John Robert Powers Modeling
School
To Whom It May Concern:
My son responded to an open call for talent being put
on by the John Robert Powers agency
in St. Louis.
He was accepted for a call back and then, following
the second "audition," we were informed he
was great, and they wanted to offer him an invitation
to their Level 5 workshop training.
They described this as such a great thing because it
included all their talent/model workshops for a lifetime.
The agency also claims it is transferable to other Powers
locations across the world.
The price for this level 5 is $4,900. Basically the
price of all the workshops added together less a 25% "scholarship."
My son has a great and genuine desire to become an actor/performer.
What is your opinion on how legit these classes are
for the money? My main concern stems from the fact that
they want the entire fee within 30 days!
This particular agency has been in business since 1988,
so I'm not concerned about the overnight scam, just wondering
how they stack up against what else is out there. That
being community theater and even high school drama class.
Another note: we didn't go to the audition looking for
a school. We thought it was an agency that would get
you jobs doing commercials and print, etc.
John Robert Powers does that, of course,
but it's amazing how fast the momentum went from the
occasional acting job to a $5,000 fee for school.
Thanks for your time.
M.C.
M.,
Five thousand dollars, is, more than likely, too much
too soon.
It makes more sense to pay a reasonable amount for acting
classes (less than $300) at the start, and see if there
is sustained interest and skill development. Will your
son remain interested and will his acting skills grow?
If so, then pay for more classes, if necessary.
A parent who previously sent her daughter to John Robert
Powers acting classes, which she thought were very expensive,
said: "I felt my daughter got as much value out
of them as she gets when she attends an eight-hour "workshop" that
costs $150-250."
The creative marketing idea of making the 25% discount
a "scholarship" is hilarious. If a 25% discount
is still far more expensive than what other acting classes
cost, how is that a deal?
The whole idea of the John Robert Powers classes being "transferable" is
beside the point, because JRP is not the industry standard,
and it does not control the industry. It is not like
college, where credits can be transferred to other colleges,
based on an industry standard education and accreditation.
You didn't mention the age of your son, but a lot of
young people have plans and goals which change. This
happens in high school and college. Even college students
change their majors.
Why would a talent agency want to make someone commit
to a package of classes (costing $5,000, no less), based
on very little performance?
The fact is there is a clear and significant conflict
of interest, huge prices, and no guarantees at John Robert
Powers for potential models and potential actors.
When an agency or whatever which makes money from acting
or modeling classes holds an "audition," you
can't tell if they are really doing it just as a sales
pitch for classes. When they make money from classes,
you can't tell if your son being "selected" is
just because his parents can pay for the classes.
You should know that in some states it is illegal for
talent agencies to charge aspiring actors for classes.
They have recognized the obvious conflict of interest
and made laws to protect consumers.
In Florida, for example, agencies cannot require subscription
to a publication, post card service, advertisement, resume
service, photographer, school, acting school, workshop,
acting workshop, video or audio tapes.
The only way you could reasonably consider such a conflict
of interest is if the price of the classes was extremely
low. But in the case of JRP, it is not only not extremely
low, and not even competitive, it is extremely high!
Similarly, it would mostly likely only be reasonable
to consider paying a price for classes which was 10-20
times higher if the placement rate of the agency was
10-20 times higher than other talent agencies in your
city.
Best advice is to shop around.
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