Acting Resume

Presentation goes a long way in this business. So when you’re putting together your press kit (your headshot and résumé – the first thing most agents, casting directors, and producers will see of you), you want to be sure you’re presenting yourself to your best advantage. Especially when you’re first starting out in the business, most agencies will care more about your look and personality than they will about how much professional experience you have – but if your press kit isn’t put together in a sufficiently professional manner, you won’t get their attention to begin with. It’s crucial to have a great headshot and a clean, well-organized résumé. But there are a lot of different types of headshots and résumés out there (click here for an article on headshots) – so how do you figure out which ones are right for you?

HEADINGS

Many actors choose to include a thumbnail version of their headshot at the top of their résumé, either in the upper left-hand corner or in the center of the heading (between their name and their contact information). This may be superfluous in cases where you are attaching your headshot and résumé to each other – but in this business, it’s never a bad idea to remind people what you look like as often as possible.

Your name should obviously be the most prominent thing on the résumé – remember that agents and casting directors go through huge piles of headshots and résumés – it’s more important that they remember your face and your name than that they know you starred in Hamlet last year. If you belong to any actors’ unions, these should be listed next to your name.

In the upper right-hand corner (next to your name and, if you’re including it, your photo), you should list all of your contact information: your e-mail address, a phone number, and the URL of your website, if you have one (click here to learn more about building your own website). In order to avoid shady dealers, many actors prefer to use a pager, voicemail, or answering service for their professional needs (instead of providing their home phone numbers). You can find a list of good answering services in the Working Actor’s Guide (the actor’s “bible,” which can be consulted online, but is well worth the $25-$30 it costs to buy a hard copy). Once you have an agent, the agency logo and phone number will take the place of your own contact information.

Directly beneath your contact information, list your height, weight, hair color, and eye color. These statistics are important for casting directors to have handy when they’re trying to cast a certain physical type. In the interest of tidiness, you may want to enclose these statistics with your contact information in a text box.

ACTING CREDITS

Underneath your heading, list your professional credits, broken down by category (film, TV, and theater). How you order these sections will depend on your market and your experience – if you’re in L.A., film and TV should probably come first; if you’re in New York, you may want to start with theater. Alternatively, if you’ve done much more work onstage than you have on camera, it may be a good idea to list your theater credits first. And if you only have a few film or TV credits, you may want to combine these two into one section. Basically, the idea is to lead with your strongest suit, whatever it may be.

Theater Credits

It’s usually a good idea to break your theater work down into several separate categories – once again, which ones you decide to combine (or to include in the first place) will depend on your level of experience in each area.

If you have any Broadway credits, those should obviously come first. Be careful here: there is a great deal of theater in New York, and most of it is not on Broadway. “Broadway” refers to a specific group of theaters in the vicinity of Times Square, and legitimate agents and casting directors will all know the difference.

Off-Broadway work (again, this refers to a very specific group of theaters, and not to New York theater in general) should come next. This should be followed by general New York theater, and finally by regional theater (including repertory and summer stock). If you’ve done any significant workshops or staged readings, you may want to include a category for these as well.

Film Credits

Include all of your credited roles. If you’ve done a great deal of film work, you may want to create separate sections for features and for short / student films. Do not include extra work – it doesn’t count!

Formatting your credits

Your credits – regardless of category – should be broken down into four columns. At left, in capital letters, list the title of the production. This should be followed by the name of the character you played, the name of the theater or production company, and finally the director’s name. For example:

HAMLET                     Laertes                     Springfield Shakespeare Co.                     dir. John Smith

If there is anything remarkable about the play or production in question – for instance, if it was a world premiere, or featured a well-known actor or actress, or won an award, you may want to include a one-line note of this just below the listing. For example:

HAMLET                     Laertes                     Springfield Shakespeare Co.                     dir. John Smith
          Tony Award for Best Regional Theater Production

Some actors will also use one-liners like this to quote positive reviews they received for a given production, as follows:

HAMLET                     Laertes                     Springfield Shakespeare Co.                     dir. John Smith
          “Tom Johnson shows fiery passion as Laertes.” – The Springfield Gazette

Don’t go overboard with this – only use this device when it really makes a difference (when the review in question is from a particularly notable publication, for instance, or you were acting alongside an actor of national renown. Unless these notes will mean something to the person reading your résumé, they’re not worth including).

If you don’t have any professional experience…

… list your amateur credits instead. Just make sure to qualify them with categories of their own: “local and community theater,” “fringe experience,” “high school theater,” etc. Be honest – no one expects you to have a lengthy résumé when you’re just starting out – and once again, in this business, presentation is often as important as substance.

Recent graduates of theater programs

If you’ve just graduated from a college or conservatory program, chances are you don’t have a lot of professional credits. Don’t worry – it’s totally legitimate to list the roles that you played while in school on your résumé. Create a heading (“Theater while at AMDA,” for instance), and continue as you would with professional listings. Many conservatory programs will actually create a résumé for you, featuring their logo and using their own format.

COMMERCIAL AND VOICEOVER WORK

If you’ve done any TV commercials, create a section for them on your résumé – but as a general rule, don’t include any specifics. Just write a one-liner explaining what kind of exposure you’ve had and inviting your employers to ask for details (for example, “on-camera principals and voiceover work for national network and regional television. Credits upon request.”)

TRAINING

Below your credits, list any relevant training you’ve undergone (whether this is as a drama major in college, as a student in a conservatory program or in any specialized classes, or one-on-one with a recognized coach). List the most significant training first, including the name of the program, any degree or qualification you received, and the names and areas of expertise of any significant teachers with whom you studied while there. Less significant work can be grouped together under the heading “additional training,” featuring one-line descriptions of the work and the name of the teacher (for example, “voiceover technique with Tom Jones”).

SPECIAL SKILLS

Last but certainly not least, list any special or unusual skills you have. Are you fluent in any foreign languages? Can you juggle? Play a musical instrument? Are you an accomplished athlete? How about accents – which ones can you do convincingly? Do you sing? – if so, how many years training do you have, and what’s your range? Do you have dance or movement training? – what type? Are you certified in stage combat? Almost anything goes in this section – everyone has hidden talents. If a casting director needs an actor who plays the guitar, the special skills section is going to be the first thing he looks at. This section will help you more than you know – put some thought into it.

PRESENTATION

So you’ve put your résumé together and you’re satisfied with it – now what do you do with it? There’s a simple and universally accepted format for submitting a press kit to agents and casting directors (or even for use at amateur auditions) – be sure to follow these rules if you want anyone to look twice. Your résumé should be stapled to your headshot at the corners, back-to-back. Some actors even choose to have their résumés professionally printed on the backs of their headshots (which method you use is up to you, but getting them printed does look most professional, and also eliminates one step from the preparation process). The idea of attaching your résumé to your headshot is that neither piece will get lost in the mix (remember that agents and casting directors look through huge piles of these submissions every day – by attaching the pieces of your press kit to each other, you’re simultaneously making things easier for them and increasing your own chances of being noticed). When sending your press kit to agents or casting directors through the mail, enclose it in a manila envelope closed with the brads but not sealed (once again, this makes things easier for the people at the agency who have to open so many of these envelopes each day).

ONCE YOU HAVE AN AGENT

Many agencies will put together a résumé for you, featuring their logo and following their own formatting rules. These résumés are often very reductive, listing only an abridged sampling of the most recent work you’ve done – but then, with an agent representing you, you won’t have to try as hard to market yourself in the first place. If you’ve landed a contract with an agency that provides this kind of service, congratulations! Until then, try to follow the guidelines outlined above, and you’ll be on the right track.