John Robert Powers Modeling
School
To Whom It May Concern:
Thank God for this website,
and its letters
from participants in John Robert Powers.
I recently had a bad
experience with the John Robert Powers in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
I called about a radio
ad that stated Casting Directors from the new "Herbie" movie
were coming to Pittsburgh to evaluate any talented kids
who could sing and dance. My daughter has this natural,
inherited ability to sing; I have been told so by every
music teacher she has ever had. I called the number
to find out what this was all about.
I was invited to schedule
an audition time (the next day only) to have my daughter,
who is only 10 years old, audition in front of this National
Director at John Robert Powers in Pittsburgh. We
were told that if she received a callback after auditioning
for the National Director, she would be entered into
a contest, where they intended to draw one child's name
to walk down the red carpet with Lindsay Lohan at the
premiere of the "Herbie" movie in Hollywood.
My daughter was so overwhelmed
by this experience in the big city that she basically
choked at the audition—something she has never
done. However, when I called back at the designated time,
I was told that not only was the National Director impressed
by her, and wanted to see her again, but that John Robert
Powers wanted to take on my daughter as a client, which
is something they claim is done by invitation only.
Even though she had appeared
nervous, the National Director was able to acknowledge
her natural talent. I had to act quickly, in that
they had to see her that day because the National Director
had to fly back to Hollywood. I had to leave work, pull
my children from school, and make the 40-minute trip
to Pittsburgh.
After my daughter's second
audition (the National Director wasn't even in the room
at the time, although we were told he watched the audition
from another room), my daughter received a "welcome
letter" presented by the Top Casting Agent at John
Robert Powers. We were told that she had the "look" that
the casting directors were looking for, and that her
ability to sing pushed her above all the others.
John Robert Powers wanted
to represent my daughter and have her audition for all
the National Directors that would come to Pittsburgh.
(We were told that twice a month, because of their success
in the industry, National Directors came to town to audition
their clients. JRP clients had the advantage over other
agencies because their kids didn't have to go any further
than Pittsburgh to appear in National casting auditions.)
They wanted us to enroll
her in an "Elite" Lifetime Program, so they
could represent her on a National level. The Lifetime
Program costs $8,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was not about to enroll
my 10-year old in a Lifetime Program, especially at that
cost.
We discussed further
her opportunity to start in training classes to further
her singing aspirations. I was required to pay
$500 up front, which would allow them to arrange a photo
shoot to happen the following Saturday.
We were told at that
time that my daughter owned sole rights to her pictures,
and that if for any reason we would discontinue our training
at JRP, any photos would be my daughter's to keep. JRP
would only use the photos to represent my daughter.
The photo shoot was great! The
photographer was from Miami, and said he flew in that
morning for the shoot. He continuously made comments
about how he was able to tell my daughter what he wanted
her to do, and she was soaking it up like a sponge. He
reiterated that she had the "look" and would
definitely go far in this industry.
We opted for the three-month
training program and scheduled the training classes. Before
the classes started, however, she would do another audition
for another National Director. The Top Talent Agent
at JRP even suggested a song that they wanted my daughter
to sing.
So we got the song that
day, and she had it prepared for the National audition
the following week. Much to our surprise, however,
she was not allowed to sing at her audition. Why
would they take her on as a singing client and not have
her sing for auditions?! Further, we were told previously
that all auditions were videotaped—but this one
was not.
I pulled out all the
stops at that point. I wrote a cancellation letter
to JRP letting them know that I intended to stop payment
on my second check to them, and that my daughter would
not be attending the training classes, which we found
out were for acting and modeling (nothing to do with
singing). Since we had already paid $500, I asked
that they forward her picture disc to me when it was
available.
A couple of days later,
I received a phone call from JRP. They wanted to
understand why I was dissatisfied. The rep claimed
that they never had dissatisfied clients. She was
then willing to work with me on providing my daughter
singing classes through JRP for yet additional funds!
If the training was completed,
my daughter would be able to acquire her pictures. I
said that my husband and I would discuss it, and get
back to her. I have no intentions of doing this.
When I questioned why
my daughter couldn't get her pictures, they told me that
I would have to pay an additional $350 in order to get
the pictures. When I inquired as to the $500 I
had already paid, she said that was a "processing
fee."
Guess what—they
can keep her pictures too!
It was a $500 experience
that we will never forget.
It is so sad that there
are places of business out there that are as phony as
this one!
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