College Audition Coaching
About Me
My name is Daphne Kinard. I’m an acting coach and teacher, as well as a working actor, based in New York City. I am a graduate of Columbia University’s MFA Acting program. I also attended the BFA Acting program at Carnegie Mellon, and the Chautauqua Acting Conservatory. I'm trained in Meisner, Feldenkrais, Alexander technique, Suzuki, and Viewpoints. I also have a BA in literature, with a focus in Shakespeare.
As a teacher, I have worked as a Teaching Assistant at Columbia, and have guest taught at workshops around New York, Los Angeles, and DC. I have two years of experience as an assistant to a Broadway casting director. As a college audition coach, my clients have been accepted into many top BFA acting programs including UNCSA, NYU, Rutgers, USC, DePaul, Boston, Minnesota, and SMU.
I have been coaching for 8 years now. I offer both virtual appointments and in-person appointments at Ripley Grier Studios in Midtown Manhattan. I offer coaching in contemporary and classical/Shakespeare monologues, acting the song, as well as interview and callback prep. I also help clients choose monologues and songs and come up with their overall audition strategy.
Carnegie Mellon BFA Acting Program
Columbia MFA Acting Program
My Approach
College programs only have a few minutes to get to know you and decide if they want to spend four years working with you. They are looking for unique actors with a strong sense of self. My goal is to make sure the real you, everything that makes you singular as both an actor and a person, comes through in those few minutes. I know that sounds like a lot of pressure, but I will make sure that you feel confident and supported through that process.
I start by helping students find material that excites them and reflects their taste and personality. From there, we focus on how you naturally work as an actor: how you think, move, speak, and connect to the material. The goal isn’t to match what you think these programs want, or to cater to my personal taste, but to build a way of working that feels honest, repeatable, and fully your own.
In our sessions, we’ll work the monologues on their feet, paying attention to what first moved you about each piece and letting those feelings guide your performance. Through exercises, conversations, and movement-based work, we’ll get precise about how to access your emotional life in these pieces. By the end, you’ll have work that’s repeatable but never stale; alive, felt, and specific, free of line readings or tricks. Audition panels want to know who you really are, and my goal is to help you find your own instrument, voice, and process so they can truly see you.
College auditions can feel really stressful, and acting itself is vulnerable work. I’ll make sure you feel confident, safe, and supported throughout this process. I’ll be with you every step of the way, advocating for you, answering questions, and available whenever you or your parents need guidance. By focusing on being yourself instead of trying to fit someone else's mold, we take a lot of the pressure off, and we build a personal technique that you can carry with you. This work is just the beginning of your professional life.
Rates
100/hr - virtual
135/hr - in person
(includes studio rental)
Availability
Slots available
Free 20 minute consultation
Discounts available for multiple
session packages. Also available
for 90 minute one-offs and
second looks.