The Dominant Actor — Nomè SiDone

Yale MFA · AEA · Conservatory Audition Preparation · NYC

The Dominant Actor

Step into the fullness of who you are.
The room will never be the same.

Currently King Lear·Craiova International Shakespeare Festival·Romania·May 27–28, 2026

A Two-Day Audition Technique Intensive · 12 Seats

Shakespeare → The Room
with Nomè SiDone

Saturday May 2 + Sunday May 3 · 10 AM – 1 PM · La MaMa, NYC · Special Guest Abigail Onwunali (Broadway · Joe Turner's Come and Gone)

Reserve Your Seat — $125

"It is simple. It is not easy."

The Dominant Actor is a methodology built for and by the Global Majority. The sass, the musicality, the rhythm, the storytelling tradition you carry into the room — these are not things to soften or apologize for. They are fuel. You learn to move from Shonda Rhimes to Shakespeare, from Yoruba to Queen's English, without losing yourself in either direction. That is dominance.

The work begins when the mask comes off.

The Coach

Nomè SiDone

Storyteller · Actor · Director · Writer

The house down boots.

Yale School of Drama, MFA · UNCSA, BFA Teaching Artist, Maggie Flanigan Studio Actors' Equity Association (AEA) · Working Actor Born in Detroit · Raised in Lagos · Living in New York Now: King Lear · Craiova International Shakespeare Festival, Romania · May 2026

I am a lover of storytelling. Storytelling comes in many formats, and we are so lucky that you — or your child, or you independent of your parent — chose this format. Acting. I am here to offer myself as a guiding light on that journey, be it a BFA conservatory audition, an MFA artist residency, a working audition, or Shakespeare — which I teach at Maggie Flanigan.

My history with Shakespeare is wild. I've done King Lear twice — in Massachusetts, then in New York City on Broadway — and this May at the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival in Romania. I have performed Shakespeare on three continents. I've been training actors for over a decade. I've been in those rooms. I know what they're looking for.

And what might that be? You ask yourself...

They're looking for you. Not some weird version of you that conforms to make yourself smaller or bigger based on their eyes and what you think they want to see. They're looking for you to stand in the fullness of your humanity — loud and proud and unapologetic about who you are. Roaring to that lady in the back of the house, back of the church, who says amen.

The Record

I don't just prepare actors. I get them in.

Three students accepted to Carnegie Mellon in a single year.

Carnegie Mellon — Acting · Carnegie Mellon — Musical Theatre · NYU Tisch — Graduate · LAMDA — London · UNCSA · Brown University · Syracuse University · Pace University · Rider University · University of Michigan · Yale School of Drama — Final Callbacks · Juilliard — Final Callbacks

And so, so, so many more.

In Their Words

"
Nomè is the best coach I've ever had — hands down. I've trained in America. I've trained in England. What separated him from every other coach was the balance between rigorous technique and deep emotional work. He trained me as a whole person. He even made me fall in love with Shakespeare. He didn't just make me a better actor. He helped me become someone who knows her worth.
Dallas Salaberrios · Carnegie Mellon University, BFA Acting 2029
Also accepted: UNCSA, NYU Tisch
"
Nomè SiDone didn't just prepare my daughter for auditions — he called forth the artist within her. Through his fierce devotion and masterful eye, she rose to earn acceptances at Carnegie Mellon, UNCSA, and NYU. His impact is undeniable, and what he instilled in her will echo for a lifetime.
Tiffany Salaberrios · Parent — Carnegie Mellon BFA Acting
"
I really truly believe that I would not be at Carnegie Mellon University without Nomè. He was the first person to ever tell me that I never needed to play a caricature of what I thought a Black woman was — because my existence as a Black woman was enough. He taught me how to be a versatile actor, a flexible one, hard-working, educated, and joyful.
Nicole Siegler · Carnegie Mellon University, Musical Theatre
"
Nomè not only teaches me how to approach a text, how to act — he teaches me how to make bolder choices, how to embrace my true feelings and be myself as a foreigner in the States. He is patient to lead me, relax my face muscles, and actually calm down to sink into the circumstances. He really pushed me to take risks outside the box.
Julia Zhu · Syracuse University, Musical Theatre · International student, China
❧ ❧ ❧

There is no "right" — there's only truth.

The Dominant Actor Methodology

"
The lessons you've taught me have genuinely shaped me into a better actor. You've helped me grow in ways that will continue to open doors for me wherever I go. I can honestly say I gave everything I had. Thank you for believing in me enough to challenge me, guide me, and help me become stronger in this craft.
Fortune Onwunali · Actor
"
Right before my first audition, I was nervous, life was hitting me hard. In that session, he told me, "Right now, let's let go of results and just fail. Do the monologue again. Make all the wrong choices and free yourself from trying to get it right." That completely set me free. I was able to get into my body and feel comfortable in my skin as the character. Nobody wants to work with an actor who's always trying to get it right — there is no "right," there's only truth. Nomè taught me that. Nomè knows text the way LeBron James knows basketball. The man is a true scholar. If you're serious about elevating your craft and stepping into your full potential as an actor-artist, I highly recommend working with him.
Isaiah Hamilton · Actor & Model, New York · Juilliard audition process
"
Nomè is a no-nonsense coach that teaches with vigor and attention to detail. He approaches the work sessions with honesty, organization, and a deep focus on character specificity. Working with Nomè is an opportunity for an actor to dive deeper into character and text analysis which he uses to support embodiment. The most effective training sessions were mock audition exercises that Nomè would conduct at various times — they helped me gather valuable information on how to articulate my own thoughts, handle notes being given to me, and adjust accordingly. I would recommend Nomè to anyone that is looking for a vigorous coach that invests in your growth not just as an actor, but also as a person.
Lucia Aremu · Actor
"
Nomè has been a wonderful coach for me and has been vital in my growth as an actor. After every session with him I walk away feeling more confident in my text analysis skills. Nomè leads with kindness — I would recommend his coaching to anyone who struggles with shyness, because he is such an encouraging coach who pushes you in ways that feel encouraging and supportive.
Messiah Cristine · Actor
❧ ❧ ❧

James Earl Jones alongside Laurence Olivier.

Viola Davis alongside Meryl Streep.

Denzel Washington alongside Kenneth Branagh.

Chadwick Boseman alongside Ian McKellen.

The Global Majority is not an addition to the canon. The Global Majority is the canon.

The Methodology

The 7 Elements

It is simple. It is not easy.

The Dominant Actor is built around 7 interconnected elements — not ranked, not hierarchical, not sequential. They exist simultaneously, like instruments in an ensemble. You do not play one before the other. You play all of them, together, every time you walk into a room.

1
Self-Knowledge & Embrace
+

This is where everything begins. Not knowing yourself despite your limitations — a full, ongoing, daily embrace of everything you have come to know about yourself. It is not a destination. You do not arrive at self-knowledge and stop. It is ongoing. This is the root of presence. You cannot manufacture presence. You grow into it. It is the result of this embrace.

2
Presence
+

Presence is not a technique. It is not something you layer on top of yourself before you walk into the room. It is what remains when everything false has been stripped away. A great actor's presence lives not only within themselves — but within the character, within the given circumstances, and in living, breathing relationship with every person in the room. It is not a solo act.

3
Training as Ongoing Practice
+

Conservatory is one door. The job is another classroom. The street is another. Life is another. You do not graduate from training. You do not complete it. Great actors are trained on the job, in the room, in the rehearsal, in the failure, in the breakthrough. If you are not a detective of the human condition, what exactly are you doing in that room?

4
Curiosity
+

You are an investigator. Of people. Of behavior. Of what lives underneath what people say and what they actually mean. Of what the body does when the mind thinks no one is watching. If you are not curious — genuinely, relentlessly, specifically curious — about what it means to be alive, you are not ready to tell other people's stories.

5
Sensitivity, Malleability & Freedom
+

Your instrument — your body, your voice, your tongue — must be soft, tender, hard, rigid, open, closed, and everything in between. It must move from Shonda Rhimes to Shakespeare. From Yoruba to Queen's English. From a kitchen sink drama to a Greek tragedy. Your tongue must be malleable enough to carry all of it without losing itself. Sensitivity. Malleability. Freedom. You cannot have one without the others.

6
Growth as Survival
+

The actor dies when they stop growing. This is not metaphor. You cannot afford to stop growing — not just for your art, but because stagnation is a political vulnerability. Growth is protective. Growth is political. Growth is personal. It is all three at once, always. You show up every day. You get better every day. Not because someone is watching. Because you are watching.

7
You Cannot Force It
+

The transformation arrives when it arrives. Your job is to create the conditions for it. Not to manufacture it. Not to perform it before it's real. The work creates the conditions. The conditions create the opening. The opening creates the transformation. You prepare. You show up. And then you let it come.

You are not one thing. You are not one register. That is the point.

You've seen the methodology. Now invest in yourself.

Book a Session

What I Offer

Three tracks. One standard.

Every track is built on the same methodology, the same precision, the same refusal to let you shrink.

Track One — The Flagship
BFA / MFA Conservatory Coaching
$575 – $1,000

A full-season coaching relationship from material selection through final audition — August through March. BFA students receive full material guidance and selection. MFA students bring material; coach provides strategic direction. Monologue development, presence work, mock auditions, program targeting, and the kind of specific preparation that has placed students at Carnegie Mellon, NYU Tisch, LAMDA, and beyond.

Limited spots available for Fall 2026 audition season

5 Sessions (Intensive)$575
10 Sessions (Full Prep)$1,000
Track Two
Audition Prep
$125/session

You have an audition. You need skilled eyes and ears in the room. Work the piece, talk through strategy, tape it if you need to. One session or a handful — responsive, precise, on your timeline. Scene work, monologue coaching, cold reads, self-tape guidance. Available in person in New York City and virtually worldwide.

Track Three
Scene Study & Ongoing Work
$125/session

For actors who want to deepen their craft outside of audition season. Scene study, classical text, contemporary voices of the Global Majority — Wilson, Nottage, Soyinka, García Lorca, Lloyd Suh. The canon — the full canon. The work doesn't wait for audition season. Neither should you.

A conservatory education costs a quarter of a million dollars. You pay the artist who prepares your child for that room. Valuing artists starts here — with the work that gets them through the door.

Book a Session → Pay Now

Packages paid upfront before first session. Coaching available in person in NYC and virtually worldwide.

A quarter of a million dollars for conservatory.
This is where the preparation starts.

Begin the Work

Workshops

A few times a year, the room gets bigger.

Intensives on audition technique, classical text, and the craft of being in the industry room. Not part of any season — discrete, deliberate, capped small.

Currently — May 2 + 3, 2026
Shakespeare → The Room
$125

A two-day audition technique intensive. Day one: theater auditions. Day two: film & TV. Same spine, two rooms. Special guest appearance from Abigail Onwunali (Broadway, Joe Turner's Come and Gone). 12 seats. La MaMa, NYC. Booking closes Thursday April 30, 9 PM.

Reserve a Seat →

Future intensives announced as they're scheduled. To hear about them first, join the mailing list.

What You Probably Want to Know

How do I know which track is right for me or my child?
If you're preparing for BFA or MFA conservatory auditions, Track One is the flagship — a full-season coaching relationship. If you have a specific audition coming up and need focused preparation, Track Two is your lane. If you want ongoing actor training outside of audition season, Track Three is where the craft deepens. Email me and we'll figure it out together.
When should we start preparing for audition season?
The earlier, the better. Ideally, BFA students begin in the summer before senior year — July or August. That gives us time for material selection, development, and multiple rounds of refinement before prescreens go out in the fall. If you're coming in later, we make it work. But time is your friend in this process.
Do you work with students outside of New York City?
Yes. Virtual coaching makes geography irrelevant. I work with students nationally and internationally — including actors preparing from Nigeria, the UK, China, California, and across the diaspora. If you have a screen and a willingness to work, we're in business.
What's the difference between BFA and MFA preparation?
The worlds are different. BFA — you are a young, very young artist. Still a young person. They want to see what happens when that young person removes the mask and just embraces their chaos, their love, their funny, their sad — just embraces all that they are. The MFA — you are an artist coming in for an artist residency. You are expected to make choices that define what kind of artist you are. Part of making those choices is picking your material. For BFA, I guide the full material selection. For MFA, you bring your material. I'll offer suggestions, but the responsibility — and the artistry — is yours.
Do you help with material selection?
For BFA conservatory track students, absolutely — it's built into the process. We select material that lets your specific voice, body, rhythm, and cultural presence be an asset. Voices of the Global Majority are centered alongside classical text. We find work that scares you a little — and then we make it yours.
What if my child doesn't get into their top choice?
What I can promise is that your child will walk out of that room having given everything they have — the fullest, most authentic version of themselves. That's what this work builds. Whether the answer is yes or not yet, they will have stood in that room as someone who knows who they are. And that doesn't go away.
How do payments work?
Single 60-minute sessions are $125, paid before each session. Package rates — $575 for the five-session intensive, $1,000 for full audition prep — are paid upfront before the first session. Payment processed securely via Stripe. Pay for a single session here. No payment, no session. This is how we value the work.
Can I sit in on my child's sessions?
Not during the session itself. Your child needs the freedom to fail, be ugly, be raw, and try things that would mortify them with a parent in the room. That said — I stay in open communication with parents throughout the process. You'll know where we are, what we're building, and when it's time to celebrate.

Begin

The Work Starts Here

Tell me who you are and what you're working toward. I'll be in touch.

Book a Session Now

Begin the Work

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I'll be in touch within 24 hours. In the meantime — start thinking about what you want to say in that room.