Acting Resume

Does anyone know if there is a specific format for an actors resume or can you just download any one off the net?

Thanks!
Katrina

Wow! Another great question. I'd like to hear other peoples' comments on this topic;

A resume shouldn't include a 'per show' listing, rather, it should be about a page and list a specific period of acting experience (eg. 1989-Present Various Acting Positions). Actors and contractors in general should look to provide a Curriculum Vitae instead, or as well as, to give a more thorough listing of experience. It can be many pages in length.

Aside from the generic CV layout (which can be found in any english reference book or online), my technical (not acting) CV heading "Experience" is layed out in the following manner:

EXPERIENCE/EMPLOYMENT/x

YEAR

Show (Company Inc., Venue
Other

eg.
2002

52 Pick Up – Technical Manager, Rigger, LD
Theater Simple, Rechabites Hall, Northbridge
Award: Pick of the Fringe (The West Australian)

Actually, the year should be on the same line as the show, but this board doesn't show 'tabs' or extra spaces.

I wonder how many actors list other details, such as director (I do list the director if s/he is well known), designers or season (winter, june etc)...

When submitting by email, CVs should be in .pdf (adobe portable document) format, and have a cover letter (of course).

I'm sure there will be many more comments to this post... ;)

Alan!

In my very humble opinion a resume should be no longer than 2 pages and should start with personal details. The one I've done for my daughter is set out as follows:

name
address
phone
mobile

2002

List each production by date and title with part played. One line for each.
1.
2.
3. etc

do this for the last couple of years followed by a general 19../19.. various acting roles in etc etc.

The last paragraph is a bit about any other experience, e.g. dance school, classes taken, acting courses etc etc.

Any help?

I have three or four different resumes, which I modify according to which job I am going for.

One of them includes absolutely everything I've ever done - this is the one that will never be shown to anyone in full. But it keeps everything complete and up to date, and is the basis of all the others. I cut and paste from this one to design the others.


The one I like the most because it shows me in my best light is two pages, listing skills and credits under categories such as Recent Theatre Credits, Recent TV Commercials, Film Credits, Recent Radio, Skills (musical, sporting, stage combat, circus abilities, etc) , and Personal Details (height, DOB, hair colour, etc). By "recent" I mean I only list activities within the last 5 years.


But the one I use most often (because it's most often called for) is all of the above cut down to fit on only ONE page. It's often hard to narrow stuff down, but honestly, if I can't impress someone with the most important credits on a single page, they're probably going to be no more impressed by seeing the second page of extra stuff. By the time you attach your 10x8 photo, it's already become two pages and that's about as much as a director really needs.


If I know it's only theatre they're interested in, I might include more theatre credits and ignore things like Film or Radio, but usually I'm better off showing versatility as well as experience.
For Film/commercial auditions, I include my theatre experience because it's more impressive than my meagre camera experience, but there's no point in overloading the resume with stuff that's not entirely relevant. If I had more film credits, they'd be the most important focus.



If you're not yet in a position to include professional experience, then by all means include school productions, classes taken, and all amateur work, as well as skills like sporting interests. (I've been offered film work because someone saw I was a scuba diver). But again, if you can keep it to one strong page that's much better than trying to include everything and spreading it thin.


These resumes are the ones I only take to theatre/film jobs. I have yet another one that includes other employment experience (swimming teaching, leading school camp expeditions, etc, as well as the theatre), which is the one I might use for an application to a school, say, to run workshops with kids. In this case, they're not interested in the specific roles I've played, it's enough to mention the companies I've worked for, like you would on any job resume.


Bang up a draft including everything you can think of, and then whittle it down to that single page. That'll be the way to sort out what your strongest attributes and experiences are, and it's a neater, more impressive way to present yourself.


Cheers,
Craig

[%sig%]

Hi guys

Thanks heaps for your advice! I've started something now and because I've only done 2 shows, and in the middle of another one, this year it's not too long! I've also put in my headshot so it's not looking too bad!

Cheers
Katrina

I've had alot of resume's pass my way and the best format is to have a straight performance resume that only lists what you want others to know about you as a performing artist.

You can put together another resume for other work opportunitis (real jobs!) that lists any part-time, acedemic studies, relevant skills or full-time jobs you've had. But your performer CV should not include listings like 1999 Sales Assistant Coles Supermarket.

For a Performer's CV:

Start with your headshot (thumbnail or a little bigger) your name and give yourself a title ie. Actor or Actor/Voice Artist
Or Actor/Singer or Actor/Comedian....if you are extremely versatile call yourself Performing Artist.
Give your personal stats - most put it in a text box beside their headshots.
Hair - dark brown
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 171 cm
Age Band: 20-30 (ie the age group you'd be able to play)
If you are a member of Equity or MEAA you can add that with your membership number.

Some include hair style (straight or curly, short or long), and more stats including clothing size, weight etc....but I think that's not necessary as these things can change.

If you have done alot of work you might want to break your resume into headings TV Credits, Film Credits, Commericals, Stage, Voice work
and list the credits in chronological order. Otherwise just list everything in chronological order starting with the most recent.


The list should be:

Year / Production Type / Role /Production Title / Company / Director

EG: (I've made this up so it's not real)

2002 Stage Estella Great Expectations MTC John Provan
2002 TV Mary Bule Heelers Southern Star Liz Bailey
2001 TVC Nurse Medibank Private Badjar Ralph Walton
2001 VO Narrator Theatre Documentary BBC William Pow

You might have credits for short film (SF) Feature Film (FF) Musical Theatre (MT), Voice Over (VO) even CD Roms or PR Launch or Corporate Event.

Once you've done your list of performance credits follow with:
Languages: English, Greek
Accents: Standard American, Greek, Irish etc
Vocal: Soprano, Mezzo Soprano Show, Jazz, Opera (styles)
Dance: Modern, Ballroom, Tap, Jazz, Ballet
Sport: Gymnastics, Fencing, Horseriding

Obviously only list the things you are highly skilled at.

Some might have circus skills to include.

A or two is enough. Some Voice artists supply a list of the character types they can do.

Most of these come on Agent Letterhead with Agent contact information - if unrepresented you should include your contact details in your personal information text box.

Hope that helps