also is no hurry - you are not washed up if you don’t move right from HS into a certain college program. </p>
<p>Coaching is good for two things: 1) helping nail down the truly necessary things you need to bring to an audition; and 2) giving you more confidence and understanding of the process. If you have these things or can get them without intensive coaching, don’t be concerned. If you can get some more with coaching and feel positive about the experience, that is great.</p>
<p><strong><em>sigh</em></strong></p>
<p>KEVP - I was responding to the OP’s reference to:</p>
<p>“a tendency among college applicants to hire private coaches to help them with their monologues.”</p>
<p>I interpreted that to perhaps mean that it would be a financial matter for them, so I wanted them to know that we did not HIRE a coach. I believe most of us know that a teacher can be seen as a coach.</p>
<p>Coach to me means college audition coach more than acting coach. Someone who helps with the whole process including the list and the monologues. A national coach familiar with the college audition process and exactly what top tier schools are looking for from prospective students. Of course, working with anyone can help and I did two sessions with a local acting coach that were beneficial. I also met with a well-known college audition coach but decided to go it alone. Here’s hoping!</p>
<p>People I know who have coaches are pretty seriously coached like for years and years with lots of parent and coach guidance in everything from wardrobe to summer programs and apps and performance skills. It gets intense and I can’t afford to do that and really didn’t want to but I’m pretty sure it makes a big difference.</p>
<p>Yes, a connected, savvy college acting audition coach can definitely give you a leg up. BUT we couldn’t afford coaches. I’m a single mom of five. So to those who cannot afford coaches like actor12: Don’t lose hope! </p>
<p>HOWEVER, just as you would have to do if you didn’t have, say, a tutor for the SAT, you will have to do the leg work yourself and find mentors who will advocate for you. This is not impossible at all. My kids were blessed with several different sorts of mentors: from directors they’d worked with to knowledgable high school teachers. But you do need someone to help you with the monologue, unless you have a great deal of experience. actor12, Pm me if you need ideas.</p>
<p>I agree with actor 12: a college audition coach is VERY different from a professional acting coach. They can be the same person, but don’t have to be. A professional acting coach is working one on one with you on your acting skills, whatever they are. Sometimes they can also work with you on a particular part for a movie/play. But they are more connected to the professional world rather than the college world–the two are not the same, although there is of course overlap. </p>
<p>A college audition coach is someone who helps you with the whole process of auditioning for college–she/he works on helping you identify the best monologue, the best schools for you, and works with you on interviewing, etc. This person should be familiar and connected with the BFA/BA world, know what programs there are and at best should have connections with some of the colleges. </p>
<p>actor12, my kids had NONE of the advantages you list, and yet they got into top colleges. Yes, to be well off & to have heavily involved parents can give you very big advantages. There is no denying that. </p>
<p>But it is NOT impossible to succeed without being well off or not having involved parents. And on the plus side, my own kids learned early on to advocate for themselves and to be resourceful. Not saying that a kid with all that help ISN’T resourceful at all! Just that you HAVE to be if you don’t have the advantages of coaching for years, and as you say, ‘guidance in everything from wardrobe to summer programs and apps and performance skills.’ I am too overwhelmed myself to operate as their manager or whatever, I did not schedule things for them, carry their stuff, remind them of anything. I could not hire anyone to do that either. </p>
<p>For example, one time my oldest went to a big college audition and realized he’d forgotten his resume and headshot. He then had to figure out for himself what to do, and quickly remembered it was online as he’d emailed them recently for another audition. So he found a Kinko’s and got online and printed them out. Luckily, he’d arrived at his audition an hour early so he got there on time. This is one example of a situation that happened because I wasn’t his ‘manager’, no one ‘reminded’ him to do anything, and then he had to figure out what to do. He then was able to grow from that and learned NEVER to forget his headshot/resume again! :-)</p>
<p>This is just a small example. I sympathize with you–as another low income person, I find it can be very dispiriting at times when I see how much help others get. But I’m here to tell you it’s entirely possible to succeed without all that help. YOu just have to advocate more for yourself, stay positive, learn from your mistakes, and never give up! And remember, these are skills EVERYONE needs sooner or later, so the benefit is that you are learning them sooner. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>This is a great discussion! Connections, your perspective is really helpful.</p>
<p>What I’d hope any prospective theatre student learns here is that there is a spectrum - a spectrum among the people you work with (teachers, directors, acting coaches, experienced college coaches, etc.), a spectrum among parents in terms of money, time, experience, and a spectrum among the kids, too.</p>
<p>The good news is that most kids who want to study theatre end up doing so. There are too many ways to go - whether in college or not - and too many non-auditioned BA programs that offer good training and experience for anyone to be kept from pursuing this dream.</p>
<p>I hope that prospective theatre kids and parents see here that you can go through this process in your own way - yes, a higher level of resources, a higher level of maturity, and a greater access to opportunities is likely to make it a little easier to get into a prestigious, more competitive program. Well - isn’t that true about any college admissions, or really a lot of other things, too? :)</p>
<p>I applaud connections’ son for his resourcefulness. He clearly has great gifts and has learned some terrific lessons. As with many things, some kids learn those lessons sooner rather than later. It is pretty normal for kids on this forum to have some hand-holding and to have parents running interference with things like paperwork, scheduling, transportation, etc. If you fear you wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation she described, don’t feel alone. I think at that time in her life, my D probably would have freaked out in a situation like that, and certainly would at least have been pretty shaken when it actually came time to audition! I’ll even dare to say that a high proportion of artsy kids aren’t known for their strong attention to detail and intensive planning. The great thing is that college is a wonderful place and time for people to grow and develop these skills. As with academics, there often is a real blossoming, plus a solid focus, on learning to be independent problem-solvers. It’s OK if you don’t have everything all together BEFORE you audition, and BEFORE you’ve gone to college. And I think the schools - even the top ones - understand that.</p>