Complaint Review: International Performing Arts Showcase - Los Angeles California

WARNING...DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE OF IPAS SHOWCASE!

It starts off with Barbizon and after they graduate from the modeling program, you get the phone call that your child has been selected to audition for this amazing talent showcase. You walk in and there are hundreds of kids ranging from ages 4-18 years old maybe older. You get Renee Epps to talk about this amazing opportunity for the showcase and she will really sell you the dream with the golden ticket if you know what I mean. Your child is then told to come to a photo shoot and to audition for the showcase. After they perform they are told that if they are selected they will receive THE PHONE CALL! so here is you child hoping to be selected (which most if not all of them are selectet...ching, ching$$$$). When you get that phone call get that check book ready cause that FIRST phone call is gonna cost you a lot of money. The initial payment to be in the showcase is $5,000.00, but here is the catch... the airplane tickets, ALL of the clothes, other necessary photo shoots and many other extra expenses will end up costing you OVER $9,000.00 per child, keep in mind you also have to pay which is a separate fee and it's not cheap.

During the monthly rehersals which run for 8 months they will hype up your childs head that they really have a great shot to become a, MODEL, ACTOR, DANCER, BE IN A COMMERCIAL, MOVIES etc...really convincing. Like I said the golden ticket. during the course of the rehearle and preparation you seriously start believeing everything about the showcase and so is this talented child of yours. Mind you it will be a very stressfull 8 months. I am not lying to you.

Once you arrive in LA, California...that's when you will see the THOUSANDS of kids participate in this SHOWCASE (scary) and your child NEVER had a chance or prayer! I am not being negative, trust me! I experienced it and so did hundreds of parents there. For the 5 days your child will run, cry, get angry, scared, go through every range of human emotion and really work their hearts out by giving their all and all. During this stressfull 5 days You MUST attend the workshops wich I must say they are AMAZING! all of the judges get to speak and hear themselves brag about the industry, the do's and dont's  and they too really convince you that your child has a 90% shot at this amazing opportunity when in reality maybe 1% to 2% out of the thousands may make it. These amazing judges that give the parents amazing advise about the industry are the same clowns that during the runway show, they laugh, mock, don't bother to look, are too busy on their cell phones and electronics, chatting with each other doing anything but looking at ALL the talent that worked so hard to make it to that stage. I was a parent sitting right accross from the stage and clearly was appalled. It is such a disgusting, a callous disregard to all that hard work and one of the most heart breaking experiences you will see. 

THE CALL BACKS!!!- this is the point of the whole showcase...pay attention! the call back(s) is if any of the judges or talent agencies that were present during the showcase believe your child has potential. At the end of the showcase your child is called back! many don't get a call back and here we are...now you have a child that worked so hard and you paid so much money crying tears of failure, tears of dissapointment, tears maybe of regret and what do you do at that point...I forgot to mention that ALL of those people that during the time you were writing checks were constantly near saying how wonderful and talented your superstar child is are nowhere in sight to console your kid, just you and your heartbroken kid. 

If you do get a call back it is not guaranteed that your child will be pursued by the agent or agency. You've been warned.

July 2013 Victim.