<p>What year did most of your students start working with a coach? Was it duirng their Junior year or did you begin the process earlier? My daughter is just a freshman so I'm trying to plan ahead.</p>
<p>We started with MTCA this past spring (D’s junior year) that being said, she has worked with local coaches for about 8 or 9 years.</p>
<p>We began spring of her Junior year with MTCA. I wished we had worked with them early enough to help her with materials for summer program auditions. I think it would have made a difference esp with the monologue.</p>
<p>We signed up with MTCA in September of S’s Junior year. Best thing we ever did! He is so ready now. He’s been doing private singing lessons for years.</p>
<p>Thank you for the feedback. Sounds like I have some time to plan. My daughter has a wonderful vocal teacher and she does many local productions and is taking dance and acting classes so it sounds like we are doing all the right things at the moment. I just want to make sure that when the time comes to start really honing in on preparing for auditions we allow adequate time for her to get the benefit of working with coaches who really understand the process.</p>
<p>We started with Mary Anna Dennard the Spring of our daughter’s Junior year. It was a fantastic decision to do so. We could not have been more prepared. She knows the college audition process inside and out. We continued to work with local teachers to assist with voice and dance.</p>
<p>My son started working with his coach never. He is in a very good program and has done very well in that program. He was as prepared or more prepared at his auditions than many kids who had coaching. Coaching is fine, I have no problem with people going that route (although I have issues with the way coaches market their service and I have an ethical issue with college professors and their programs who allow themselves to be pictured on coaching websites). But not everyone has the financial ability to do that. With diligent research and preparation, you can learn and be as prepared for auditions as anybody else.</p>
<p>My D started in earnest the summer before senior year. A</p>
<p>Working with a coach is a financial luxury that not all parents can afford. </p>
<p>If your child is auditioning for a musical theater program and would like some Skype assistance before their audition (an hour-ish of directed advice) feel free to contact me. I obviously can not extend this offer to every student out there, so please be prudent in asking for help. </p>
<p>I don’t work for any college, but I do run a successful summer stock (where I have five internships for recent High School graduates/college freshmen) and teach at a strong theater arts High School where many of my students have gotten into some of the strongest programs in the country. I also watch thousands of auditions each spring, so I would be happy to help.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I’m the founder and Director of MTCA. Because of this role, I have always avoided responding in coaching discussions here on CC. However, I’ve been a theatre teacher even longer than I’ve been a “college coach”, and I think it’s important to point out that each student and family needs different levels of support, and much of that comes in the way of true performance skills and concepts TEACHING. The number of students who want to pursue theatre/MT in college with very little skills training is growing each year. As I tell students, auditioning for competitive college programs is like wanting to play Division I sports - and you aren’t going to make the team if you don’t meet the minimum skills requirements, and the skill bar is set higher and higher each year. </p>
<p>Some students are lucky enough to enter the college audition process with these skills (vocal tech, dance, understanding of the difference between objective-driven acting and showmanship-based performing) in place, but many aren’t. In my experience, coaching most often takes the form of skills teaching or skill refinement in the process of building college audition material. Coaching also encompasses familiarizing the student with the adjunct “in the room” interactions which give colleges a chance to see who the student is outside of his or her material. </p>
<p>Do I think everyone can benefit from coaching? Yes - if it’s with an educator (regardless of title) who knows the differences between the collegiate and professional audition processes and who is also an astute observer of how material “fits” on different actors and singers to bring out their unique gifts and personalities. Do I think coaching is necessary to succeed in this process? No. The more already skilled and unique a performer is, the more likely success is in general. Coaching helps skills develop, helps young performers begin to understand what is unique about their artistry is in comparison to their peers, and helps students enter the audition process confident in their material and in their knowledge of what an audition will be like. This allows them to be fully present in the audition room. Again, some students can do this without assistance, b/c they have had great skills training in their home communities, or b/c they are simply unique, talented, and confident enough that schools are excited by them. </p>
<p>So whether you find a “coach” or not, my advice is focus on strong skill building with really top educators who understand the expectations of contemporary theatre and MT and who encourage artistry rather than surface polish. And as soozievt often urges, have someone evaluate your child’s skills who is qualified to do so and is objective. This can help you identify what you need to ramp up in terms of skills training. </p>
<p>I will now go back to commenting mainly on vocal health things. :)</p>
<p>CoachC. I do think your points are valid and correct. </p>
<p>This is an observation from auditions. Many kids do seem coached and polished and you can usually spot them a mile away. Also there are so many we ran into that went to performing arts high schools. I do think it is unfortunate that some kids that have raw talent -that isn’t quite developed yet-and can not afford coaching will often get overlooked over a more polished or coached kid. Some of these kids are from areas that don’t have access to people that can help them through this process. I do feel like the schools while they get many talented students do miss something in being able to develop a kid who has potential but not polish. Yes I know there are exceptions but this was just an observation . My D was fortunate enough to be in an area with many resources that she could tap into.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the wonderful feedback. It is very helpful. We are doing all we can to support her talent and dreams with training opportunities here in our community. But I feel that when it comes to applying and auditioning for colleges it might be really helpful to have some guidance from someone who really understands how to navigate the process because although her local dance, voice and acting teachers are wonderful I don’t think they are up to speed on college auditions. And reading here it all seems very daunting! Although I’m hoping that by the time it is her turn I will have learned an amazing amount from all you helpful people here!</p>