Here's the situation. You just heard a commercial on the radio about talent scouts looking for young actors and models this weekend, you are thinking about taking your child, but you are worried that it might be a scam. Well, here is what is likely to happen if you contact John Robert Powers.
1) You call the phone number provided in the commercial, and a friendly person invites you to bring your child in for an audition at a set time in the immediate future.
2) You take your child to the audition at the appointed time.
3) You hear a pitch about how wonderful John Robert Powers is, and you hear a bunch of names of former clients and studios who deal with the agency. You also hear about the surprisingly high earning potential of young talent.
4) You are kept waiting an unnecessarily long time. (This is a common tactic used by people to demonstrate dominance. The person waiting is always the less important person.)
5) Your child is led through a series of casual interviews and asked to read from some simple scripts.
6) Someone at John Roberts Powers tells you to call the agency at a set time the following day to find out whether or not your child had a successful audition.
7) You spend the rest of the day knowing the audition went well and dreaming of the wonderful new life your child is about to enter.
8) The next morning, you eagerly await your appointed time to call John Robert Powers. You are a nervous wreck as you wait to hear the verdict.
9) You call John Robert Powers at exactly the appointed time. A nice person tells you they loved your child, but your child needs a little work before he or she will be ready for the big time. That is when you are suddenly offered acting classes. If you are an intelligent person, you will --at this point--finally realize that you have been lured into a clever marketing scheme. You child was never wanted as an actor. Your child was wanted as a paying student.
10) The dreams you had for your child are deflated, and you have to go to your child, let him/her down easily, and accept the blame for being conned.
The reason you will probably have this experience has nothing to do with you child's talent or lack thereof. The real reason is that John Robert Powers is primarily an acting school. They are not there to land a big acting gig for your child, they are there to schedule acting classes and collect money from star-struck parents.
This sales method is not just wrong because it is misleading. It is wrong because it plays on the biggest hopes and dreams of children and their parents. Imagine if someone told you your child has potential to live his or her dreams but needs only a few classes to make it in the business. As a loving, caring parent. you would absolutely want to believe this, and you would happily sacrifice $1,000, $5,000, or $10,000 to make it all happen. After all, your child is going to soon be famous, rich, and happy. How can you possibly not invest in that sort of opportunity? It's a sad, irresistible trap, and a lot of people fall for it.
If you are thinking about signing a contract with John Roberts Powers, make sure to research the school thoroughly. Some of the locations have had a lot complaints from customers. On the Web, you will find numerous postings from disgruntled customers and some odd rebuttals from current and former John Robert Powers employees.
When considering John Robert Powers, ask yourself a few questions:
1) Why are there so few current significant celebrities associated with John Robert Powers?
2) If Josh Duhamel, who is primarily a supporting actor, is their biggest working actor, what does that say about John Robert Powers' clout in the entertainment industry?
3) If John Robert Powers is so sure about your child's show biz potential, why don't they pay for your child's acting classes? Certainly, the commission from one television or movie deal could easily cover their classroom costs.
4) Do any reputable talent agencies sell acting classes?
5) Why does John Robert Powers have so many unhappy customers?
6) Could being associated with a controversial outfit like John Robert Powers actually hurt your child's opportunities in the entertainment industry?
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