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KJPAS 2023-2024 Studio Policies

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GENERAL POLICIES

 

• Each student shall receive a 30-minute or 60-minute private lesson each week for the duration of the studio year (August 13, 2023 thru May 18, 2024). Lessons will be conducted “live and in person” at either my Myrtle Beach studio or my New York City studio; or via Facetime if you do not live in whichever city I am currently teaching from.

• There are many benefits to studying with a teacher who lives in both cities. In NYC, I have direct access to the Broadway community. This opens the door for opportunities for my students to work with Broadway directors and performers and possibly perform at a New York City Cabaret venue. You could also arrange a family trip to NYC and have your lesson live in my NYC studio. And when planning KJPAS NYC theater trips, I have a lot more access to opportunities for my students as a resident New Yorker.

• If you would like to have an hour-long lesson, simply sign-up for two lesson time-slots. 

• Studio lessons will be offered Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday afternoons and evenings. 

• If cast in a show, please make every effort to make it to your weekly lesson. Even Broadway performers continue to go to their vocal coach during the run of a show so that they may protect and preserve their voices. And please do remember to list your KJPAS lesson as a conflict on your school/community theater audition form so that you will be let out of rehearsal to attend your lesson. 

• KJPAS offers winter and summer musical theater intensives. KJPAS students are strongly encouraged to attend these intensives. I have seen extraordinary growth occur with my students when they participate in such a focused theatrical training ground, not to mention the fact that this is a great opportunity for you to work with Broadway performers and meet students from other states who share your same interests!

• Parking: please park in my driveway, or directly in front of my house on my side of the street only. 

• When arriving for your lesson, there is no need to knock on the door, just come on in and have a seat in the waiting area. I will come and get you once I finish with the previous student. Keep in mind that my previous student may be via Facetime, so do not be concerned if there isn’t a car in the driveway when you arrive. 

• If you will not be able to make it to your lesson, or will arrive more than 5 minutes late, please text me so that I will not worry about you. It is not acceptable to miss your lesson without letting me know in advance. 

• Besides a water bottle, no outside food or beverages are allowed inside my home/studio. 

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STUDIO BENEFITS

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• Each year I hire and fly in Broadway, Film and Television performers from New York or LA to work my students at no extra charge to you. No other studio offers this kind of opportunity for free. 

• I own an excellent instrument, a Yamaha U-3 piano.

• Rehearsal tracks will be recorded in the studio and e-mailed as Mp3 files to each student.

• I own a 4K video camera, theater lights and a backdrop for recording college pre-screening auditions. 

• KJPAS Music and Script library: I have one of the most extensive privately owned musical theatre collections in the country (in excess of 50,000 songs), and hundreds of monologues, plays and screenplays. And through my connections with theatre professionals in New York City, I am able to acquire almost any piece of music, including unpublished Broadway scores.

• Studio Photocopier: I can take music from my extensive library, copy it, and send it home with you the same day, or e-mail it to you immediately as a PDF file.

• The studio subscribes to FIOS Internet for excellent quality virtual lessons. 

• The studio owns a portable Fender sound system with professional Beta SM57 microphones, and a weighted 88-key Yamaha professional keyboard for gigs out in the community. 

• KJPAS offers performing arts trips to New York City to culturally enrich and artistically educate students of the studio. I highly encourage my students to participate when these are offered. 

• In addition to your private lesson, studio training will include musical theater history classes, music theory classes, masterclasses with guest performers, and much more. Please refer to the studio calendar. 

• Performance opportunities will include the Mock Audition, Holiday Cabaret, and the Spring Recital. Other performing opportunities     will be offered as they arise.

• KJPAS never uses performance tracks. I always accompany my students “live” on the piano. Sheet music will be distributed regularly for the students to learn from.

 

TUITION and TRAINING


 

2023-2024 KJPAS tuition will be $200 per month, August 1 thru May 1 for weekly half-hour private lessons. If you would prefer to have an hour-long lesson each week, your tuition would be $400 per month. This includes 16 weeks of training per semester. The studio operates under the “all-inclusive” model where all sheet music, photocopies, and rehearsal tracks are included in your regular tuition, as well as all “bonus” workshops (including musical theater history, music theory, Broadway performer masterclasses, etc.). Tuition shall be due on the (1st) first of each month, August, 2023 thru May, 2024. A $75 registration fee is due now to hold your place in the studio program. This fee helps to cover studio expenses including acquiring Broadway scores, scripts and CD’s, facility rental fees for studio performances, paper, copier toner, and flying in and housing Broadway performers for special studio workshops and masterclasses.

 

Participation in the studio program is understood to be from August, 2023 thru the end of May, 2024. I am making the commitment for the entire year to provide you with exemplary musical theater training. In return, I need you to commit to completing the full year of training at KJPAS before deciding to pursue other interests. If you do decide to leave the program early, you must give a full 30 days’ notice before tuition is due. So, if you give notice on October 30th, you must still pay your November tuition. If you give notice on November 2nd, you must still pay your November and December tuition. 

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I provide my studio families with a fully detailed yearly calendar prior to the start of lessons each year. If you are to grow as a performer, you need you to show up to all lessons, classes and performances. It is no secret that my long-time students and alumni who have found the most success is due entirely to the fact that they never missed a lesson or class at KJPAS. They attended every summer intensive that I offered, and they were onstage for every KJPAS performance opportunity. If you feel that you will only be using me to land a part in a school, community theater or “pay to play” theater program, and then drop out;  I would ask that you do not take a valuable spot in my year-long studio. I am happy to offer individual audition coaching sessions as my time permits outside of the regular studio lesson schedule. 

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I will say up-front that I am not your “typical small-town 4:30pm on Thursdays for the entire year piano teacher”. In addition to living in both Myrtle Beach and New York City, I continue to work in professional theater. That means that I will sometimes have to juggle the schedule around, but I will always make it work for you. And as you will see from the studio calendar, I occasionally offer longer classes in lieu of your private lesson because otherwise the training in a 2-3 hour class would take me 4-6 weeks to accomplish in a private lesson. I believe that I offer a stellar training program. My students are consistently cast in shows (and often in leading roles) because they are better prepared than their peers. Many of my students go on to study theater at the college level and many are having fantastic careers in theater, film and television. 

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I want to work with students who have a true passion for performing and a deep desire to develop their craft. I spend many hours each year crafting a well-rounded curriculum for my students. That is what sets me apart from every other voice and acting teacher out there. Unlike those teachers who will ask “what would you like to work on today?” when you arrive at your lesson, I have an agenda for each of my students to make each of them a highly educated performer. In addition to the work that they do on their songs and monologues, I hold them accountable to score satisfactory grades on their music theory, musical theatre history, and sight-singing tests. While I do encourage my students to pursue as many training and performing opportunities as possible, I do expect them to consider their training at KJPAS a priority. This is why so many studio alumni have been accepted to outstanding college musical theater programs, and why so many have gone on to have very successful careers in theater, film and television. I am willing to work on non-KJPAS curriculum (i.e. audition preparation), but only after we complete the KJPAS curriculum. If you find that you need additional preparation for school, community theater, professional theater, or “pay to play” auditions, I would be more than happy to set up an additional coaching session for you outside of the studio schedule at my regular coaching rates. Please speak to me as the need arises and we can match up schedules. I have found that my hour-long students always have time to work on both the KJPAS curriculum and audition material. My half-hour students are often pressed for time to work on outside material, so an extra coaching session now and then would be a worthwhile investment. 

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I accept the following payment options: 

 

• Venmo. This is my favorite platform and industry standard for performers. I strongly encourage parents to use Venmo to pay your monthly tuition. It is an instant transfer, so you will never be late on your tuition payment, and you can easily do it from anywhere using your cell phone. You can find me on Venmo: @Kevin-Jones-178

• Apple Pay. This payment method is just as easy as Venmo. Send your payment to my cell number at  843-251-9542. 

• PayPal. If you do choose to use PayPal, you will have to check every single month that it is set to send to “pay a friend”, as PayPal will revert back to their regular payment method where they take a 3% cut. If I receive a payment from you where PayPal has charged a fee, I will immediately refund your payment and ask you to resend it choosing the correct option. If you do choose to use PayPal, send your payment to my email address: kevin@kjpas.com

• CashApp. Send your payment to my cashtag: $KJPAS

• Zelle.  Send your payment to my email address: kjpas27@gmail.com or my cell 843-251-9542

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Please note: Any payment received after midnight on the 1st of the month will incur a $50 late fee.

 

Please consider this your one and only warning regarding late payments. You will incur a late fee if you do not pay your tuition on time. I thank-you for understanding that this is my career, not my hobby.  

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For lessons are conducted via Facetime, I highly recommend that your family subscribes to high speed internet and that the student is located as close to the router as possible. This will ensure a strong connection for the best possible lesson. I also strongly recommend that the student uses a single earbud connected via Bluetooth to reduce possible audio feedback. Finally, for all Facetime lessons, it is imperative that the student has a second device (computer/iPad) available to play the rehearsal tracks that I have recorded.   

 

SPECIAL WORKSHOPS AND PERFORMANCES

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In addition to your weekly private lesson, I offer several classes and workshops throughout the year. They include music theory, musical theater history, and masterclasses with guest artists. These classes and workshops are not optional; they are part of the KJPAS training program and they replace your regular lesson time for that week (so if you miss the class, you are missing your lesson). I am committed to training performers who desire to learn how to read music, study the history of the Broadway theater, and who are working to become a proficient sight-singer.  

 

An annual studio calendar listing all lessons, workshops, and performances will be provided prior to the first lesson of the studio year. This is more than ample time for you to get the important dates on your family calendar so that you do not miss any performances or workshops. And with 30 lesson time-slots to choose from each week (when utilizing the lesson swapping option), there is no reason why you should not be able to make it to a lesson time each week. In particular, please add the studio performances to your family calendar as soon as you receive the studio calendar, and make certain that you do not double-book yourself. I realize that I am providing a training ground, but the performances are an important part of the KJPAS training, and you should make every effort to be present. 

 

When I am in town, you should make every possible effort to come to me for a live-and-in-person lesson. There are already several Facetime lessons throughout the year because of my schedule, so I really want to be working with my students “live” whenever possible. Please do not ask me to do a Facetime lesson with your child when I am in town simply because it is not convenient for you. 

 

My mantra on performing is this: I believe in empowering my students and always setting them up for success. My goal is to train my students here in the studio so that they can go out into the world and land parts (and often leading roles) in their school, community theater, or professional theater productions; or to be able to confidently stand up in front of a group of people and deliver a stellar presentation. I also train my students to be kind, humble, and fine citizens of the world. 

 

MISSED LESSONS

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No financial deduction will be made for missed lessons. Unfortunately, I am only available to offer lessons during the regular lesson schedule. I will not be able to make up lessons at alternate times.Thus, I encourage students to swap lessons with another student when a conflict arises. Please be pro-active and plan ahead! I will regularly email the latest/greatest lesson schedule throughout the year that includes the contact information of the other students in the studio. When a conflict arises, simply call or text other students and arrange a lesson swap. Be sure to let me know whom you’ve made the swap with so that I will know who is coming to my house (or who I have to Facetime). This system works very well, and students are often able to make it to one of the 30 available time-slots. Any lessons cancelled by the instructor will be re-scheduled.

 

Please note: Over the course of the year, you will probably miss a lesson whatever reason. Please keep it in perspective. I offer many “bonus” training opportunities from longer workshops to free masterclasses with Broadway performers. I guarantee you that you will still see the value in your investment. Thank-you!

 

INCLEMENT WEATHER 


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As I teach out of my home studio and by Facetime, I am always available to teach during lesson times. Thus, the studio will never be closed due to inclement weather. Please also refer to the “inclement weather policy” document for additional information. 

 

STUDIO CORRESPONDANCE AND CONTACTING KEVIN 


 

I am very good at communicating with students and parents and making sure that everyone is “in the know” regarding studio lessons and events. By accepting my offer to join this studio, and signing the studio agreement document, you agree to read all studio email correspondence in a timely manner, as this is my primary form of communication. If you do not read the studio e-mail updates, you will inevitably miss important information and opportunities. I am very conscientious of your time and only send out succinct email information as it is absolutely necessary. I usually send out a studio update following the final lesson of each week letting you know what is coming up the following week(s). I do ask that you refrain from using me as your personal concierge. While I am of course more than happy to speak with you regarding important questions or concerns that you may have, in the past many of the emails and texts that I have received were questions that I had just addressed in the studio e-mail updates.  Please refer to the studio calendar, the latest/greatest lesson schedule, and studio email correspondence before making contact. Thank-you. 

 

The best way to contact me 24 hours a day is by e-mail (kjpas27@gmail.com). You are also welcome to call/text me at 843-251-9542.