Audition coaching for drama school: sessions and timing

Plan audition coaching backwards from the audition date: a first session to choose the pieces, a few working sessions spaced so the applicant has time to learn and live with the text, and a mock audition close to the day. Offer each as a bookable one-to-one service, ask for audition dates and requirements in the booking note, and keep extra slots open in the weeks when auditions cluster. Applicants arrive at each session prepared, and you can see who needs you when.

An applicant may come late, with a monologue chosen from a list online, learned the night before, and no idea how long they'll have in the room. Several sessions over a few weeks let the text settle, give the applicant time to try choices at home, and leave room to change a piece that isn't working. One lesson the week before can only polish what's already there.

Keep a note of each applicant's pieces, schools and dates. It lets you pick up exactly where you left off at every session.

The right piece is one the applicant can play truthfully today, not one that shows off range they don't have yet. Look for characters close to their age and experience, situations they understand, and texts that aren't on every other applicant's list. Check each school's rules on length, period and language before settling. Two contrasting pieces, one classical and one contemporary if the school asks for it, give the panel room to redirect. Keep a third in reserve in case one of them stops working in the weeks before the audition.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service at the length it takes; applicants pick a service, then a free slot. One place per slot for one-to-one coaching.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. A group workshop can have several places; each applicant books one, and the slot disappears when full. In the descriptions, say where sessions take place and that applicants bring printed texts and the schools' requirements.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email. Ask for the schools, the audition dates and the pieces they're considering. For a minor, the parent can book with their own details and write the applicant's name and age in the note. The note can't be edited once the booking exists, so put the questions in the service description.

When audition dates cluster, open more slots in the weeks before, for example extra evenings, repeated each week on chosen weekdays until the end of the season. After the first session, book the applicant's next sessions straight away from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional. With one place, each booked slot is full and hidden from your page, so the path is secured before the rush.

Applicants can't move bookings online: they contact you, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and let them know, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), coaching sits next to your classes and rehearsals. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.