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I come to you as a heartbroken and jaded mother hoping to save others the sheer disappointment that our family has endured. Ultimately I'm not looking for a refund or an apology or anything like that.
It was my bad for not doing the appropriate research prior to associating with this shady company. Live and learn... I just don't want to see other people make the same mistake that I did out of either desperation or a sense of urgency to fulfill their children's dreams. There truly are no short cuts no matter how "pretty" someone makes them sound.
I am not a mean-spirited person, but someone needs to bring this to light. Keri Murpy of MTG, Wilhelmena, or whatever the scam is called this week is taking advantage of Portland-area parents in hoping to get their children into this industry. She is a predator preying on our hopes and dreams that we all have for our children. I met Keri through an association with my church, of all places, and was told by Keri how beautiful my child was, what a presence they had, blah, blah, blah. The next thing you know, I was out over $1, 600 in photos, classes, comp cards, workshops... my child was FOUR YEARS OLD!
Due to my own ignorance of how things work, I was not aware that this was not the norm of how a LEGITIMATE agency works. I know now that agencies are only supposed to make money and CHARGE COMMISSION when they have gotten you work. Agencies are NOT supposed to be schools or photo mills. My child has never had a job, let alone even a single audition, despite our HUGE capital investment that Keri Murphy assured us was "standard" and "reasonable" for the industry. I have since learned from friends who have children with LEGITIMATE agencies that what she offers is nothing more than a sham, smoke and mirrors at best. I'm with a new agency now who not only apologized on
behalf of my experiences at MTG, but also encouraged me to remove the "workshops" (Lime Lab/ABC?) from my child's resume, as having ANY association with Ms. Murphy or her endeavors was akin to a John Robert Powers or Barbizon situation, i.e. a "JOKE."
I am embarrassed for having fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book, but I can only hope I can help educate even one new actor as to avoid the same costly mistakes that our family has suffered. Knowing what I know now, my child would have been better off going without an agent than being affiliated with this highly questionable organization.
Again, I'm sorry if this comes across as mean spirited, as that is not my intent. I only know how difficult it is to find out the real direction to travel.
-Portland Stage Mom.
Follow up ~ I got an email from someone looking for advice on this further and asked who GOOD agencies were.
Figured I would post here to help anyone who wanted to know. I have learned from my new agent that LEGIT companys do not charge ANY upfront fee's. It IS appropriate to give you a list of suggested photographers and printers with their contact info to use. These fees should not get paid through the agency. I also heard that the MTG contract now has a fee to break it if you want to leave. This is insane! DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING! This is the list of agencies that I have been told are on the up and up in Portland. Contact them all and do your homework. Good luck!
q6 model management
Dangerfield Talent
Option Model Management
Puddletown Talent
Peabody Management
The Arthouse
Ryan Artists
Actors in Action
I will have to say that I know for a fact there are not any up front fees when you sign with wilhelminamtg.
Photographers are recommended not mandatory to use. I have seen the contract with Wilhelminamtg and there is not a break fee.
Classes? That is offered through another company once again not mandatory to take classes to sign, nor is it a guarentee to be with the agency when you take classes. Actually, The Lime Lab helps you gain the tools to audition for any agency.
Do you need up to date photos that represent you in the best way? yes! But once again at Wilhelminamtg, it is not mandatory that you go with their photographers, just that no matter where you go for your shots that they represent you in the best way. Should you take classes to help you gain more success in auditions? Yes. Go to the larger markets, NY, Chicago, LA. Do you know what actors do when they aren't in a show? Classes. $395 sounds reasonable to me for eight weeks, especially with the amazing calibre of teachers.
All of these nasty comments getting plastered around the internet are not being validated with the name of the author.
If anyone ever wants to sound credible when writing a complaint, a compliment or just a comment then they should feel strong enough to sign their name to it.
Our daughter is with W-MTG and Keri has been nothing but helpful and kind to us. We did not pay to "get signed" with her agency. We paid for our photos and our comp cards...neither of which made money for Keri...other than the quality of our daughters photos and comp cards making it easier to book our daughter. W-MTG's booking fees meet with Industry standards...period. Any and all classes our daughter has taken to strengthen her resume have been well worth it...and check around on that also...nothing is free in this world...classes were not mandatory but certainly have been beneficial...no regrets here.
Maybe this just isn't your cup of tea...
So, please until you are willing to sign your declarations with your actual name, stop this ridiculous display of anger...okay...from one mom to another...it is nothing but a waste of time without validation.
Good Luck to you,
Kimberly Lee
Do you have a different view now Kimberly that Keri is no longer representing anyone due to poor management? She owes CHILDREN A lot of money. She used "their" money to try to keep things a float. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones!
We were with Murphy and did get jobs. However, we left when Jason left the agency. The agents working there were always put out when we had questions, etc. I have to say that we are with Puddletown now. We enjoy working with Jason. He is always available for questions. There are no fees to be represented, and no classes required (however they are recommended). Puddletown is truly a legitimate agency. Jason's philosophy is to spend as little money as possible. He recommended several photographers that we had the option to pick from. Comp cards are rarely used, and therefore doesn't require them. We have only been with him for a few months, and have already gotten two high paying jobs. Along with that, both of my boys have gone to several commercial auditions. One of the companies we are working with right now said they love working with Puddletown. They too stopped using Murphy Management when Jason left. I highly recommend Puddletown!
Sincerely,
Amy T.
We were with MTG until we got a letter from the Federal government saying that Keri was being investigated for embezzlement and fraud, then she sent a subsequent email/letter saying she was shutting down MTG for "personal reasons" and that the economy wasn't turning around. (2009-ish). Just my two cents.