Right this is the story of the stage school and why I hate the principal so much. As you probably all know Kyoko goes to a local stage school for acting/singing/dance classes, she's also part of their performance troupe. Anyway the principal decided to setup an agency and put the kids forward for acting jobs etc.
Now Kyoko is already registered with one of the top agencies in the country and the principal knew this because that's the whole reason we joined the school to get her some acting lessons and hopefully some experience to go on her profile. So when she first brought up the idea of an agency and asked if Kyoko wanted to join I was hesitant but agreed as long as it didn't interfere with her original agent (which we were assured it wouldn't). She asked everyone to pay ?90 for a spotlight membership (spotlight is the place for actors etc and where casting agents tend to look for people), so we paid that, we paid for a local photographer to take new pics of Kyoko and everything was fine.
Then the principal checked whether Kyoko's other agent was sole rep or multi rep, I told her they used to be sole rep but changed a few months ago (sole rep means you can only be represented by that agent, multi rep you can have as many as you want). She then told me how to add the other agent on to Kyoko's spotlight profile when it was up and running.
So imagine my surprise when I get an email less then a week later with all the stage school's agency documents to print out and bring back signed (agency agreement, GP info, School info). So I was about to print it all and sign when I noticed the wording said "sole rep" so I asked the principal basically WTF?! She said her 'contacts' in the industry as well as her own agent advised her to be sole rep, she spouted a load of BS about why (including trying to make out Kyoko wouldn't get work if she was multi agent). She then said I was free to cancel the agreement with herself and with Spotlight and we could talk about it the next day before Kyoko's tap class.
I was fuming, spotlight only take on new people at certain times of the year and the cutoff point to be in their performer book is mid-may (otherwise you don't get put in until the following year, you just get an online profile) and I didn't like how she was implying that if I cancelled going with her agency we would lose the spotlight profile. So I got in touch with spotlight who informed me that the profile belongs to Kyoko (technically us as her parents) and that no agency has the right to delete her profile and they advised me to change the agency representation over to her original agent asap and they were shocked by the principals behaviour/attitude.
So I did that, by this time the principal had setup a private facebook group for all the parents to discuss agency things, I was added to it and that's when I started to notice some very dodgy things. First off she'd already got an audition for one of the boys, despite him not being officially signed up with her, having a GP letter to state he was medically fit etc. Then one of the mum's was concerned about the GP letter part, that the principal had told them to just get the doctor to write a note stating their child was fit and well to perform. This mum asked if the principal had some sort of letter she could take in to explain it all. The principal just insisted a letter was not needed, just tell the GP to write a note. I then intervened and said look Kyoko's other agent has a standard letter you print off, the doc signs and stamps it, easy peasy, but of course the principal got all huffy and tried to make out that it was different for each county. So then I told her that the GP letter was standard, it was licenses that can vary per county...she argued that point with me also. So in the end I sent the mum a PM with an amended GP letter for her to take to the doc because she was getting really panicky because the GP was insisting she took a letter in for him to sign. The principal also hadn't advised anyone that you can be charged for that letter, again I had to tell everyone that.
So I decided to phone ALBA who are an agency watchdog type thing just to find out whether what she was doing was legal. The woman was horrified by what she'd done to us over the sole rep /multi rep thing, the faff around with the GP latter. The thing that absolutely disgusted her and she told me to make a formal complaint so they could have the inspectors pay her a visit was that the principal advised all the parents to setup a website for their kids and gave them the agency logo to stick on there "so casting agents will know how to get in touch to book your child". I was a bit concerned myself and when one of the mums posted on facebook about not knowing how to setup a website I asked her to get in touch with me for advice (so I could tell her not to do it)
The woman at ALBA was so disgusted by it because of the obvious safeguarding issues and she was telling me how the lady who owns my daughter's agency in London would hit the roof if she found out the principal had told people to do that because of how dodgy it is and how at risk those children would be. Anyway yeah she said so far she hasn't done anything illegal but it's all very very unprofessional and she needs to be investigated to make sure she's not putting the kids at risk and has all the required documentation etc.
At first I didn't know whether to report her or not because she would know it was me and she's a spiteful cow and I knew she would take it out on Kyoko. When we went to tap on the Wednesday I was expecting to speak to her (as advised in her email), we went in and she was talking to one of the other mums about the agency, then she took the boy in who was having the audition on the Thursday to go over his lines with him. She didn't say a word to us, didn't even look at us and made lots of snide comments about how "she's so well connected and has already got lots of interest in the kids". The thing that really annoyed me as well, when Kyoko had her audition for the BBC TV series I asked her beforehand if she could just coach Kyoko, give her some tips and ideas on what happens so she's prepared (this woman knows full well about Kyoko having Asperger's) and she ignored my email for days and then told my husband 2 days before the audition that it was "very bad to coach a child to do the part, she should just go and be herself" yet this boy she got an audition for she was going over the lines with him, telling him what the studio would probably look like, who was likely to be there, how to say things, what to say, how to stand etc.
The worst part is that Kyoko was really upset about it because once again she had to be different to the other kids, while they are all happily chatting away about agency stuff she had to sit and know that she was forced out of it because the principal is a thoughtless sod. She's always changing things last minute! Like at the west end performance she had all us parents running around buying make-up and green ribbon and neon facepaint the day before the performance because she'd suddenly decided to use those things.....except she only ended up using the ribbon, one mum had gone 30 miles down the motorway to a party shop to get supplies!
Or when she tells people to arrive at X time, don't be late and then she's late herself, the theatre performance I posted the video of she'd told us all to be at rehearsals no later then 12, what time did she turn up? 12.10. I'm so fedup with her, she's a wonderful teacher she really is, Kyoko has picked things up so quickly and the other kids are wonderful, there's not a bad one among them but this woman drives me mad! I even went to the point of looking for other stage schools but none offer such a variety of classes at such a good price (everywhere else is twice the price for half the classes) and Kyoko loves it there. Just so fedup because this woman is always making snide comments about us in a passive aggressive way, like she sent an email around about a performance for the dance federations gala dinner and it had a snidey "thank you to all of those who have been considerate enough to pre-arrange time away from rehearsals, it's very much appreciated"...obvious dig at me because Kyoko was the only one who has missed any rehearsals. Or when Kyoko wasn't feeling very well during the 3 day rehearsals before the big musical, I told the principal she wouldn't be in one day as she had a bit of a fever and she threatened to leave Kyoko out of the entire thing if she didn't go to rehearsals that day(despite the fact they'd been practising it for months). Or the fact every other kid has been put in for medals / exams except Kyoko, even one girl who started 7 weeks ago has been put in for exams and Kyoko has been there since September improved soooo much and is not put in for anything.
It's the kids who are staying with her agency I feel sorry for because they are getting a sub standard agent, she made a big song and dance about how well connected she is and people just "know her name". Well I looked up her professional profile and she has done practically nothing, she danced at the olympic games, has done lots with stage schools and maybe half a dozen theatre things so hardly Angeline Jolie lol.
She's so full of crap it's ridiculous, she posted on her agency facebook group that she'd submitted the kids for the following jobs(12 in total) and that there was nothing over the bank holiday weekend because casting agents tend to have breaks too. Total lies, Kyoko's agent was so busy that weekend they didn't even have time to update their facebook/twitter with all the jobs/castings etc. What actually happened is this woman went on holiday (which she noted on the stage schools facebook) over the weekend and THAT was why no submissions were made...casting agents all gone on holiday pffffft!
Now Kyoko is already registered with one of the top agencies in the country and the principal knew this because that's the whole reason we joined the school to get her some acting lessons and hopefully some experience to go on her profile. So when she first brought up the idea of an agency and asked if Kyoko wanted to join I was hesitant but agreed as long as it didn't interfere with her original agent (which we were assured it wouldn't). She asked everyone to pay ?90 for a spotlight membership (spotlight is the place for actors etc and where casting agents tend to look for people), so we paid that, we paid for a local photographer to take new pics of Kyoko and everything was fine.
Then the principal checked whether Kyoko's other agent was sole rep or multi rep, I told her they used to be sole rep but changed a few months ago (sole rep means you can only be represented by that agent, multi rep you can have as many as you want). She then told me how to add the other agent on to Kyoko's spotlight profile when it was up and running.
So imagine my surprise when I get an email less then a week later with all the stage school's agency documents to print out and bring back signed (agency agreement, GP info, School info). So I was about to print it all and sign when I noticed the wording said "sole rep" so I asked the principal basically WTF?! She said her 'contacts' in the industry as well as her own agent advised her to be sole rep, she spouted a load of BS about why (including trying to make out Kyoko wouldn't get work if she was multi agent). She then said I was free to cancel the agreement with herself and with Spotlight and we could talk about it the next day before Kyoko's tap class.
I was fuming, spotlight only take on new people at certain times of the year and the cutoff point to be in their performer book is mid-may (otherwise you don't get put in until the following year, you just get an online profile) and I didn't like how she was implying that if I cancelled going with her agency we would lose the spotlight profile. So I got in touch with spotlight who informed me that the profile belongs to Kyoko (technically us as her parents) and that no agency has the right to delete her profile and they advised me to change the agency representation over to her original agent asap and they were shocked by the principals behaviour/attitude.
So I did that, by this time the principal had setup a private facebook group for all the parents to discuss agency things, I was added to it and that's when I started to notice some very dodgy things. First off she'd already got an audition for one of the boys, despite him not being officially signed up with her, having a GP letter to state he was medically fit etc. Then one of the mum's was concerned about the GP letter part, that the principal had told them to just get the doctor to write a note stating their child was fit and well to perform. This mum asked if the principal had some sort of letter she could take in to explain it all. The principal just insisted a letter was not needed, just tell the GP to write a note. I then intervened and said look Kyoko's other agent has a standard letter you print off, the doc signs and stamps it, easy peasy, but of course the principal got all huffy and tried to make out that it was different for each county. So then I told her that the GP letter was standard, it was licenses that can vary per county...she argued that point with me also. So in the end I sent the mum a PM with an amended GP letter for her to take to the doc because she was getting really panicky because the GP was insisting she took a letter in for him to sign. The principal also hadn't advised anyone that you can be charged for that letter, again I had to tell everyone that.
So I decided to phone ALBA who are an agency watchdog type thing just to find out whether what she was doing was legal. The woman was horrified by what she'd done to us over the sole rep /multi rep thing, the faff around with the GP latter. The thing that absolutely disgusted her and she told me to make a formal complaint so they could have the inspectors pay her a visit was that the principal advised all the parents to setup a website for their kids and gave them the agency logo to stick on there "so casting agents will know how to get in touch to book your child". I was a bit concerned myself and when one of the mums posted on facebook about not knowing how to setup a website I asked her to get in touch with me for advice (so I could tell her not to do it)
The woman at ALBA was so disgusted by it because of the obvious safeguarding issues and she was telling me how the lady who owns my daughter's agency in London would hit the roof if she found out the principal had told people to do that because of how dodgy it is and how at risk those children would be. Anyway yeah she said so far she hasn't done anything illegal but it's all very very unprofessional and she needs to be investigated to make sure she's not putting the kids at risk and has all the required documentation etc.
At first I didn't know whether to report her or not because she would know it was me and she's a spiteful cow and I knew she would take it out on Kyoko. When we went to tap on the Wednesday I was expecting to speak to her (as advised in her email), we went in and she was talking to one of the other mums about the agency, then she took the boy in who was having the audition on the Thursday to go over his lines with him. She didn't say a word to us, didn't even look at us and made lots of snide comments about how "she's so well connected and has already got lots of interest in the kids". The thing that really annoyed me as well, when Kyoko had her audition for the BBC TV series I asked her beforehand if she could just coach Kyoko, give her some tips and ideas on what happens so she's prepared (this woman knows full well about Kyoko having Asperger's) and she ignored my email for days and then told my husband 2 days before the audition that it was "very bad to coach a child to do the part, she should just go and be herself" yet this boy she got an audition for she was going over the lines with him, telling him what the studio would probably look like, who was likely to be there, how to say things, what to say, how to stand etc.
The worst part is that Kyoko was really upset about it because once again she had to be different to the other kids, while they are all happily chatting away about agency stuff she had to sit and know that she was forced out of it because the principal is a thoughtless sod. She's always changing things last minute! Like at the west end performance she had all us parents running around buying make-up and green ribbon and neon facepaint the day before the performance because she'd suddenly decided to use those things.....except she only ended up using the ribbon, one mum had gone 30 miles down the motorway to a party shop to get supplies!
Or when she tells people to arrive at X time, don't be late and then she's late herself, the theatre performance I posted the video of she'd told us all to be at rehearsals no later then 12, what time did she turn up? 12.10. I'm so fedup with her, she's a wonderful teacher she really is, Kyoko has picked things up so quickly and the other kids are wonderful, there's not a bad one among them but this woman drives me mad! I even went to the point of looking for other stage schools but none offer such a variety of classes at such a good price (everywhere else is twice the price for half the classes) and Kyoko loves it there. Just so fedup because this woman is always making snide comments about us in a passive aggressive way, like she sent an email around about a performance for the dance federations gala dinner and it had a snidey "thank you to all of those who have been considerate enough to pre-arrange time away from rehearsals, it's very much appreciated"...obvious dig at me because Kyoko was the only one who has missed any rehearsals. Or when Kyoko wasn't feeling very well during the 3 day rehearsals before the big musical, I told the principal she wouldn't be in one day as she had a bit of a fever and she threatened to leave Kyoko out of the entire thing if she didn't go to rehearsals that day(despite the fact they'd been practising it for months). Or the fact every other kid has been put in for medals / exams except Kyoko, even one girl who started 7 weeks ago has been put in for exams and Kyoko has been there since September improved soooo much and is not put in for anything.
It's the kids who are staying with her agency I feel sorry for because they are getting a sub standard agent, she made a big song and dance about how well connected she is and people just "know her name". Well I looked up her professional profile and she has done practically nothing, she danced at the olympic games, has done lots with stage schools and maybe half a dozen theatre things so hardly Angeline Jolie lol.
She's so full of crap it's ridiculous, she posted on her agency facebook group that she'd submitted the kids for the following jobs(12 in total) and that there was nothing over the bank holiday weekend because casting agents tend to have breaks too. Total lies, Kyoko's agent was so busy that weekend they didn't even have time to update their facebook/twitter with all the jobs/castings etc. What actually happened is this woman went on holiday (which she noted on the stage schools facebook) over the weekend and THAT was why no submissions were made...casting agents all gone on holiday pffffft!
