The Reality of Reality TV School: Big Dreams and Bigger Fees

On any given Saturday afternoon, Leslie Peña gets ready to shut the door to the master bedroom in her Grand Concourse apartment. Before she does, she gives her three daughters, aged 18, 12 and 7, her usual warning: “When the door’s closed, the Zoom’s on,” she says intently, donning her green velvet blazer, her hair carefully styled in a tall bun. “That means, ‘Don’t come in. Mom’s training.’”

The girls are used to this routine. Peña, 42, has spent at least 45 minutes each week on Zoom with her coach...