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A Step by Step Guide to Creating Professional Theatrical ResumesSep 25 '00 (Updated Oct 13 '00) Write an essay on this topic.I recently took a series of classes on theatrical auditions and resumes, and what I found was somewhat surprising. A long time ago, I was told to use a specific format for my resume. However, since then, the format for resumes had changed dramatically. Here is a step by step guide to creating professional theatrical resumes of your own. *Please note that all info contained in this Epinion are steps which should only be used for theatrical resumes. Technical resumes have different requirements, and a different format. Why Resumes Are Important Most auditions will require you to have a resume, or they will ask you to list your theatrical experience on a form. Even if they do this, it is preferable to staple a copy of your resume to the form; it looks much more professional. However, there is no reason to pay to have a resume specially printed and prepared. You may simply type up a copy with any word processing program, and save it, so you can continue to add to it. Then, you can just print a copy every time you have an audition. "But isn’t it difficult and time consuming to create your own resume?" The first time you create your resume is the hardest, because chances are you'll have lots of things to put on it, and it will be hard to track down all of the information. After that, just make it a habit to add things as you do them. For example, closing night of every show for me also means the day I update my resume with that particular show. Formatting Your Theatrical Resume I have found that it is a good idea to group the information into sections: The first should be your contact information, centered at the top of the page. This will include your FULL name (first, middle, last), address, and phone number. If at all possible, it's a good idea to get a voicemail rather than giving out your home number. However, this depends on the level at which you're at. If you're doing community theater in your small hometown, it's probably fine to give out your home number. When you get to a big city (NYC, Chicago, LA, Miami), you should try to give out as little info as possible. After your contact information will be your credits. You should include all of your credits until you have one page, then try to be selective, and put only the most important on your resume. Create a table with columns for different things: Show, Role, Venue, and Director. A common mistake made is to add a column for date. It’s not necessary to do this, as directors will assume that you’ve arranged them in chronological order (from newest to oldest). Be sure that the table is set not to show the lines. Everything should be lined up, but the table shouldn't actually be visible. Note that it's fine to say "multiple roles" and list multiple years if you did a show more than once, rather than separating it into different credits. Some people prefer to separate film and theater credits into different sections. I like to keep it all together. You may want to do both, and use a different resume depending on which type of production you're auditioning for. Especially when doing film work, it is preferable to have the film work separate. If you cut any credits off for length, add a sentence after the table which says: Additional credits available upon request. This will cover anything you may have missed, and also show the director that you’re professional enough to not count minor roles or low-quality shows. Just be sure that you do have all your credits on a separate resume, which you should also have with you at auditions. This will not be turned in, unless the director specifically asks for it. After that will be your training; for example, any voice lessons, acting classes, or dance classes you've taken. These should be grouped according to the activity; for example, you should put your dance training all together, then your acting training, then your voice training, etc. You may also wish to include special skills, such as a musical instrument or gymnastics. In any case, here is how this section should look: TRAINING Ballet - 12 years Jazz - 4 years Tap - 7 years Voice - 8 years Piano - 3 years Acrobatics - 5 years Note that each of the lines which come under the heading of TRAINING should be indented by 5 spaces. Unfortunately, Epinions does not allow me to do this. If you are in school have good grades, it is good idea to include the next section. This is very brief; simply your grade point average or number grade, depending on which your school gives. This will show the director that you are serious and motivated. Finally, the last section will be your physical characteristics: height, weight, hair color, and eye color. These will be listed in a table to the right of the Training table, using the following format: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Height: 5 feet, 5 inches Weight: 120 pounds Hair: Ash blond Eyes: Blue-green Note that it is important to be specific about your hair color and eye color; for example, do not simply put blond. Are you platinum blond, strawberry blond, ash blond, etc. And again, remember to indent each of the lines after PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. The Final Step Okay, this one is a toughie. I hope you can handle it… you save your work, back it up onto a disk, and print it out. This step may seem very simple, but it’s quite important! If your computer should crash, you wouldn’t want all the work you’ve just done to go to waste! Always have an extra copy so if anything happens, all you have to do is type it up again. I hope you’ve learned a lot from this guide to theatrical resumes. As always, if you have any questions, please leave a comment or e-mail me.  |
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