I began reading reviews about these guys when i was called in to an ""open call"". I became suspicious when I read a lot of reviews from parents whose children were represented by them. I read about hidden fees, the fact that they were constantly telling parents they had to buy this or that or ""they'd be laughed at"", etc. The first real red flag was the fact that these parents wrote about how much they were coerced into using the photographer that the agency sent them to; i checked out the actors and their headshots on their website. They all look the same and they are BAD head shots. check out some real head shot photographers and compare (I'd recommend checking out Jordan Matter's website-who has nothing to do with the writing of this, fyi) I went to the ""open call"" out of curiosity and to see if I'd come out with a story to tell as they were obviously not something I was looking for. First of all, the others called with me (four or five young people) were all obviously very green and had never really done anything nor had any training at all. This is red flag number two for any legit actor/model looking for representation. It looks as though they are looking for people who are a bit naive. Red flag number three: at the beginning we were all handed a booklet with pictures of all these actors (mostly kids) who had recently booked big projects (many of them written up to look way more impressive than they were). Actors are chomping at the bit to get agents. If an agency has to try so hard (""see what we've done for THESE people??"") something is up. Then, the majority of the call was a lecture about the business. How tough it is, etc. this was the most suspicious part of the call to me. an hour long lecture about the business. Legit agents call in people they've seen in things or get recommendations for or get great head shots and resumes from, not people who know nothing about the business. This was like an acting 101 class. They obviously EXPECT the people they call in to be very naive. Then we were told that for in town bookings they take 10% of what you make which is normal. But then they said that they take 20% for out of town bookings which is straight up ILLEGAL. Even if it weren't; Agents take 10%, managers take 15%, no one takes 20% of anything EVER. I could go into a lot more detail here but this should be enough to convince you to stay away. particularly parents of young kids who are approached by this agency. PARENTS; they are banking on you knowing nothing about the business. Most of their clients are kids, though they say nothing about specializing in young actors. Notice on their website that, though they have offices all over the country, every state has the same set of head shots. all the same actors. Anyway, steer clear.
Pros: You'll learn about the business at their open call
Cons: this can't be a real agency.
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