Thank You for all the responses I have gotten about Jrp. Here we go I will answer all of your questions as best i can.
1)All the CD's, Managers, and agents I've met:
-Seventeen magazine's booking's editor Courtney Gadsen
-Stanley Kaplan Talent-Janet
-SW2- Kristi Mcormick
-Bryan Leder Talent( one of his Clients from Jrp, Devon Conti is currently working on a movie co-starring Angelina Jolie called "The Chaneling")
-CESD- Christina Wright
-Harriet Greenspan Casting( Cleints have been on shows such as Ned's Declassified, Hannah Montana, Drake and Josh, Unfabulous, and Shredderman Rules.)
-Mollo Mgmt( represents Jrp cleint Dylan Blue who starred in Deck the Halls with Danny Devio and Kristin Chenowith.)
-Carter Entertainment-Bernadette Carter
-Abrams Artists Agency- Joe Tompson
-Ingrid French Mgmt- Ingrid French
-Diverse Talent Group( cleints who have appeared on Icary, Heroes, Zoey 101, DC's Movie Surfers, According to Jim, and Hannah Montana.)
-Funny Face Today
-Cosmo Girl Mag-Alicia Bridgewater
-Trump Model MGMT- Duane Gazi
2)What Classes I've taken:
I took TV1 and musical theater but they also offer modeling and Fashion classes as well as advanced TV2.
3)Who are the teachers:
I am sorry but it would not be right for me to give there names to people I do not know.
4)Cost of classes:
It goes by 6 months was $995, 1 year was 1,800, and they have 1 1/2 year, 3 year and 5 year programs but I am not sure of those prices.
5) Headshots:
Yes they do offer a place for headshots and its Dorothy Shi in NYC

By they way for all of you Jrp is not an agency or managment company but merely a school. I hope I answered your questions and if you have anymore please feel free to post them on this thread and I will post an answer on this thread promptly. Thanks Promprincess

Well, promprincess, you're the first to inspire me to investigate the legitimacy of JRP. Thank you for your input.

It appears that the Manhattan branch holds "Events" (I'm using quotes because these are the terms used on the site) where legitimate reps come in, much like Actors Connection seminars. How these operate apart from the classes they offer, I can't surmise from the website.

Both the Manhattan and Long Island locations publish "Success Stories" naming students who have professional relationships with these and other reps. The Manhattan branch gives "CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A CALL BACK FROM [X agent/manager]."

Some of the classes in the curriculum are questionable, IMO, such as "Fashion and Commercial Print." If your parents are both under 5'9", chances are you probably don't need to know anything about fashion modeling. And "on camera photo posing" I think is unnecessary, as long as you can take direction from a photographer.

I've said enough- look at the site and judge for yourselves. There are no prices listed, as I presume that prices vary according to location. I suspect more opinions shall follow...

Every Jrp is Different and the names of classes does not mean thats all you do in that class. To your surprise in modeling classes they set tables for one class because it teaches organization properness and ediquite.

As far as "Fashion and Commercial Print," I was referring to the curriculum.


My verdict: JRP may work for some, won't work for everyone. And that goes for any class. It may a place for people, particularly youth, who aren't already in the business to try acting. It might be a good place to start if you're in the suburbs and don't have a lot of options for training.

For your money, you can get better acting and singing lessons elsewhere. There's a reason why many acting classes and university programs require auditions. People who continue and succeed in this business move on and continue training elsewhere.

I always cringe at John Robert Powers threads, because I have a lot of research invested, and yet...so much of this info is "out there" via google, that I kinda don't feel sorry for people who can't even invest that much time before they spend thousands of dollars. A quick search of JRP, IMTA and/or iPop (the competition they will try to sell you AFTER you pay some to the local JRP) will show the MULTIPLE news exposes from major news organizations (NBC, et al), lawsuits, and complaints from parents.

In other words, this is a no-brainer.

Here's a little taste from the first page of google:
http://www.2nd-tier.com/showfax_bbs/index.cgi?noframes;read=4985

www.easybackgroundcheck.com (check JRP, IMTA and iPop--they have separate articles on each)

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/119/ripoff0119080.htm

http://www.corporatenarc.com/john-robert-powers-scam.php

ANYWAY....

I don't usually post on JRP threads, but I also don't feel like I can leave this thread with the misinformation posted above.

The facts are:

--JRP is NOT related to the famous agent John Robert Powers. He is dead, and he sold his name. So when they say, Lucille Ball and Jackie Onassis were clients of John Robert Powers, that is techinically true...they were clients of the MAN, when he was an AGENT. They did not go to acting classes and IMTA in the system that now exists. JRP has been sued repeatedly for their misrepresentations of their former clients.

--IT is true that Ashton Kucher was a JRP client, and it is true that there are a few kids who make it--maybe 3 a year that ever get work in Hollywood (not very good odds, considering the tens of thousands at JRPs around the country). It is also true that any legit agency in Hollywood will ask their client to remove the JRP training from their resume. Even for the families that entered the biz that way and semi-succeeded (ie. got a job at some point) they eventually learn not to admit they were ever there. Ashton Kucher has also been quoted multiple times saying that he believes "cream rises to the top"--in other words, he would have made it without JRP.

--JRPs are just franchised names. Every one is different, although some owners own two or three regional franchises. Depending on the state they are in, some claim to be talent agencies (states where there is no regulation of talent agencies). Some claim to be "managers" to avoid the talent agency laws in their state. In California, they must avoid saying they are agents, or offering work in any way...or even offering representation. They fall under the Advanced Fee Talent Service law here--which is a long story, but should be a HUGE red flag to those working with them.

--Because they are franchises, each one charges a different amount of money. I have in front of me, a contract from a CA JRP--$2000 for 10 weeks of classes. Lifetime membership for $5000. So this is a little different than promprincess quoted. And that isn't the end of the money grab.

--I have seen the instructors at many JRPs. I will tell you that I have never, not once, seen a class that remotely approached the standards offered by acting teachers in Los Angeles with kids who actually work. The quality of instruction is ridiculously poor.

--But that's not all folks, AFTER you pay the local JRP a good $5,000 - $10,000, they will try to SELL YOU a convention. This is a kick back situation. The local JRP says they "choose" the special kids to go to either IMTA or iPOP. They sell them a package for the competition that ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 or more for a few days. Again, each local JRP can sell the package for whatever they want...and the local gets a percentage from the convention people, so if you can sell it for more to YOUR clients...you get more cash.

There are IMTA/iPops twice a year each. If you sell the LA one, (further away) it costs more, and you get more money. IMTA is dying out now (hardly any JRPs go to that anymore) and iPop is the big winner--they have a couple of thousand kids come (usually without parents) to this hotel even for a few days.

Oh yeah...and if you buy that competition package, some JRP locals will also sell you an additional "coaching package" for a couple more thousand. Often the "guest teacher" is a "top LA CAsting Director" (who, if you check, has not cast anything for at least 10 years).

Now, here's the real promotion: They get you to pay your first $10,000 or so to the local JRP. Then you go to IMTA/iPop for another $10,000. BUT YOU DON'T WIN, and you might get a couple of callbacks (and yes...that is an abuse of an industry term which is exactly the kind of misrepresentation that JRP is famous for). But you get just "so close" that you have to go home and pay MORE to the local JRP and got the convention again next year. When they have soaked you for $20,000 or so, they will cut you loose.

Oh yeah...and I judged IMTA one year. I decided I shouldn't criticize something until I had seen it with my own eyes. The corruption I witnessed was shocking. Let's just say the kids who were judged the "best" did not win, and the "callbacks" weren't legit, IMO.

--Fact: not all JRPs CALL themselves JRP. If the local has been in trouble, run out of town, etc. You will find them calling themselves "Tomorrow Talent" or some such thing. But they are still a JRP franchise. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, etc.

--IT is a fact that predatory photographers and managers frequent the conventions. One is in jail right now for child molestation of a little boy and a 20 year history of porn. He was at the IMTA a few years ago taking pictures at the swimsuit competition. There are multiple cases of pedophiles. Why? Because they don't do background checks on the reps that attend--anyone can say they are an agent or manager. JRP doesn't care as long as they have a long list to keep the students paying.

--Here's a couple of doozies for ya...in the JRP integrity department. 1. A few years back, a kids' agency in LA called DDK went bancrupt. They literally stole the money from their kid clients and ran. Ran where? to open a JRP in Florida. Yep...they used stolen money, from little children, to open a JRP. It was a husband and wife team. He has since died (we were told a drug overdose) and she is still operating as one of JRPs prized directors.
2. Did you hear about the dad who murdered his whole family in Ohio--Veillette? About a fight regarding money? Yeah, they were a JRP/iPop family. You connect the dots for that. The children are dead now. But they got callbacks.

--That list that promprincess brought up? Well, gee...I have been helping a dozen families who signed with one of the people promprincess met. They moved to LA, alright. Their JRP site lists these kids as successes. Their lives have been a nightmare, and I am helping them escape. Why? JRP introduced them to this manager who charges $2000 to have them live with her in LA (illegal in so many ways, I can't even count them), plus $200 a month for required coach by her. NONE have worked, few have agents. Of course, they had to hurry and come to LA (despite the WGA strike). Smelling a scam yet? Yep...this manager ONLY recruits at JRPs. Why? Because it is the best chance of finding a sucker. She doesn't need to have anyone work--she just needs to suck them for more money. It's tragic.

And to be honest...this happens EVERY pilot season.

--So how do I know all this? I was a judge at IMTA. I've seen the "cream of the crop" of JRP. It's pathetic. I am also the co-founder of a non-profit whose job is to help showbiz families. We have to deal with JRP refugees literally every year in Los Angeles. They cry as we speak to them at Oakwood in LA--when they realize what they have done to their children. It isn't just money--it is the hopes and dreams of children that are lost.

So promprincess...and the supposed acting teacher that works at JRP (and btw...that is a common JRP ploy--shilling message boards)...perhaps you work at one of the very very few (as in, I have been in the industry for 15 years and have not seen one) JRPs that are fabulous and legit. But that does not mean that everyone else is wrong in their assessment of the JRP system.

For a good overview of scams in the industry, not specifically JRP, please read our article at BizParentz, here:
http://www.bizparentz.org/gettingstarted/avoidingscams.html

Thanks for reading...
Anne

Bravo Anne! Time for news coverage by Chris Hanson, Dateline especially that child predators are roaming these conventions! JRP is even scarier than we all imagined! Good for you that you are doing great work in helping these scammed families.

Well, thanks for the kudos, but really I am not the one who deserves them. The parents who leave the JRP system and have the guts to speak out about their experiences get my endless respect. They are the heroes. It's really hard to do..they all want to justify their entrance into this business at first. But it takes a cold eye to separate how great your child really is (and they are!) and the fact that a business took you for a ride.

This whole situation is heart-breaking. It makes me ill when I talk to these parents, who are now realizing what really went on, and what the professional entertainment industry is all about.

Sometimes, the kids come to LA and have absolutely no business here. They are simply not marketable (say, a model who is 5'5 and 180 lbs). These cases get to my heart because maybe those kids shouldn't have been encouraged to be a model. Because their parents sunk money into this pursuit, they won't have college money. They won't have pursued something they are truly good at. It isn't harmless...wasted time is something that kid can't get back. And now that kid will feel like a gigantic failure. When really, they are probably fantastic at something else--baseball, cake decorating, neuro science..who knows? No one will know...because they were too busy chasing Hollywood.

The other times, the kids are awesome and potentially very good actors! They deserve to succeed! But now they will struggle to make it, even if the kid is extremely talented. Why? Because JRP set them up for failure.

The parents find that they have either wasted too much time, and now their child is in an un-marketable (is that a word?? LOL) age group, or they have learned bad habits that will take a year to un-learn, or they have signed a 3 year contract with a low-level manager and will have to pay a lawyer to get out of it. Or they sign with an agent who never gets them work--they just have to sign someone occasionally so that JRP will keep paying the agent $500 an afternoon, under the table, to visit.

The worst cases involve money. When the parents find that AFTER they have "invested" all that money in their child's career, they have to pay again--new headshots (because the JRP ones aren't usable), new classes, etc. They came to CA with nothing on the resume and are in WAY over their head. They have to get resume credits. They have to start all over, from scratch. And by that time, the parents are usually out of money to invest--so they either quit (and the kid loses their dream) or they go into debt.

That is so sad, when you consider that they "won" a competition. They thought they were the best of something. They are listed as a "success" at their local JRP. They really thought they were gonna make it, and that JRP was an investment in their future, that is about to pay off.

The parents usually feel decieved at this point. They didn't realize the bigger con until they get to LA. They didn't realize that their local JRP directors have NO IDEA who good agents or manager are, and they have NO IDEA what really goes on in the legit industry. They aren't in it...how would they know??

The parents feel decieved, sad, defensive, angry, confused about who to trust...it's hard. And yet, they still believe in their kid...but doubt has now entered the picture. And JRP has given the parents no skills to handle the business on their own (they wouldn't want to teach parents things like using google or money management--they might dig up a little too much on JRP--so their mantra is "trust us").

Anyway...it's emotionally very hard for the parents. It takes an extraoridinary bravery to go through that and still feel like sharing anything about it with the world.

I know the JRP directors feel that they are giving a good product for the money. They think they are giving kids a shot at Hollywood that they wouldn't have had. But they don't realize that whether the kid is good or not, the JRP system is damaging.
A

WOW.

THANK YOU Anne! I was hoping you'd chime in with all of the fact and finally put all of this misguided information to rest.

YIKES!!

Is there a way to attach this to the KIDS/TEENS GETTING STARTED threads?

Thank you so much Anne!

I'll second that BRAVO! THANK YOU Anne, for all you do for so many! *clap*clap*clap*clap*clap*

quote:

Originally posted by somuchtodo:
YIKES!!

Is there a way to attach this to the KIDS/TEENS GETTING STARTED threads?

DONE!

yikes, thanks anne!

I know this is an old post, and it was plopped into the "scams to watch out for" thread. I think the advice given in this whole forum is wonderful, so please don't get me wrong with my little rebuttal.
I have worked for a JRP for the past three years as an instructor. Yes, I was the instructor that was on the other threads for those who read Anne's post. Which is VERY insightful, I might add!
And No, Im not shilling message boards. I am an actor. I have no leash or collar from ANY corporation, including JRP.
Here's my honest take on JRP and iPOP!
I think a lot of great things come from this place. I've seen kids grow in so many ways, and succeed in so many things, that I honestly would not consider it a scam, at all. Do I think its expensive? YES. Somebody said its a great place for the suburbs where kids can't get better education. There is some great truth to that, but I will not knock the education at JRP either. The two schools I've been affiliated with have teachers with a minimum of 5 years professional experience, as well as a degree in Acting. I would say that their education will rival ANY acting school out there. NOW, NOT ALL JRPS do this. So I cannot account for all of them. I do know that the JRP's I've been with have instructors that are more than qualified to teach. I myself have been acting professionally for ten years and hold a M.F.A. in acting.
JRP is expensive, but it does offer things that most acting schools don't offer. They offer audition opportunities with CD's, agents and managers that ALL have current talent WORKING. Like I said before though, I can only vouch for a small handful of JRP's and not all of them. It seems the majority of JRP's with problems are the ones in California. I guess their business model doesn't work out there because there's so much competition that is credible.
Yes, there have been owners that have screwed JRP's reputation in the past. This is an unfortunate thing that is truly disgusting and wrong. I come from an educator's perspective here, and not a corporate business owner's perspective. I have always given quality education to my students, and the instructors I've worked with have done the same. A lot of my students have gone on to get great paid professional work, and a lot of them have NOT. I work with the parents as well.
I teach the parents about the business of entertainment, entertainment law, and I help them find legitimate local agencies (outside of the ones JRP brings in).
Most, if not ALL folks that come in our doors are newbies. They are not seasoned performers. I have to teach them how to create resume's, write cover letters, research agencies, etc.

I don't sugarcoat the business to anyone, whether it be a parent, or a student.

As far as iPOP! goes, I have mixed feelings about it. I think it is a great opportunity to be seen by hundreds of industry professionals, but I am appalled by the pricetag. This is something, again, that I don't want to call a scam, because I HAVE seen kids get paid work through the convention. However, I have seen kids walk away with nothing but a few pics of L.A. or New York, or L.V.
When parents ask me about iPOP!, I dont sell it, I tell it like it is. Everyone goes with different intentions. If their intention is to get rich and famous, I tell them DON'T GO. If their intention is to have a vacation, I tell them DONT GO (UNLESS YOU WANT A VERY EXPENSIVE VACATION). If they go because they're serious about acting as a PROFESSION, then it may be a good idea. But I also tell them (especially if their kid is a teen) that the money could be your first year of college, or a really really nice first car.
As an actor, and as an instructor, I feel part of my job is to talk people OUT of this industry if they're not serious about it. I don't want anyone wasting their time, or money when it could be going to something else.
As far as the cost of iPOP, here's what it pays for:
additional training (we do six weeks, three hours a week)
flight for child and parent
hotel accommodations for child and parent
2 banquet dinners
and it pays for iPOP! staff to run the whole sha-bang.
But the most important thing to think about with all of this is:
NO ONE is holding a gun to your head and saying you HAVE to do this. If you are financially not able to do this (like me) then DON'T. But if it won't break the bank, and you want to enjoy a week of learning more about the bizz and auditioning with agents, cd's and managers, then by all means, go for it.
As far as predatory heathens roaming the events, this is something that can't be true. The event would've been shut down the moment it happened. If you believe EVERYTHING you see on ripoffreport.com or easybackgroundcheck.com, I also ask you to research the OWNERS of those sites. Ed Magedson. Google his name, and see what comes up. You'll be just as shocked as you were when you read the BS about predatory photographers being at iPOP.
To be honest, there are good and bad things about JRP. There are good and bad things about ALL schools. No school is perfect.
Here's what I would want ANYONE to do:
RESEARCH all opportunities that are available and weigh your options. Visit schools and see what you want out of it. Don't go by word of mouth (solely) because word of mouth can be useful, but also its a skewed point of view. If someone didn't get famous in 10 weeks of acting class, they may blast a website blog or something else calling a place a scam. Wherever you go when you're in a situation of signing a contract READ IT FIRST BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING. If there is something in the contract you don't understand, ask for clarification. IF you get a runaround, run AWAY!

Please don't think I'm making JRP sound like its the disneyland of acting schools. I am just giving MY opinion, and my interpretation of facts that I know. I am not out to make anyone sound like they're wrong for not liking JRP, or iPOP!. I just want you to know that despite what you may or may not think, there are JRPS who DO CARE. And they DO WANT YOU TO SUCCEED. Thanks!

More JRP experiences.
http://bbs.backstage.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9611031/m/686101431