Breaking into Acting For Dummies. Larry Garrison

Knowing what not to put on an acting resume

      

Comparing resumes: veterans versus novices

      Casting directors only care about one thing: Are you right for the part? So, they aren’t looking for career objectives, salary requirements, or whether you worked at a Fortune 500 company for the past five years. They’re looking for evidence to justify whether you may be the right actor for a particular role. This chapter shows you what to include (and what to exclude) from an acting resume as well as how to create an impressive acting resume when you have little acting experience.

      

Most resumes, if not all, are posted on an acting website. On other sites, you follow the site’s format, where they ask you questions to create your resume. Though in this chapter we guide you on how to construct your resume, know that there are many different ways of showing your best qualities.

      A typical resume lists a job applicant’s previous employment, experience, education, and so on. As an actor, you don’t need a typical resume. You need an acting resume. An acting resume focuses exclusively on acting and establishes your credibility as an actor by listing your acting experience and training. Your acting resume should promote you as an actor, show agents and casting directors that you’re serious about being an actor, and have the necessary training, skills, and/or experience to do the job if hired.

Tackling the Basics of Creating a Resume

      Creating an impressive-looking acting resume isn’t hard. You can choose from a variety of ways to put your resume together — all of which are correct. But if the content and appearance of your resume is sloppy, hard to read, and disorganized, you come across as a sloppy, disorganized actor. Make sure that your resume is easy to read, neatly organized, and loaded with experience that’s especially appropriate for a particular role. Doing so makes you look your best.

      

A good resume (and a great head shot) can help open doors for you on the casting sites that you join. But after that, it’s up to your talent, your looks, and a little bit of luck and timing to help you land a role.

Creating an Online Resume

      Acting websites have become an important tool in your career. These sites memorialize your head shots, video clips, acting credits, skills and training inclusive of your representation and union affiliations. Each site may have a different format. Simply fill in the appropriate information and post your head shots to exhibit your different looks. Pay the extra funds so that you can show a dichotomy of looks.

      The various websites have different formats. Here are some of the most common websites:

       Actor’s Access (https://actorsaccess.com)

       Backstage (www.backstage.com)

       Casting Networks (https://corp.castingnetworks.com)

       IMDb (www.imdb.com)

      After you completely fill out what is required, the site will post your resume with your head shots, samples of your work, and other affiliations such as agents, unions, and so forth. You then pay a fee to join the site and for any extra videos or pictures that you post.

      In contrast, in the past you’d have a resume, print it, and put it on the back of an 8x10 photo to leave with the casting director, the Internet has changed the modus operandi. It’s much easier to go to these sites and revise your resume with future accomplishments.

Identifying the Info to Include

      An acting resume should include the following information:

       Your name.

       Your representation and/or a contact cell phone number.

       Your membership in any of the acting unions, such as Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) or Actor’s Equity Association (AEA). Check out Chapter 3 for more information on joining acting unions.

       Your physical characteristics.

      Follow up your vitals with your experience and knowledge as an actor. The bulk of your resume should list:

       Any acting experience in film, television, theater. (The more, the better; and the more current, the better, too.)

       Your college degree if it’s related to drama, film, or television.

       Your acting training, including workshops, coaches, and classes.

       Any special skills you have that may come in handy for an acting role (such as karate or snowboarding).

      

Make sure you tell the truth in your resume. Otherwise, it will catch up to you. We discuss being truthful and accurate on your resume in the section, “Avoiding Resume No-Nos,” later in this chapter.

      

Even the most impressive resume is useless if you don’t audition well. Ultimately, what decides whether you get a role isn’t what you’ve done or how your head shot looks, but how you audition. (See Chapter 9 for tips on auditioning.)

      The following sections take a closer look at what information and at what level of detail you should include on your acting resume.

      Your name, union membership, and contact information

      The most impressive resume won’t do you any good if casting directors don’t know how to reach you. So the most important information that you need to include is your up-to-date contact information in a prominent place on your resume — usually at the top of the resume.

Your contact information should include your name and representation, your email address, and/or your contact number. Note: Some actors create an email just for their acting communications.

      

Keep your contact information up to date. If you change phone numbers or representation, revise your resume with this latest contact information and destroy all copies of your old resume. The easier casting directors can find and contact you, the easier it is for them to hire you.

      If you belong to any of the actors’ unions, be sure to list that information on your resume, too. Union membership lends credibility to your acting career, and casting directors know that if your contact information is out of date, they can always contact the appropriate union to track you down, if necessary.

      When listing your union membership, you can use the union initials, such as SAG-AFTRA (for Screen Actors Guild) and AEA (for Actor’s Equity Association) to save space and look more professional.

      Your