Because being a 17-year-old isn’t already stressful enough, someone decided it’s also the right age for teens to decide where to go to college! And while that process is stress-inducing for every prospective student, it is doubly so for those pursuing the performing arts. Luckily, there are professionals who understand the stakes, like Mary Anna Dennard, founder of collegeauditioncoach.com and a college audition coach who shares with us her guiding principles for incoming students and their families.
READ: How to Choose + Apply to an Acting College Program
What is it that you do as a college audition coach?
Speaking for my own company, collegeauditioncoach.com is made up of two components: online prep plus individual private coaching. The majority of our job is helping our families navigate the complexities of the process and less about actual audition prep. That may surprise a lot of people. But, look, the students are going to walk into the audition room and do what they love. We certainly do provide thoughtful, intelligent material choices that showcase the individuality of the student artists. And we have them well-prepared, for sure. But because nothing in the application process is standardized and each school has a different protocol and the kids are applying to so many schools, hand-holding with parents is key to what we do. [We’re] guiding them to a smart and balanced list of colleges that meet the needs of the individual student, providing tools for finding financial fits so they are applying to schools they can actually afford to attend, coordinating logistics, and doing it all with love and support.
What makes college audition coaching different from standard audition coaching?
College auditions are unique because students are not auditioning for a role, they are walking in the room saying, “This is who I am.” It requires enormous confidence and bravery, especially for a 17-year-old, to trust that they are enough. Colleges don’t want to see students playing a part or performing a role. They are looking for authenticity and a genuine expression of self.
What are the hands-on ways you work with prospective students to prepare them for their auditions?
We get to know each of our students as individual artists, family members, friends, students, and unique human beings. Then we provide them with thoughtfully chosen audition song and monologue material that is age-appropriate and within their unique life experience. Having the right material can be a profoundly powerful tool for students to show who they are in the audition room. If we are doing our job, the audition material helps the auditors learn more about who they are in their souls. And “owning it,” as we say, gives our students the confidence to stand in their truth.
What is something you think is misunderstood about the college admissions process?
That you need to find a way to stand out so that the colleges will take notice, that somehow there is a “strategy” that will increase your chances of getting in. Frankly, all that is a waste of energy. The most powerful tool you have is yourself. No one else is like you. Stay true to yourself and you will shine. And let go of the things you cannot control. Like we say: Be joyous, be brave, be yourself.
READ: 5 Things to Do Before Your College Audition
What advice do you have for prospective students when it comes to choosing material?
Choose material that is within your age and life experience. Don’t try to show the auditors everything you can do in a five-minute audition. It can’t be done. Just show them who you are now. Remember that you are enough. And for monologues, I feel it is important to seek out young playwrights who speak to your generation and point of view about the world. For musical theater, follow the college’s directives and be sure not to forget to include pop/rock songs in your rep. Choose songs you sing well and love to sing. Don’t worry about songs and monologues being overdone, because if you have done the text work, no one will perform them like you!
What are some of the most common mistakes you see auditioners make in their preparation?
Not preparing early enough. Students and parents should begin college audition prep in the fall of junior year. This is primarily due to the advent of the prescreens that so many of the colleges have implemented—it has accelerated the entire process. This is why we launched an event called Moonifieds Jr for high school juniors, which is part of our 14-year-old Moonifieds college auditions. At Moonifieds Jr, families get advice on essays, letters of recommendation, standardized tests, financial aid, and scholarships, as well as mock college audition prep and feedback from college reps and learning first-hand about the various college programs. We also give lots of guidance through the prescreen process, which has become such a game-changer.
What is one thing you would tell auditioners to remember throughout this process?
Start prep early. And be joyous, because you love this; be brave, because you are fierce; be yourself, because you are enough.
This story originally appeared in the Feb. 27 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.
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