not using a coach...

<p>So, long story short, the coach we hired has just not worked out! Unfortunately DH & I had some reservations after the sessions started, but D was not there yet, well now she is. She feels she gained a few things, but overall it is just not a good fit. She has all of her materials chosen, has been practicing her songs & is almost memorized w/her monologues (this area is a strength for her), but now we are on our own! She does have a former voice teacher (more classically trained & not a belter, but my D loves her & they have a great relationship!) who is going to help her out & a music teacher at my school who is helping her record her accompaniment.</p>

<p>So for those of you that had a coach, I'm just wondering what your thoughts are about what else she should be doing to prepare herself, based on your experiences w/having a coach prepare your child for the auditions.</p>

<p>Thanks so much!
Tami</p>

<p>My D’s coach did a lot of work on how she entered the room and interacted with folks. Be friendly, look people in the eye, stuff like that. She emphasized proper interaction with the accompanist. Make sure her music is marked well, and be polite if that person has questions. Remember that she is being judged the ment she walks in the room so sany attitude will be noted.</p>

<p>As for material, make absolutely sure you don’t pick overused songs or songs from shows or composers that the school’s website specifically says or to use. Make sure you keep to the times and don’t go over the time. You may also want to see if a local actor would listen and provide input.</p>

<p>With all her materials chosen I would say you’re in a good place. I think choosing the right material for college auditions and having to pay attention to age and type while doing so is the hardest part. If she’s been auditioning over the years, then I’m sure she knows how to conduct herself at an audition and she’ll be just fine.</p>

<p>Best wishes to her this audition season.</p>

<p>Encourage her to read all those “audition tips” articles just for reminders, which will be better for your relationship than for you to remind her of those things.</p>

<p>Shorter is better than longer. Having a monologue that is slightly too long will cause a ton of stress.</p>

<p>I agree with GSOMTMom, finding the material is so difficult. I wish more top playwrights would write plays with a reasonable amount of dialogue for older teens – male and female, comedic and dramatic, without much swearing.</p>

<p>Sorry for the typos in my post, can’t figure out these cell phone keyboards! The above makes a good point about age appropriate numbers, but you probably have that covered. </p>

<p>Just tell your D to go in with a good attitude, friendly, cooperative, confident but not cocky. Remember the people doing the auditions are looking for talent, but also for people they feel they can work with for 4 years straight. And they want each kid to do their best with their audition. They’re rooting for your D to do well, and I’m sure she will.</p>

<p>Our son did not have an audition coach and did not do any on-campus auditions. He only went to Unifieds.</p>

<p>He did take two audition classes through a youth theatre organization, but these classes were for auditioning for shows rather than a college program.</p>

<p>He was an experienced “auditioner” and he approached his college auditions as-such.</p>

<p>It wasn’t until late in the process (after finding and reading these posts) that I discovered there were college audition coaches, and it wasn’t until he got in school that we realized how “risky” we had been by only audtioning at Unifieds and not having a coach.</p>

<p>He did get into all of his top schools and matriculated to his top choice.</p>

<p>That said: It’s an audition. Be confident. Be yourself. Do your thing. This is was my only advice to my son, “You’re not there to beg. Put your best stuff out there and make it hard to for them say ‘no’ to you.”</p>

<p>Good Luck</p>

<p>“You’re not there to beg. Put your best stuff out there and make it hard to for them say ‘no’ to you.”</p>

<p>I love this, ManVan!!!</p>

<p>ManVan, were you really being “risky”? It sounds to me like your son as well prepared, qualified and ready to audition as any of the coached kids who auditioned with him. </p>

<p>As for being judged the moment you walk in, I agree, but keep in mind that these aren’t heads of state, they are college teachers who are (very) human beings. </p>

<p>JeffandAnn makes a great point. The kids who are confident but not cocky, friendly, and exhibit a good attitude, are able to think on their feet and take direction make a good impression. They are looking for kids they can work with for the long haul who are going to fit in and enrich their program as much as the program will enrich the student.</p>

<p>I love the “You’re not there to beg” too! I tried this on my S but it went in one ear and out the other.</p>

<p>I read on this site and I saw in person this weekend how very human the faculty is. A boy that auditioned before my S really really BELTED his song out. He was the only one we could hear through the walls, but I couldn’t really tell if it was good or not because it was just so loud. S (who was right outside the room) said he had a nice voice but was really over singing it and blew the last big note completely. The Head of MT took him into another room and gave him some advice, we don’t know what it was but the kid looked more relaxed when he returned. I thought this was a great example of how the auditors care.</p>

<p>I don’t agree that it is risky not to use a coach or to only audition at Unifieds. Our D chose to do both and had great results. The key is to be fully prepared and confident no matter how you choose to get there. I have seen no advantage to auditioning on campus vs. at Unifieds, other than the possibility of being sick during Unifieds. </p>

<p>Preklbt- it sounds like your D is in good shape, as long as she is comfortable with the material her coach helped her select. As others have suggested just make sure she reviews how to approach the accompanist and how to enter and exit the room. If she is open and friendly she will be great. You might also go thru possible questions she may be asked: what attracted you to our program, what would you like to achieve in a college program, etc.</p>

<p>No coach for us and only auditioning at Unifieds…only time will tell…</p>

<p>Although we did a few on campus auditions - many of my D’s auditions were at Unifieds with good result. In fact, she felt she did better in that environment as she thrived off the energy and quick pace of so many schools and students in one place. The on campus days sometimes zapped her energy as it drew out the process. But for some of her schools, on campus auditioning was the only option. My point is …Don’t fret if you are only going to Unifieds. We loved that whole experience. Be assured that schools would not participate in Unifieds if they didn’t select students from those auditions. We have many friends who got accepted to all sorts of programs including CMU, Michigan, And CCM after auditioning at Unifieds. It can be done! You all sound well prepared. Go and do your best and enjoy the process. Believe it or not, this time next year you will be missing some of this craziness!</p>

<p>MTMajorCook,</p>

<p>Your description of the head of mt taking the student aside and giving him some extra help is indicative of what my son saw at almost every school and at unifieds. These are for the most part people who are truly committed to the art and craft of acting and musical theater and they are, time permitting, honest, helpful and sincere. Their stamina for this is also to be commended. They see a lot of kids! </p>

<p>The crazy thing is, given the numbers, there is a good chance that kid still won’t get accepted into that program, but that’s not why the head of mt did what he did. He did it because he knows the kid is worthy and has a whole bunch of college auditions to go to and it will help at the nextone, and so on. My son appreciated the feedback when he got it, but also understood that not all schools do it the same way and not all give feedback.</p>

<p>So good to hear that auditioning at Unifieds can be very successful. That has been my biggest worry.</p>

<p>I imagine at one time auditioning solely at unifieds was risky. On the few college tours we’ve been on, our tour guides auditioned at unifieds and one even submitted a dvd audition and they got in. It’s a new day!</p>

<p>My son did not use a coach. He had no training outside of his high school shows going into this. He prepared himself, and things worked out well for him as far as acceptances, and he has had a very good run in his program and outside his program since starting college. He did about half his auditions on campus, and half at unifieds (or in NYC the same weekend of unifieds). Half his acceptances were on campus, and half from unifieds weekend.</p>

<p>For a motivated student, all the info and advice is out there for free if you look for it. If I were a college rep I’d be more impressed with a kid who did all the research themselves than with one whose parents just paid a lot of money for a coach. And it could backfire. What if the college rep knows but doesn’t like your coach?</p>

<p>They wouldn’t necessarily know who used a coach and who did not. Though it’s possible that there are little “tells” the college reps can discern a mile off, in terms of how the big coaching companies prep their students.</p>

<p>I agree with prodesse about them not knowing unless you put it on your resume. I don’t think they care if you were coached or who your coach is. They are looking for the most talented kids they can find that also seem to fit their programs. There may be times when they can tell someone was coached because of a certain acting style or vocal technique that doesn’t seem natural. The good coaches out there just work to bring out the best in each kid and don’t make them sound coached. I also think most schools are willing to take a kid with a few bad habits (whether caused by coaching or not) but lots of natural talent.</p>

<p>I get the impression that a lot of people have a misconception on coaching. They are not creating cookie cutter actors, well at least not the ones we are using. My D is working with a monologue coach and a song coach and she is working very hard. She is breaking down each sentence of each monologue and song, really understanding what the words mean, and making HER acting choices. The coaches help guide her, help her understand what questions she needs to be asking to understand the dialogue, but in no way tell her how she should act. I saw her perform these for the 1st time when she did her pre-screens and she is definitely showing who she is and her interpretation.</p>