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.