<p>For Juniors? Any suggestions on good places to find text?</p>
<p>Also, is getting a coach benificial? Do schools not like it if you have a coach?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Get a coach and get started now. Not now as in two months from now but now like three months ago now</p>
<p>A good coach will help you select appropriate monologues. Search this forum and you can find many posts with advice about how to locate a coach.</p>
<p>I have read that schools do not want kids over coached. If my kid, also a junior, does her homework researching appropriate monologues, do you think it is still necessary? We weren’t planning to go that route.</p>
<p>I suggest a monologue coach. Your child will be up against many talented applicants in this highly competitive process and truthfully, all the kids I know who were true contenders for these BFA programs, all were working with someone in their monologue preparation. So, your child will be up against those who had this kind of assistance. Even if your child has just six sessions with an experienced person who has assisted others preparing auditions, it can be beneficial. That would be a minimum but better than nothing. If you cannot afford any coaching, then perhaps a school drama director or teacher is willing to do some one to one help with your student. Just be aware that many of the true contenders in this competitive process will be coached. It is not really different than a kid trying for a music conservatory who all will have teachers guiding them in their audition prep on their instrument, etc. </p>
<p>I realize finances are a factor for so many of us, but when you are looking to invest HUGE amounts of money in a college education, some coaching sessions adding up to under a thousand dollars is very small in the total sum of the cost of that college education. </p>
<p>When you say that schools do not want kids who are over coached…all I can say is that I know NUMEROUS kids, including my own child who attended a BFA in Drama/MT, as well as all the students I advise each year, who have successfully been admitted to BFA programs and had coaching on their audition materials. Somehow they still got in, “despite” having been coached. :D</p>
<p>OK Thanks for responding. Do you think it has to be someone who specializes in college auditions, or would a good acting teacher be able to help?</p>
<p>The person need not specialize in college auditions. However, I think it would be important that whomever coaches your child is familiar with college auditions and has worked with others who have auditioned for BFA programs and has perspective in terms of evaluating your child’s competitiveness and has a familiarity with college auditions and materials that are appropriate and so on. A good acting teacher would be fine IF he/she has coached others pursuing college acting programs, even if that is not the person’s main thing. The person should be able to assist in choosing material and in coaching the presentation with some perspective of college auditions and those who have been successful in this process. Your school’s drama teacher might suffice if he/she has helped other kids with this process. A theater professional/director in your area may be someone to ask. If there is a college with a theater dept. in your area, that is another possibility. Your child can be seeking monologues independently as well, but the coaching would also be quite beneficial. A coach who specializes is audition prep is a good choice but not necessary if you have a good acting coach familiar with the process and those who have applied and been admitted before.</p>
<p>I totally agree with Soozievt - This process is becoming increasingly competitive - from what I can assess this year the schools are up around 20% in numbers of students auditioning. That’s huge! Your daughter will be up against kids who have been coached or who go to top Performing Arts Schools. They definitely have an advantage. As Soozievt pointed out this evaluation process is the same with kids auditioning for music: vocal or instrumental or dance programs or even athletes! </p>
<p>In terms of being “overcoached” if the actor understands his/her character’s objectives and is true to the emotions - there is no way that will be construed as “overcoached.”</p>
<p>Also help with finding material that is new and fresh is a important. It is also a nice change for the auditors 
I had an auditor from a top program tell me he saw Nina from The Seagull over 70 times in 2 days!!!</p>
<p>I am also a big believer in working with more than one coach. Even though I am a coach I had my own kids work with 4 other coaches/directors - sometimes only once - but this gave their pieces a new set of eyes and take on the direction of the piece. Sometimes we only used one small nuance from their direction - but it enabled my kids to go deeper into their character and help them prepare for any adjustment an auditor could request during an audition.</p>
<p>However, after saying all that, IMHO the most important thing a coach can do is give their student confidence so that they go into their auditions fully prepared so they may do their best job and come out feeling good about themselves. </p>
<p>As we all know - there are no safeties when it comes to audition based school - and sometimes there is no rhymne or reason as to who gets accepted and who doesn’t.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>