<p>I believe that it is open to student of Moo and Dave Clemmons, but to be considered a student of Moo you only have to have one consult with her. Unlike some college coaches who charge an outrageous flat fee upfront, with her, you only pay for what you need. That could be access to her online resources (which are invaluable, IMHO), a consult, coaching (one time, or regularly). As a mom on a budget, I really appreciate that. Believe me, her fee is Waaaay less that what taking my D to Unifieds will cost. And depending how things go at Moonifieds, I may yet save that expense. Even if I donât, my D has benefited from her coaching and she will, hopefully, go into Unifieds with the confidence and experience she gained at Moonifieds. And, the best thing about Moo is that she always takes on scholarship students, making the whole process attainable to students that would not otherwise have access to what she, and others like her have to offer. She interviews candidates and makes offers to those who qualify. If you know of anyone in need, they can contact her via her website. </p>
<p>@addicted2MT â sounds like a great choice for your family! Thanks for sharing more about what Moo has to offer. Are you going to Unifieds? Or, waiting to see what comes out of Moonifieds?</p>
<p>We are leaving all options open at this time, but it is nice to be able to have options⊠
</p>
<p>@addicted2MT - we are going to be at Moonifieds too! At first I didnât like the idea of flying to Dallas (we can drive to Chicago), plus they are durning my daughterâs finals (they are letting her do them early) but then the more I looked at it - not having to do prescreens, early auditions for many of her schools - plus knowing early about acceptances - it seemed to really make sense. We are arriving on Thursday afternoon in time for the workshops Thursday night.</p>
<p>Moonifieds was a fabulous experience. Our D received some early acceptances, lots of passed in-person prescreens and great feedback on her audition material. She made fantastic friends who she saw throughout the rest of the audition season which always helped ease any jitters , and one of those new friends ended up being her roommate! None of that would have been possible without Moo. Moonifieds is also a great warm up for Unifieds. You get a good idea of what it is like to audition for multiple schools on the same day/weekend and learn what routines for getting ready, eating, etc⊠Work for you. I highly recommend Moo and Moonifieds. Best wishes to this years Moo Crew! Have a blast in Dallas!</p>
<p>P.s. @Divamamacitaâ - Iâm not sure what you mean by pay for access model. There are many similar events sponsored by all sorts of schools, organizations and coaches⊠Going to Moonifieds is no different than attending other college audition fairs. Many of these audition opportunities are âmembers onlyâ events. For example, our school doesnât participate in âthespiansâ and I was often envious of those who go to audition at places like Thespians Conference or SETC. Our state governors school for the arts also just held auditions for its participants with many of these same colleges in attendance and they do so every year. Our D chose to attend mPulse and OCU summer programs instead of GSA since she had no desire to stay in-state for college. So she was not able to participate in the GSA auditions. Many of these same colleges work with MTCA, Dave Clemmons, Moo and performing arts high schools and organizations around the country, Students are paying to be trained by or be a part of those organizations too, just as some people choose to pay to be trained by Moo. There is no difference. For every Moo Crewer that is accepted at a program, there are still many who donât get in. You still have to be what they are looking for in the audition room. It only makes sense for these colleges to go where a high concentration of kids interested in attending their school will be. And it makes economic sense for families too since you can audition and/or prescreen for many schools in one weekend. I understand it is not what you chose to do, but it is a great choice for many families.</p>
<p>@mommabears26â - we also arrive at Moonifieds on Thursday night. my D is really excited and looking forward to the workshops. I hope we can connect somehow. I would love to meet you and your D! I will PM you later today. </p>
<p>@vvnstarâ - you are correct about the Moonifieds model not being unique. In fact, my D had to choose between signing up for the Texas Thespian Festival via her school (which requires a substantial registration fee), or attending Moonifieds as they are both in Dallas on the same weekend. Both opportunities offer workshops and multiple audition opportunities in one weekend. Moonifieds won out simply because at the Thespian Festival one can only get âcalls backsâ for auditioning at a later date; whereas at Moonifieds many schools offer Final Auditions, bypassing the prescreen requirement. However, she will miss out on the opportunity to compete for scholarships which is offered at the TTSF. Compromises are just par for the course, I guessâŠ</p>
<p>@vnstar â it is certainly not the coaching and training that is at issue. It is the exclusivity of access to auditions because you are a client of a certain coach or paid a fee to go to a college audition fair that seems awkward to me. I donât think these college audition fairs are as popular here on the west coast, so I am not familiar with them. Please realize there are many paths to the same destination â just stating my view that paying a fee to a middle manager, be it a coach or a fair, for the opportunity to audition for a university program seems odd. I have absolutely no issue with paying for training and monologue and song choices. But, in the end, BAL â and may all of our kids find their fit.</p>
<p>@Divamacita, one could argue that the collective fees for prescreens and auditions, which most schools require, in addition to their college app fee, are also pay for play. I think we paid a little less than $300 to attend Moonifieds. My D could (she is not, but she could) audition for all of the schools attending, which is 20 I believe (two are live prescreens, not full auditions). So that makes the audition fee $15 per school.* (*Caveat, there are one or two schools that also require an audition fee at Moonifieds, on top of the registration fee). </p>
<p>Moonified auditions are all âprescheduledâ for you. One does not have to worry about getting that audition slot that fits with all the others. Some Moonified schools donât even require you to apply to their school before auditioning. (So you can sometimes learn if you want to apply ahead of time, saving more time and money). A couple of the schools do not even attend other Unifieds (BW comes to mind). </p>
<p>So for those who live on the âwrongâ coast, the SAVINGS of hiring Moo and attending Moonifieds is in the Thousands. </p>
<p>When you speak of âaccessâ there are many schools that require one to audition only at the school. Indiana for example. For someone that lives on the West Coast, the âaccess feeâ is plane fare for two and a hotel room. Roughly $1000.00. Now for someone that lives in Indiana or Ohio, their âaccess feeâ is probably just gas money. So it is what it is. To say someone is paying for Special Treatment not available to all isnt really accurate. </p>
<p>I look at it more as making the playing field even for those of us living in the West and South, far from the majority of MT schools which are concentrated in the midwest/east coast.</p>
<p>We will have to beg to differ. Best of luck through the process.</p>
<p>@tramsmomâ - I absolutely agree with you! My D is one of those kids that will not be able to audition at Elon, much as we like and respect the school, because a dedicated trip requiring airfare (other than Unifeds) is out of our âaudition budgetâ. However, we do not begrudge Elon their procedure as it is their what works for them. My Dâs grandpa puts it philosophically, âThey donât know what theyâre missing out on, sweetheart! It is their lossâ And of course, he is not biased one little bit! 
</p>
<p>You know what? I think you are both right. The sad reality is that kids with access, kids with money, kids with connections have a definite advantage in this field, both before, during, and after college. Itâs kind of disgusting, really. Makes it hard to be idealistic, and my daughter and I have had uncomfortable convos re not burning bridges⊠And reading about those that âmake itâ from nothing are joyous to read about. On the other hand, I see nothing wrong with anything that SAVES you money through this crazily expensive ordeal. </p>
<p>My daughter did only one on campus audition ( we lived 10 miles away) and the others were done at unifieds for the same reason. Airfare was out of the question for us too.</p>
<p>I just donât get it: Why single out Moonifieds as an example of some form of improper advantage? There is no end to the advantage money affords: Kids with money can take expensive voice lessons, dance classes, summer schools and camps, attend competitions and master classes, hire coaches for everything, all of which build skills and resumes and establish connections. It all costs money. Thatâs not to say the student doesnt have to work. And thatâs not to say some kids are literally born with the natural ability to do all the above without any $. But for most, it is a HUGE investment of blood, sweat and $$$. There is a small industry that has gown up around the MT audition world. Some can take advantage of it, some cannot. We all know its not fair. </p>
<p>It should come as no surprise to any adult that $ gains access in virtually every walk of life. (I am sure Madonnaâs daughter is hugely talented, but I wonder if she auditioned at Unifieds or on campus at Michigan? :)) . Money also permits sometimes less âtalentedâ (I prefer "less prepared"as âtalentâ IMO is a somewhat useless word) kids to attend their college of choice. Others have very limited choices. </p>
<p>We would love, love the luxury of attending every campus for an audition to which D is applying. But D cannot afford that much time away from school (it would be like 3 weeks!) and why on earth would we spend nearly a semester of tuition to do so when we could spend a fraction of that to attend Moonified and Unifieds? </p>
<p>Most folks, even those who are fairly well off, donât have 20K to toss to the wind on audition travel. We pick and choose based upon our finances and our priorities. We all do. </p>
<p>Letâs not judge the next person because they selected a different path. </p>
<p>@tramsmomâ well put!</p>
<p>Class of 2019 and beyondâŠwe survivors from the Class of 2018 know that the audition process is horrible and enormously stressful, both emotionally and financially. This is not the time for you to tear each other apartâŠthe process will do enough of that for you and to you. This is the time to support each other through a VERY rough road!</p>
<p>Yes, @Calliene, I agree that those kids do have an advantage, but not just in this business. They have an advantage in just about everything in life. Kids with money have access to tutors/prep courses which helps them seem smarter and get higher grades/class rankings/merit aid than kids without money. It is a fact of life, so why worry about what is beyond our control? We donât at my house, and we donât begrudge others their âblessingsâ either. I teach my children to thank God for their blessings by not taking their âgiftsâ for granted and being the best they can be, to support othersâ efforts and successes and not be jealous of their accomplishments. Life, we all know, is not fair, so why expend time, energy and emotions worrying and/or complaining about it. (Not saying you are, just speaking in general terms here.) I loved the link someone posted where, among other things, it stated that âothersâ successes are not your failuresâŠâ I think our kids, and us as parents, need to do the best we can and support each other unconditionally. After all, our kids just want to be the best they can be, and we as parents, want the same for them. That is the one thing that unites us all. Letâs focus on that⊠</p>
<p>Well put EastchesterMom. We were on the roller coaster together and hanging on tight, and for that I am grateful.</p>
<p>Totally agree @tramsmom. And in my opinion the industry that has grown up around the MT audition world could use a little bit of oversight, but having said that, we took full advantage of it, not to mention the fortune we spent in dance classes, voice lessons, etc. Iâm not judging anyone, just saying that itâs a jungle out there!</p>
<p>Itâs going to be a looooong audition season! Take it easy on each other. Best be eating a few more donuts.</p>
<p>There are all different paths, and no one path is perfect. This is an unfair business and it begins early. For the record, I am the mom of two theatre BFA children, neither of whom had a coach like Moo, so it is possible. </p>