Canadian Showcase for Models and Talent
To Whom It May Concern:
My two daughters auditioned with the Canadian
Showcase for Models and Talent last night
in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
There were only 60-70 young people who came to the open
call advertised on a local radio station.
All but about 12 of the prospects received a "callback" for
another audition the following day.
I and some of the other parents at the audition were
suspicious when so many were asked to stay. (They requested
certain "numbers" to leave rather than request "numbers" to
stay, so no one was sure who actually didn't get a call
back.)
There was only one person making the selections, who
represented herself as being a lawyer in the business
for 25 years.
She told the parents there to "do their homework" by
checking out her company.
At home that night, I went online and searched for the
company, and found a letter from a person in BC that
had written to Modeling Scams expressing the same concerns
over this company.
(Their experience with respect to the proceedings was
identical to my own. Even the time, date, place, and
$595 fee for the modeling conference were the same.)
Now I was concerned. (Not that there wasn't really going
to be a conference in Edmonton, but that the odds of
success were so low, yet they appeared to be ready to
accept anybody who would come up with the $295 deposit
and sign a contract on the callback the next day. No
time to consult a lawyer or even think the whole thing
through.)
My kids were of course pretty disappointed, but we printed
the article off the internet, and the next morning we
went back to the audition site, and handed out copies
of the article to those going up to the audition, many
of whom we had met the night before.
We did not advise anyone on whether or not they should
continue with the audition, but just gave them the article
to read before they made a decision on whether they would
sign up.
Of course the company got wind of this, and when we
went in to talk to them, the "lawyer" started
YELLING that she would sue us for defamation of character,
and that her company was VERY, VERY BIG.
I told her to go ahead, there was no law that said I
couldn't hand our articles to those who might read them.
(After all she could hand out her brochures.)
She then told me that after expecting 600 people, she
had phoned her boss, and told him she was "never
coming back to this stinking town. This was the second
time this article had reared its ugly head."
She then said that the company in the article was not
hers. I said the name was the same, as well as the dates,
price, and location; yet she still denied the company
was hers.
Then she said that my daughters could consider signing
at a future time.
(At this point I could barely control my laughter. If
only the other parents could have heard her.)
Yours,
C.M. in MB
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