Expert: Kitty Kavey - 8/19/2008

Question
Hello Kitty,
We have a 10 year old daughter and 15 year old son that is wanting to get involved in acting.  We have taken them to three agencies all three sounded really good but the reviews I am reading online are confusing.  Of course you have those that say the companies are a scam and then you have others that love them.  How do we know who is telling the truth about the companies.
We do not want to get our childrens hopes up only to be disappointed.  We have spent money with all three agencies but before we spend another penny we want to be sure we are not being scammed.
Can you please tell us what you know about the companies and if we should be paying when we first meet with them (it's no problem but want to be sure first)I am hearing a lot about do not pay upfront.
Is there some direction we should take to get them involved in the industry.  They want to do acting and commercials.

1. William Reynolds Agency
2. XXI Entertainment
3. Model Productions

Answer
There are laws in some states that prohibit licensed talent agencies from charging fees or requiring classes, photography, printing and other services to be run by the same business.

Unfortunately, Georgia doesn't seem to be one of the states that licenses/regulates talent agencies - so the companies you mention may be doing nothing illegal.

I suggest trying an agency from the Screen Actors Guild list of franchised agents, as they tend to be some of the best - and the guild does provide rules for agencies to follow, as well as a way to complain should there be a problem in the future when your children are eligible to join the union.

The general advice is that an agency should only be earning money by getting work for the talent/models they represent.  If they earn money in another way, there can be a conflict of interest, or less motivation for them to try and book work for talent - for which they generally average only a small fee (usually 10-20%) off of the money talent earns through them.

The Screen Actor's Guild list for Atlanta is below, minus agencies that do not have a children's division.  Some of the agencies have websites, and some do not - those that do not you will need to contact to make sure they represent talent of your children's ages, any agency criteria, and what the submission process is for new talent.

Good luck to you and your children,
~Kitty

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Atlanta Models & Talent, Inc.
 3091 MAPLE DR NE STE 201, ATLANTA, GA 30305
 404-261-9627
 Type: Full Service (All Ages)
http://www.amtagency.com

Houghton Talent, Inc.
 919 COLLIER RD. NW, ATLANTA, GA 30318
 404-603-9454
 Type: Full Service (All Ages)
http://houghtontalent.com

Glyn Kennedy Models & Talent  
 16 WILLOW BEND DRIVE, CARTERSVILLE, GA 30121-4774
 770-607-2863
 Type: Full Service (All Ages)

Richard S. Hutchison Management, Inc.
 3071 ARDEN RD. N.W., ATLANTA, GA 30305
 404-261-7824
 Type: Full Service (All Ages)

Talent Network - Atlanta, Inc.
 5416 GLENRIDGE DR. NE, SUITE 100, ATLANTA, GA 30342
 404-303-1117
 Type: Full Service (All Ages)
http://www.talentnetworkatlanta.com