We have been investigating utilizing a coach for our son who is a Junior. Specifically interested in College Audition Coach (Mary Anna Dennard) due to ability to participate in Moonifieds.
My question is 2 part. Anyone who has participated in Moonifieds would you mind sharing your experience and if you felt it was beneficial in overall process.
In addition I have not had a great initial impression from their website. I tried to sign up for consultation, completed registration form and submitted payment then got a screen of jibberish. It did say my payment was approved but I never received a confirmation and the payment has not been deducted from my checking account. In addition the link to contact them via email seems to be broken as I get an error when I click on that. There is no other means to contact them listed on the website. I also sent a message on facebook via messenger and haven’t received a response.
In most situations this would make me look elsewhere, but we are really interested in Moonifieds! Any guidance/expertise would be greatly appreciated!!
Kristie
Our son worked with Mary Anna and absolutely loved her and the Moonifieds experience! From our perspective, her guidance and support and Moonifieds was absolutely worth the cost! I just can’t say enough about the benefits of Moonifieds - it was so incredibly efficient, supportive and a great way to start college audition season. Highly recommend!
The College Audition Coach website was in transition over the past few days to update for Decision Day yesterday, so some of the functions weren’t working at full capacity. But it’s back up and running now! I’m guessing the last few days are some of the busiest of the year for them - she is super responsive so I’m sure you’ll hear back shortly!
Hi @kristiern1 Just an FYI on the website - they’ve been doing a refresh over the past few days while they add all their admissions from this year’s class to the “Our Performers” page. It’s not usually like that. I just sent Moo an email and I’m sure she will look into it.
Moonifieds was a wonderful experience. It was so organized (not like chaotic Unifieds at all - which are fun, but very different). D got to know a bunch of other kids on the same path. There were warm-ups and other sessions conducted by different auditors and former Moo students who are now working pros. D got in a bunch of auditions (maybe 12 or 14!) during that time. That led to a couple of early admissions which was hugely confidence boosting.
As great as Moonifieds are, though, that’s not why I recommend CAC. Moo and Mark were able to immediately understand who D is, and found monologues and songs that were so totally her - things you haven’t heard of. The coaching was so fantastic - everything from headshots, to wardrobe, to conducting yourself in the room, to after the audition. They don’t forget a detail. So many kids are beaten up after this process. Not D. She is more confident and more joyful than I’ve seen in a long time. I credit that to Moo’s coaching and the way they were able to help her bring out her very best. D isn’t going to Michigan or CMU, but she is going to a school that she was able to clearly see how they fit her very specific needs - and that clarity is due in large part to the CAC process.
So that’s it - good luck with the process. I hope it’s a huge succes for your S!
Hi @Kristiern1 ~ FYI, as @BassTheatreMom mentioned, the collegeauditioncoach website has just undergone a massive overhaul this week and there are hiccups. Mary Anna is aware of issues with the contact button and her web developer is working to get everything resolved. If you message me here on CC, I will be happy to put you in touch with Mary Anna directly to get your issue resolved quickly. My boys used Moo in 2012 for their audition year and I’ve been invited back to speak at Moonifieds for the past several years as an alumni parent. Needless to say, we found Mary Anna’s services invaluable. Again, please message me so I can help while the webmaster is fixing the site.
Actually @Kristiern1 ~ Check your messages here for one from me! 
Thank you all for your help. She has been most gracious in explaining the problem and we are getting it sorted out. What a great problem to have when your website crashes with all the good news of acceptances!! Excited/scared/nervous and ever so slightly nauseous to start this journey with my son!
I will just add my love of Moo and College Audition Coach here. Like other posters, we found Moo to be completely responsive and accessible and highly professional. We could not have navigated the process without her and her team. Moonifieds was a fabulous experience. Met so many kids with whom D is still friends with to this day and she is now a year out of college! Those connections were great during the rest of the audition season. I think D knew people everywhere she went from having met them early in the year at Moonifieds. Her freshman year roommate was a fellow Moo Crewer. And those connections are still great in the professional world. D continues to run into people she knows from Moo Crew at professional auditions and gigs. You will be in great hands with Mary Anna.
Best wishes to you and your son. It is an exciting roller coaster of a process. Enjoy every moment!
My d did Moonifieds. She loved working with Mary Anna and I fully endorse her as a college audition coach. Moonifieds is extremely well-run and offers many advantages:
- You can audition for up to 20+ programs in one extended weekend.
- Mary Anna's staff handles all the scheduling, all you have to do is submit a list of programs that you are interested in and they do the rest.
- There is only one dance call.
- Several Master Classes with college faculty from programs like Wright State, Penn State, and Texas State are offered during Moonifieds.
- There are parent panels and a mini college fair where parents and students can speak directly with college staff.
- It is held in November, so you may get one or more acceptances early in the process. You also gain great experience that will help prepare you for the rest of the rigors of the audition process. Your results at Moonifieds provide an unmatched opportunity to determine if you may need to rebalance your list of schools for the heart of audition season.
- There is great mix of programs so you can audition across a spectrum from programs with a more regional focus to some of the most popular programs nation-wide.
There are some things to be aware of, however:
a. My d found the environment to be kind of intimidating compared to on-campus, Thespian Auditions, and Unifieds. The level of competition is very high. My d thought the dance call had more of high-level dancers than any other dance call she attended throughout the process.
b. Auditioning for 6 or more programs per day can be very draining, especially by the afternoon of the second day (you do not have to do this many auditions, its your choice).
c. Not all auditions are final, many of the more competitive programs in attendance, such as Oklahoma and Texas State, only do live prescreens - not final audiitons.
Make no mistake, I fully recommend attending Moonifieds and most students really enjoy and thrive on the experience. The timing, early in the audition process, is perfect, and the process is handled in a very professional manner.