explore talent - proceed with caution

I thought it would be worthwhile to let people know that Old Mill Theatre has received the following unsolicited email: > We received a notification in our system that you are looking for the > following: > > "The play is to be performed at the Old Mill in Perth, WA, Australia" > > Please activate a Casting Director account (if you have not already > done so) > and post this project within your account so that we can automatically > match talents to your audition. This is a FREE account for Casting > Directors, such as yourself and will give you access to our over 2 > million talents. > > (I have deleted the link provided in the email, which goes to a membership form on the Explore Talent website) > > Upon completing, please email me back so that I can RUSH the approval > and activation of your project. > > Thank you & I look forward to working with you! > > Blair > Explore Talent > Booking Department > 323-785-2030 Along with this, we have also received three emails purporting to be from American teens requesting auditions for our upcoming production of Lady Windemere's Fan - their emails all link through to member pages on the Explore Talent website. I have done some background reading about this company, and note that there are many allegations that it is a scam operation. The Better Business Bureau report (an American consumer protection organisation) on the company is certainly not flattering... http://www.la.bbb.org/Business-Report/Exploretalentcom-13204121 I would urge people to exercise extreme caution with this business, and others like it. I can only begin to imagine why an American casting agency would contact a community theatre in Australia, which holds openly advertised auditions that anyone can attend, and does not pay its actors.

Er, have you also read Jeff's recent comments? Maybe some coordination involved in investigating. Also, yes Explore Talent is a known scam - although known mostly by Americans, since it's focused for American people. This is another one of those sites like Star Now, etc. (only from reports considerably more dodgy than Star Now). Explore Talent is VERY WELL KNOWN FOR TAKING ADS FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE WITHOUT PERMISSION AND POSTING THEM ON THEIR SITE. They're also well known for requesting people to submit to auditions, but requesting payments for 'different levels' of access to said information (ie. you pay $10, I'll give you contact details for the audition. You pay the $10, but don't get the info, etc.) Your source for handmade shadow puppets at Puppets in Melbourne

I didn't realise you'd mentioned it on your blog page - probably something that needs to be shared more widely anyway.

...I obviously didn't get my facts completely straight before posting. Fact remains though that we have been provided with the names and details of three people (including two 11 year old girls), apparently living in various parts of the USA, all purpotedly managed by this agency. However this has come about, someone somewhere appears to be doing something shonky. I tend to get a bit hot under the collar about these kinds of things...

Given what I've read of the site, I suspect the applications are legit, just the postings are wrong/fraudulent. The most common report I've seen is of people registering to the site and then getting sent 'congratulations, you've been accepted' type message (for auditions they didn't apply to) and then eager young things stupidly send money/personal info/both through in the hopes of gaining employment. The site is a perfect trap for people who don't know better and/or attracted by fame and riches. Your source for handmade shadow puppets at Puppets in Melbourne

I hate sites like this...just before i gave all my information i checked 'Explore Talent Dodgy?'On yahoo...and luck would have it i found you. That's all i need to know - charges for a opportunity? No thanks. Thanks for the warning! A OC Voice Artist.

Actually, there's nothing dodgy about subscription sites. They become dodgy if: a) they ask for money, then when you login, they ask for money again b) they do not provide a high-quality of service (ie. they provide information that is not relevant to the end-user, like auditions from the other side of the country) c) they contravene copyright, as most audition sites have clear policies regarding the use and abuse of the content on their site If you're Australian JC82, there are a handful of legit subscription sites out there, like Quietonset, Arts Hub, Aussie Theatre and the like. There are extremely legitimate reasons for paying for these sites: website costs and other overheads; paying for full-time employees (incl. those who scour the net for auditions/jobs notices and write important arts-related articles); etc etc. Paying a subscription is just like buying a newspaper in that sense. They offer a service, it's only fair they get to make their money back for doing so. What makes Explore Talent dodgy is less to do with the fact that you have to pay, and more about the fact that reports include false audition notices, careless disregard for the wellbeing of the predominantly young and naive who sign up with fame in their eyes, encouragement to send personal info because you've been 'accepted' to an audition you never applied for, ads ripped from other sites and without permission, etc. I make it a rule never to trust any of these so-called audition sites unless they are run by actual artists working in the industry (most are run by technology companies just looking to cash in on a niche area) and have clear physical Yellow-pages style snail mail addresses in their contact info. And I would never put my money in the hands of one unless I was extremely confident of their background and reputation. Predominantly, these audition sites are just money makers for ad revenue and it's not at all about providing quality content but about having enough members in their lists and enough ad clicks to warrant selling the thing on for a profit. They don't understand the ethics and etiquette behind running an auditions site, nor do they seem to care. Too many scam sites on the net, not enough common sense. HANDY LINK: http://www.theatre.asn.au/book_page/audition_websites_how_to_spot_the_dodgy_ones Your source for handmade shadow puppets at Puppets in Melbourne