The John Robert Powers schools (JRP) are apparently now bankrupt and will be closing at the end of April. The Montreal school closed in February, the Vancouver and Calgary schools are in the process of closing and Toronto is expected to close within a few months. This closure leaves hundreds of families without the services they paid thousands of dollars for. In addition, there are numerous families that registered for classes, paid in full, cancelled their contracts and are currently awaiting reimbursement. These people will never receive a refund from the company, despite never receiving service.

However, the owners of those schools have now opened Rock Star Academy (www.rsaacademy.com), located at 475 Granville Street. This is a talent school, similar to that of the aforementioned John Robert Powers. The kicker is that they have done lots of work developing a scripted-reality TV show, of the same name. The school is using as bait to lure families in to their open auditions, as they are told they are auditioning for the TV show, but are then sold acting and singing packages costing thousands of dollars.

They also have been traveling to smaller cities, selling classes under the names of the Youth Film Academy (located in Vienna, VA) and are selling attendance at the International Presentation of Performers (iPOP) talent convention in Los Angeles.

I can tell you that their only concern is lining their pockets. There is no concern for the creative development of their clients.