John Casablanca talent?

Question

i was at the mall and this place and i signed up. they called me and wanted me to go to 1801 s myers road
oak brook terrace, il 60681. idk if its a scam. im 14 and want to get in to acting (only acting not modeling or others)

Answer 1

Total scam. Don't pay them anything and tell them you made a mistake and to take you off their phone list, mail list, any list they have and not to give your info to anyone else. They are not a legit talent agency or legit anything else. They are a glorified charm school that charges huge amounts of money for nothing more than teaching you how to walk and put make up on. Same with John Robert Powers and all those places. Your mom can teach you that. Go somewhere else. Never hurts to look these places up on ripoffreport.com before signing on the dotted line as well... do it now and see how many people complained against them. Check out bbb.org too.

They also should know better than to deal with minors. Have your parents make a stink about never contacting you again or they'll tell the police their sales people were soliciting minors.

No legitimate agent is going to beg people in the mall to come to theit office. PLEASE. They have so many legit actors sending them photos by the hundreds every day, why in the world would they go to a mall or anywhere else looking for talent? They wouldn't. Anyone who does that is scamming you, they just want the money. They will tell anyone that they can be a model or an actor... how do they know? What did you do that was so extraordinary that they could tell from that you could be an actor?

Please search out legitimate acting classes and go from there. Illinois is not hurting for good acting classes, they're there. You also need to build a resume before searching out a talent agent. Get into theatre, student and indie films, etc. If it's modeling you want, find legit agents who handle models and have your parents send them some pics of you. If they're interested they will call you.

good luck,
Marianne

Answer 2

If its like the John Casablanca place here, then yeah its a scam. A friend of mine worked there for a short time and said what a scam it was.

Heres a few helpful hints. If they accept anyone, if they insist you buy a portfolio or send you to get headshots (especially if they say it has to be from a specific photographer, they're in kahoots), they insist you take classes from them or someone. Odds are its a scam.

The best thing I can say is to do more shows to add to your resume. Connections will help you find an agent better than some fly-by-night.

Good luck!