I started as a makeup designer and a stage manager. Over my career I have also set designed, light designed, prop designed, sound designed, costume designed, and projection designed, and I have worked as a production manager and a technical director. That is why I am ideally placed to prepare your student for their college career.
Whichever discipline your student is drawn to, I have sat in that chair and can speak to what the training asks of them.
We build the body of work first. Everything else follows from it.
Curated to the student in front of me, not to a ranking.
Resume, CV, and the practice that makes an interview feel like a conversation.
I stay with the family through the whole process, deadline to decision.
I visit two to three top programs every year. I know the buildings, the faculty, and the vibe.
Accepted means the student earned an offer. Enrolled means they chose it. Where a student lands comes down to fit, aid, and family — decisions I help families think through but never make for them.
Two of the best programs in the country, built for two different students. What I saw at each — the model, the first years, the shops, the faculty — laid out row by row.
Read the comparisonInterlochen Arts Academy students, 2020 through 2026. Summer camp students are not included.
Five programs have taken more than one of my students. Repeat placement is the part of a record that is hard to fake: it means a department knows what my recommendation is worth.
Design and production is the training, not the ceiling. These students have gone on to organic chemistry, pre-med, conservation biology, and languages as readily as to stage management and lighting design.
Tell me where the student is and what they want to make. The first conversation is free, and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right fit.
SJDnPCoaching@gmail.com