M.C.in Mullica Hill, NJ, you are dead on! We heard about the so-called audtion on Nickelodeon... All the same garbage about only 200 will be seen, be on Nickelodeon, blah, blah, blah. Of course off we went to the Sheraton in Philadelphia today; watched hundreds of children with their parents going and coming. We waited for our 2:00 audtion in a line that wrapped around the entire second floor where the Liberty Ballroom is. Once we were about to enter the ballroom we were handed the paperwork just as you were; disclaimers and the like. As I sat in the ballroom with my daughter and read through the information they handed me, slowly but surely I realized we were "audtioning" to be "accepted" into a school of some sort.
Mind you, this is not our first experience with the predators of this industry and I immediately sensed another con coming on. After seeing the last page of the paperwork with the fee schedule, I knew we had to leave. And that we did. I did not wait for the interview nor did we stay to do the "cold commercial" or to get told to call back on Monday; we just up and walked out. Of course, as soon as we arrived home some 2 hours later, I immediatley logged on to the computer and searched this company. The only reason I did not do it previous to subjecting my daughter to this disappointment was because when I called the same 877 number mentioned before and point blank asked was there any fee involved, I was told ABSOLUTELY NOT, and so I trusted that information. I guess it really wasn't a lie; it cost no money to come to their cattle call and get students for their school. I have most recently been down that road with another national "agency" promising to promote my child's talent after attending their so-called "school, " only to find out a couple of thousand dollars later that they just keep sucking more money out of you. I wish I knew how to stop these things. Between the local modeling agency... Or so they advertise... To the IMTA competition you get accepted in only after you pay $5700 to attend... It is all a disgrace and something has to be done. I appreciate everyone's right to make money, but it shouldn't be at the expense of a child.
0 comments