<p>I'm working with Holly-Anne Ruggerio of Broadway Artists Alliance and Broadway Teaching Group! </p>
<p>My friend Sonya (who was accepted for BFA Musical Theatre at NYU Tisch for the Class of 2017) worked with Susan Woodell-Mascall, who is based on the West Coast. And I've heard a lot of good things about Mary Anna Dennard as well (her book is a must read) and MTCA.</p>
<p>What coaches are you all working with?</p>
<p>My daughter is working with MTCA, but she is getting her headshots done by the photographer that does work with Susan Mascall. Small world!</p>
<p>MTCA and we’re very happy!</p>
<p>My son worked with Susan Mascall, and she was great. He’s going to Boston Conservatory this fall.</p>
<p>I used MTCA last year and am amazingly happy with that decision they are amazing.</p>
<p>We used Mary Anna Dennard (Moo) last year. My daughter loved her and she really helped us along the way.</p>
<p>We also worked with Mary Anna Dennard. She is wonderful. At the very least, I highly recommend you read her book, I Got In. It is a fantastic reference for anyone gong through the college audition process and covers topics from compiling your list of schools to selecting audition material, resumes, headshots, what to wear and what to expect in the audition room. If you want to have more detailed info but still not sure about investing in private coaching, she also has a wonderful series of videos that cover many of these topics in depth. Don’t mean to sound like a salesman. Just know we knew nothing about college auditions before we met Moo. With her our daughter was prepared, confident and happy with her results as were all the other Moo Crewers we met along the way! There are lots of great coaches out there. I do think they provide valuable guidance. Each student needs to find who they click with and what works for them from a location and budgeting standpoint. Just be aware we learned our local teachers and professionals don’t really understand how the current college audition process happens. We still go to them for weekly voice and dance, but for college audition specific needs, we found a coach who specializes in the audition process to be the most helpful.</p>
<p>Just want to add our perspective so that those who aren’t able to access coaching or summer intensive/pre-college programs for whatever reason don’t feel “left out”. As we were starting our journey and I began reading posts on CC regarding the use of coaches and expensive summer/pre-college intensive programs, my heart fell. I started to worry that my D wouldn’t be prepared enough, so I looked at a few of the coach’s websites, but quickly realized that the cost and geographical location of the coaching and workshops were not going to work for us (I know you can access coaching sessions through skype but again there was a cost) and was shocked at the astronomical cost of the summer programs. My D wasn’t the one who was worried—she felt that her excellent voice teacher, high school drama teacher, choir teacher, etc. all had enough experience with the process that she would be fine, and she has been lucky to be involved in some excellent regional theatre summer shows. So we plowed through the audition season, she passed all her pre-screen auditions, did all auditions at Chicago Unifieds due to distance/cost/lack of free time of doing on-campus auditions, and I held my breath the whole time hoping that we hadn’t made a mistake in not getting more “coaching” and attending summer intensives at the various schools. My D was accepted or waitlisted and received scholarships at some excellent schools: Boston Conservatory, Point Park, Ithaca, Texas State, Ball State, and Carnegie Mellon. She will be a Freshman at Ithaca College this fall and could not be more excited. So please------those who are worried about coaching or summer intensives-----it’s not a do or die thing. I am not negating the use of coaches or summer college programs----I am sure they are extremely helpful. But if that isn’t something you can do, then all is not lost. Go for it, get lots of input from those around you who are experienced in voice/drama/acting, and enjoy the process!!! You can do it :)</p>
<p>My S is working with MTCA for monologue, song & school selection help. He’ll be a senior this year. DH found them thru this CC forum. We’ve been very happy with them.</p>
<p>We started working with them last fall after a very talented girl at his school had disastrous audition experiences and had no acceptances in April 2012. (We weren’t going to let THAT happen!) He also has private (local) voice & dance coaches. We sure hope all these lessons bear fruit…check back with me in the spring!</p>
<p>My sons both used Mary Anna Dennard.</p>
<p>We used MTCA in 2010, loved them. momarmarino well said, and so happy for your daughter!</p>
<p>Seconding what momarmarino said–plenty of kids have had great results without coaching, for both auditions and prescreens. You can do it! Feedback and advice are priceless, but they don’t have to be expensive. ;)</p>
<p>momarmarino, very well said. Particularly in this economy, and with the stratospheric college costs, many folks simply do not have the money for a coach. While a good coach can be fabulous, I hope people don’t get the impression that you <em>have to</em> have a coach in order to succeed.</p>
<p>Just adding my input, whether straight acting or MT, you do not need a coach to succeed. What you do need to is to be prepared, do the research, do more research and work hard on your audition and not let school lag.</p>