Performing Arts Training
Performing Arts Training
I offer training in an array of techniques related to singing, performance, teaching, and the Life skills essential for attaining your aspirations. These can be studied in private lessons, small groups, or in larger master classes and workshops. A list of these skills with drop-down details is below.
For information on scheduling and tuition, visit the Scheduling page.
Whether you need help setting up a plan, teaching the skills, or simply seeing where the gaps are, I can work with you to ensure your child is ready for Life in all the ways that truly matter: confident and dignified self-presentation, street-smarts and survival knowledge, cooking, laundry, budgeting, car care (yes, even changing a tire), organization, critical thinking, and similar skills that lead to
integrity, poise, and true independence.
The classes are tailored to the specific needs of each student. They can come for one specific topic, such as learning the basics of cooking and preparing meals for themself for the week, for one session to see where the gaps are, or for the full gamut. The suggested scheduling varies depending on your goals, so it is best to email or call to discuss the full range of options and figure out what is possible and most beneficial for your family. For skills that are more effectively taught in your own home, I will travel to you for a nominal fee determined by distance. General tuition is $80 per hour (cash; $100 check or digital currency), with larger projects (e.g., learning to organize an entire bedroom by actually doing it) having rates based on the project itself instead of a by-the-hour fee. If the cost is not financially possible for your family, visit the Scheduling page for creative options.
Contact
404-914-2353
cmoultonstudio@gmail.com
Supporting thoughts...
Through many years of working with students of all ages and backgrounds, it has become clear that one of the primary factors that determines their overall confidence and success toward any worthwhile goal is responsibility. Children who have responsibility - to themselves and as a member of their family - are less stressed, more confident, have better problem solving abilities, are more grateful, and generally more capable and pulled together than those who do not. The earlier they take on responsibilities, the greater the effect.
A one year old can throw clothes in a hamper. A two year old can put their own toys away, sort laundry, get out their dishes for meals, and put them away once they are clean. By fifth grade, a human can wake themselves up with their own alarm clock, keep their own calendar, pack for themselves for the day - including snacks/lunch that they prepared, make their own breakfast (not cereal, but cook eggs and toast!), make their bed every day and keep an organized room, do their own laundry, take on several household duties, have basic street-smarts and survival knowledge, express their thoughts coherently, and present themselves confidently.
Yet most high school seniors I meet - even the ones with straight-A's in all AP classes, the 'popular' kids, the star athletes, the 'talented' ones - do not have a healthy composite of these foundational skills. Year after year, I see parents panicking as they send their children off on a week-long trip or to college because they realize they are not ready for Life. Some who do realize it before college spend senior year - a year already packed with demands - trying to cram in over a decade worth of knowledge and skill sets. It doesn't have to be this way. Let's start replacing an emphasis on cuteness with an obsession about competence. Respect for their intellect, expectations, and high standards are not a recipe for an unhappy childhood. Quite the opposite. It can start now, whatever your child's age.
"Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy." - Heinlein
-Having a firm handshake
-Making eye contact when speaking or being spoken to
-Adjusting posture
-Adjusting gait
-Building habits of self-control
A student will come in for a lesson and tell me what their goals are (to get into X program/college, make X technical improvements, have X career, etc.) and, after checking their skill level, I will tell them what they need to do to reach that goal. Flat rate of $100. ($120 if paying by check or digital currency.)
I will attend a performance and provide feedback. (Student must provide the ticket to the show plus $100. ($120 if paying by check or digital currency.) This covers my attendance plus the written or verbal expression of the feedback.)
The hardest part of the audition process for the casting team should be the nitty-gritty decision making, but it isn't. It's the aftermath. It's the onslaught of emails that come after the casting is announced. Emails from parents who are upset that their child wasn't accepted into the program, didn't get the role they think they deserved, and so on.
Answering these can take hours upon hours, particularly because the answer must often be crafted so carefully. It can even feel nigh impossible to give the student the feedback they actually need to hear in order to reach their goals because the teacher/director has to worry about interactions with the parent in other capacities or must follow the instructions of a supervisor whose primary concern might be placating whoever is upset instead of doing what is in the best interest of the student.
Let me take that off of your plate. I am available as a completely outside contractor to observe the auditions and answer these emails with impartial and direct feedback. For an additional fee (paid by the parent), the parent and student could meet with me to discuss their current skill level further and receive advice on next steps toward reaching their goals.
It's a win-win-win: you, me, and the student.
If you would like to see examples of similar consultation emails I have sent recently, discuss how this works, or schedule me for your next audition, I can be reached at cmoultonstudio@gmail.com.
The rate is based on the number of days and hours of auditions. If you would like all students to receive feedback after auditions, that rate will be determined based on days and hours of auditions plus number of attendees.
I observe you teaching a lesson, or directing a rehearsal, class, etc., and then we have a session together where we go over what is going well and what improvements can be made.
Audition preparation for all ages including events such as school shows, professional musical theatre and opera productions, staff singers positions, etc.
Based on the student's needs and goals, we can work on any of the following:
-Choosing and preparing a song
-Choosing and preparing a monologue
-Learning how to do a slate
-Learning basic dance moves that tend to appear in most musical theatre auditions or learning/cleaning provided choreography
-Building earned confidence so that the audition feels less frightening
-Setting up an at-home practice schedule based on the remaining timeframe and goals of the student
**A musical theatre audition workbook is now available to purchase. Email cmoultonstudio@gmail.com to order. The workbook contains more than a full semester's worth of information, but is the same cost as just one thirty-minute lesson.
Performance preparation for all ages for events such as school shows, musical theatre and opera productions, funerals and weddings, etc.
For a school or similar program to put on a show in the time they have, the majority of their rehearsals are spent on learning the ensemble music and choreography and staging the show as a whole. It is very difficult to find time within that process to do a great deal (or sometimes any) real work on acting, singing, or dancing technique. This is not a statement on quality of instruction... it is simply the reality of that sort of program! Students who come to me for help getting ready for their show typically work on...
-Figuring out notes in a song that they weren't quite sure about
-Learning how to reach a note they are struggling with
-Learning how to make it through longer vocal phrases without running out of breath
-Staging their solo
-Developing their character; working through the lines to figure out how to act them
-Cleaning up their choreography
-Building up the confidence to walk out and say their lines or sing their song
-Memorizing their lines
*It can be incredibly valuable for students who are working on the same show to come to a lesson all together. They can work on scenes, choreography, and ensemble numbers that they share and learn from each other while I work on individual songs or monologues, and it cuts down the cost for each family.
-Choosing the best material for their voice and performance ability
-Learning the music
-Staging the piece, when applicable
-Working through vocal technique as it directly relates to the piece or exercises
-Improving sight reading skills
-Improving aural skills
-Learning how to handle an interview, when applicable
-Choosing the material
-Staging the material
-Working on vocal, acting, or dance technique, as applies to their talent show piece
-Learning mic technique, when applicable
-Building up earned confidence so they are less nervous at the audition and/or performance
-Understanding how the voice works and how to produce sound in a healthy way
-Learning how to expand range and gain control of the sound
-Applying the learned technique to specific musical pieces
*I do not teach vocal technique as a solo skill set. All vocal technique students will also learn a foundational amount of musical grammar and syntax, more commonly referred to as 'music theory.' See the next section.
-Understanding the symbols on the musical page
-Learning to read music - and hear what you are reading without the need to audiate
-Learn how to edit an accompaniment track for an audition or performance
*I will also edit tracks if you are in need of one before you have time to learn. The cost is $20 to $40 depending on the complexity of the edit. Yes, it makes much more sense to pay to learn how to do it yourself!
-Learning how to use a handheld microphone.
-Practicing a specific song for a competition, talent show, choral solo, etc. with a handheld microphone.
-Getting a chance to hear your voice through a microphone before tech week, show, or concert, and become comfortable with it.
-How to give a presentation or speech confidently and clearly.
Available for established teachers who are looking to polish their skills or incorporate new ideas, young people preparing to be a summer camp counsellor or direct their first music or theatre ensemble, and all levels in between.
*All lesson topics are available as private or small group sessions. The cost of a lesson remains the same for up to 6 students in the room. Inviting friends who are working on the same material is an excellent way to cut down on cost and build a supportive training community.