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Families Upset When Children's Casting Call Asks For Thousands Up Front

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Families hoping to get a dream audition in Pittsburgh on Saturday were left disappointed and angry.

The ATG website makes a career in modeling or acting seem possible, so when local families heard there was a chance to land a role in a commercial, they jumped at it.

"I was in Weirton and I was driving to school, and my mom called me and said that she got an email and that I could have an audition to be in a TV show, so I was really excited," Brooklyn Cherepko, a child who wanted to audition, said.

"I was excited because my mom got an email and I told a lot of people and then when I found out that it was a scam... I was about to do something horrible," Nefertari Jones, another young girl who wanted to audition, said.

Plenty of people showed up at the DoubleTree hotel this weekend for auditions and left feeling scammed because the chance to audition came with a price.

atg casting call cost
(Photo Credit: KDKA)

"That wasn't in the original ad, that we had to pay them money, and if you look in [a pamphlet handed out at the audition], you gotta pay up to $9,000," parent Teresa McCullock said.

Local casting director Nancy Mosser says you can protect yourself from getting duped by following some basic guidelines.

"Legitimate agents will not ask you for money up front to represent you. Their job is to find you work, and if they do, they take a percentage of what you make," Mosser said.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Another warning sign?

"Asking for large amounts of money up front, or asking you to fly to New York or LA," Mosser said.

KDKA-TV News tried to speak with representatives of ATG, but were told they had already left the hotel.

None of the families KDKA-TV spoke with actually paid any money to move onto the next step, but they were frustrated that their chance at fame and fortune cost way more than anticipated.

"The gentleman said, 'If you want to be an actor, you need to pay,' and I said no, no way," McCulloch said.

If you're not sure about a production, you can always check with the Pittsburgh Film Office, which keeps track of productions that are filming in our area.

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