John Casablancas Modeling & Acting Agency

Don’t go here. If you’re interested in acting, I don’t know where to tell you to go in the area but I do know to advise you that this is not the place. Any reputable talent agency will take a commission from your paycheck from a gig, but they should never ask you to pay money upfront to join. I went in for an interview with them and was offered a contract with them to be represented. That was of course assuming I would take their mandatory acting classes for ten weeks, as well as give them a downpayment of $ 300 to secure my spot, all of which added up to $ 1100. Now, I could understand if I had auditioned and they thought I needed improvement that they may require these classes, but I didn’t. I didn’t audition, and they didn’t ask to see my acting reel. They had no idea of my skill level when they said they’d take me on, leading me to believe they didn’t care, just so long as I paid. That’s not what an agent should do. I said I’d need to think about it. Every day for the rest of the week they called and left a message to check in, and every day when I was free I called them back, sometime more than once, but could never get through to anyone. Today I received a message from them saying I was rude for not calling back, and they thought I had potential but nowhere near enough experience to walk in and be represented without further training (keep in mind they’d never see me perform), and the whole message was pretty rude. They will claim they are the only licensed agency in the state. They will ask for your money up front. They will have no idea of your skill level when they make their decision to ask for your money. You can do better.

I was asked to come here to get a portfolio done. I am considering acting, and thought this place was convenient for me. Apparently many popular people have come to this place. I forget their names, but one models for Express clothing store. The manager herself was once a model (she showed me all the covers she was in). They have a runway set up, and other studio rooms to take professional photos. The staff here were nice and friendly.