Providence/New Bedford Weather
DREAM MAKERS: Tell Us Your Story
Chris Boardman
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Monday, May 18 at 4:31 PM tom wrote ...
I am reading all the posts and still don't know what to think. We received the "call back" supposedly independent from the cold read call back. My questions are this. Are they truley exclusive or is anybody that can shell out the cash accepted? Are there real classes when you show up? Are they worth the 2 to 6 k they want to charge? Of course no one can guarantee a tv spot. But do you get quality lessons and real exposure for what you paid? Are the testemonials real? How can I validate
21679157Saturday, Mar 21 at 3:07 PM Kelly Boutin, Salem, NH wrote ...
I am having a great experience with ACT... the cost is not much more than the dance classes I have my daughter enrolled in... it is all to build up her self esteem while at the same time having a blast... I beleive we are getting a lot for our money and the staff here at ACT are very informative. Not everyone is cut out for this industry... and it appears most here are not. My suggestion would be to try a different path in life.
18362152Monday, Mar 9 at 3:34 PM Frankie wrote ...
WE GOT SUCKED INTO THE WHOLE THING TOO. AT LEAST $20,000 LATER, I TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT. HOWEVER, NEWS FLASH KIDS, CHECK OUT THE GUY THAT OWNS ACT AND THE. HE HAS AT LEAST A HALF DOZEN REALLY EXPENSIVE CARS, HOUSES, SUITS...HMMM. AND ALL THESE KIDS WORKING FOR HIM ARE SUCKERS TOO. I BELIEVE HIS NAME IS GEORGE GAMMON AND BELIVE ME HE HAS GAMMON. I HAVE A LOT OF THE INITIAL INFO..IF YOU WANT MORE FUEL FOR THE FIRE.
17748322Saturday, Mar 7 at 10:33 AM Diane wrote ...
This is all quite interesting. We brought our daughter to the audition. I listened to the speech and never once heard anyone say that ACT represented Disney or NIckelodeon. It was also STRESSED that a job was NOT promised. Training was, and so far they've delivered on that. It's irresponsible of people to assume you can get into that business and succeed without some knowledge of what is needed. No one forced anyone into shelling out their money. That was their choice.
17667721Friday, Mar 6 at 10:37 PM Maria wrote ...
Oh my God..I could not believe my eye when I saw the commercial about ACT SCAM! I had sign my daughter for acting classes two months ago, and her first class was last month. Even though I did not like Lily's speach at the audition. I had little bet of doubts, I still sign my daughter up for acting classes, thinking that this well be a good oppertunity for her. She has class coming up at the end of the month, and now but what I heard so far, I'am wondering if I made a big mistake!
17655547Friday, Mar 6 at 10:33 PM JENNIFER CASTELLANOS wrote ...
continue of my story..my daughter was very sad and upset but I explain to her that this was all fake,,I feel that this agency gives false hopes and it's not fair for just some stranger try to steal our hard working money using our children.the economy is bad as it is we dnt need anyone try to rip us of please make justice? we can not allowed this to happen
17655411Friday, Mar 6 at 10:27 PM JENNIFER CASTELLANOS wrote ...
continue of my storywell the next day I received a phone call from the same little pretty lady that was on the news. trying to stiff our hard working money letting me know that my son was not ready yet,but my daughter jenaise was and that she had a great talent and she wanted for me to pay 8,900 for her to start taking classes that was like a slap on the face,kids dnt understand the answer NO cause of there false advertisement they give kids hope.its not that easy to be having people steal our$
17655272Friday, Mar 6 at 10:20 PM Matt Bowers wrote ...
PLEASE ALSO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE RI ATTORNEY GENERAL and the Better Business Bureau, ACT operates out of Phoenix. ...... ATTORNEY GENERAL Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch in RI. 401.274.4400 Follow the voice prompt for the consumer protection division. Even if you didn't already give ACT/THE (..whoever)a credit card you can still file a complaint. The more that call the more visibility we give this issue. http://www.riag.state.ri.us/civilcriminal/consumerprotection.php
17655012Friday, Mar 6 at 10:19 PM Matt Bowers wrote ...
Check out these links for more information http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheScamACT/ http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/631106681 http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/772108031 http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/769104621 AND this really good resourse http://www.bizparentz.org/ Parker, Thank you for covering this story!
17654966Friday, Mar 6 at 10:16 PM JENNIFER CASTELLANOS wrote ...
I'm a mother of two my daughter is ten and my son is 7,there was an open audition at the convention center of Rhode Island a few months ago. my children saw the false advertisement on nickeolodeon channel? and saw that they can have an oppurtunity to be on all those fun shows all our kids see! they provide there commercial with a 1800 number to call .I thought it was fun and went to take the kids to try it out.it was to good to be true they gave the kids a script to read and they will call us.
17654821Friday, Mar 6 at 5:38 PM Mom from SK wrote ...
I enrolled my daughter for the "experiece," knowing most likely nothing would come of it other than a modeling/acting class on her resume. They wanted $1500 for a photo shoot for the final night which they said would include many agents/scouts/modeling agency reps from RI/MA/CT. I went to a local photographer and I paid less than $300 for zed cards and 8X10's, and the final audition consisted of only their agents trying to get us to sign up for THE(tay)-more classes in CT. A total rip off!!
17644862Friday, Mar 6 at 4:15 PM Stacey Floyd wrote ...
Well sometimes when things seem to be to good to be true they often are just that. I brought my 8 year old daughter to an open auditions at the Westin in prov on Feb 1st, she wanted to go and have fun.We ran in to all types of people there , some very scary who were absolute stage moms and probably have dragged their children to many of the same type deals.My daughter was also called back and offered the workshop, she was not treated well enough for us to go back.
17640402Friday, Mar 6 at 12:06 PM kim sheffield.westerly,ri wrote ...
"KIDS, want to be a STAR??" NOWHERE in the comm. did it say anything about this being a "SCHOOL". it WAS as if they were auditioning kids for a part in a commercial or tv show. what APPEARED to be a real BAIT and SWITCH turned into a real SCAM! these people should be prosecuted to the FULLEST extent of the law!!! they DISGUST me!! and WHY didn't NICK or ABC or any other channel that AIRED the comm. make sure it was LEGIT? or the RI CONV. CENTER for that matter BEFORE it RENTED out the SPACE??
17624386Friday, Mar 6 at 9:56 AM Anonymous wrote ...
by the agency, we opted not to sign with them or anyone else at the time as it would have required a lot of traveling into Boston or even NY on a regular basis. I feel sorry for the people who are scammed by unreputable agencies and as a general rule of thumb I think it goes without saying that if someone wants thousands of dollars, it is probably NOT legit.
17618447Friday, Mar 6 at 9:54 AM Gayle wrote ...
When my daughter was an infant, I submitted photos of her to a REPUTABLE agency in Boston called Dynasty Models (www.dynastymodels.com). In a nutshell, a reputable agency such as that would never so essentially a an "open call" rather you submit the photos and if they are interested in taking you on as a client they contact YOU and set up an interview. And there are no fees to be affiliated with them if you are chosen - just a small cost for a photo portfolio. Although my daughter was chosen..
17618302Friday, Mar 6 at 8:24 AM Bren Huck Lexington MA wrote ...
I am 15 years old and I attend ACT classes in Providence. My audition was a short 5 min. interview and a quick cold read on a projection screen in front of 100s of kids that had the same dreams as I did. I wanted this dream to come true more than anything, and my parents saw how much a possibility like that meant to me. They chose the best classes possible for me, told that it was the best for me by my interviewer. I attended classes first semester, received a call back, and never heard from the
17612772Friday, Mar 6 at 7:53 AM kurt/EG Continued wrote ...
Some of the most talented actors, singers, dancers, etc. are either bartenders or waiters. It's a business that for the most part takes incredible persistance and thick skin. If parents can't comprehend this from the beginning they shouldn't be running down to an open audition. It would be better if the news actually informed the public on the classes that children were taking instead of the auditioning process. Your story sounds more like sour grapes by disillusioned parents.
17611536Friday, Mar 6 at 7:43 AM kurt/ EG wrote ...
The problem is not with the company ACT, but with the parents who have absolutely no clue on just how difficult it is for a person, whether it be child or adult to get work in the entertainment business. There is no guarantee that your child will be the next star. If the company is offering classes on how to improve your child's chances to hopefully land a job then they've done nothing wrong. Parents have to realize there is no secret formula and that eventually your child needs to have talent
17611187Friday, Mar 6 at 7:38 AM Sheila wrote ...
We went to one of the Friday night auditions in Providence after "winning" a spot on the radio. There were 2 parts to the audition- one for print ads and one for acting. I found it interesting that even though we were told that you might get called back for one, but not the other only one of them asked for our contact info. When we called in on Monday we were told that our daughter was "adorable" and "totally marketable"- next step, show up on Tuesday with $ for classes. We didn't go back
17611006Friday, Mar 6 at 1:41 AM Alexmarie/Lincoln wrote ...
I was 14, when my sister and I went to the RI Convention Ctr. last year. I was one of the handful chosen out of hundreds! They called us back, and we had to pay 6,000 for ACT classes. My mom gave 1,000 deposit and was going back with the rest, my aunt told my mom it was a scam. When my mom called for her deposit back, the same person that was so nice to us was very rude! And told my mom she was upset because my sister didn't get a call back! And said mean things about my sister. A.Ricci
17606851Thursday, Mar 5 at 11:47 PM caroline wrote ...
i took my daughter to this a few months ago in providence. we waited for 2 hours for a 3 minute interview that consisted of the "real estate" woman rushing through a list of 3 or 4 questions that she barely even wrote the response down. when we saw the price and read the fine print that said classes were mandatory we decided that this was just for fun, and not to get your hopes up. AKA this was a SCAM!! glad someone caught this !!
17604346Thursday, Mar 5 at 11:13 PM Corey from East Greenwich wrote ...
We heard about the audition in a commercial, and when we arrived we saw the same woman who was just on the news report. I read some lines on camera and then left. A few days later they called back my mother and obviously said, "we will not need your son for any commercials yet, but he is eligible to sign up for classes!" and my mom said she does not think I can do it and the woman hung up.
17602917Thursday, Mar 5 at 7:30 PM margaret sacco hopedale ma wrote ...
my daughter was accepted and had her first day and loved it, not exspecting to be picked and on tv we were there for the self esteem. But not i got a call frome someone their asking if i would be there tomorrow night and i asked him about the news and he didn't know a thing. next i knew kari the person incharge called me to ask if i would be at the westin tomorrow night and if i had any questions to ask them. so if the news wants to be my family lets go check this out........
17593897Thursday, Mar 5 at 6:44 PM kathryn Pfeiffer/ coventry wrote ...
(cont). they gave me a script to read and i didnt gt to read thru it first (it was abut levi jeans) and then i was done. i waited 3 hours for a 5 minute interview. i was upset after knowing i was rushed and not prepared. my dad opened the booklet and the highest price was 15,000 for a 6mo. class. my dad was suppose to call the following monday to see if i met there "standards" but he never did becuz he saw that price and knew it was a scam. i was upset that they treated kids like this for money
17591806Thursday, Mar 5 at 6:38 PM kathryn Pfeiffer/coventry wrote ...
im 14 last yr. i went to ACT there were 100s of people. i was so excited to be discovered.the "agents" gave us this huge speech abut ACT and success story's (i knew nobody in the pics they showed us) they gave us a booklet and had us fill out a form.i waited 3 hrs. to be interviewed and finally it was my turn. i was interviewed by that real estate "scout" person. the interviewed was so rushed, how long did u want this?, wat is your talent? then i went to get "filmed" on a projecting screen
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