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How to Create Your Acting Resume
A great acting resume can help secure the parts you want and need in order to jumpstart your acting career. It’s important to take the time to craft an acting resume that is honest, accurate and tailored to fit you, your acting credits and experiences. Here is a guide on how to effectively create and format your acting resume.
Step 1: What to Include
Your acting resume should provide a comprehensive overview of your experiences, accomplishments, skills and education. At the top of your resume, it's important to include all of your contact information.
- Name
- Address
- Phone
- Website/headshots/reel, if available
Below your contact information, include any relevant body measurements, such as height, weight, age range, special skills (i.e. dancing, accents), and anything else that could be relevant to casting agents and directors.
Step 2: Formatting
Formatting is extremely important for an effective resume. Keeping a consistent format ensures that all of your information is clearly and quickly understood. Start by writing down everything you need to include in your resume in a bulleted list. Then, organize the list by categories such as Film Experience, Theatre Experience, Commercial Experience, Print Experience and Miscellaneous. It's also important to use bold fonts to clearly organize your experiences.
Step 3: List Your Experience
Under the categories you created, begin to list each of the individual acting experiences that you have had. For each experience, list out the title of the production, your role, the name of the company or director and the year in which the project was completed. When writing about independent projects, it's important to list the names of everyone involved, including crew members.
Step 4: Training and Education
Make sure to list any school, university or community theatre experience that you have. List any classes that you have taken, play readings that you have done, and other experiences within the theatre world. Show off your latest and most dynamic work. It's important to list the type of training that you have had such as workshops, programs and classes, as well as the location and year.
Step 5: Personalize It
An acting resume should always be personalized. Every production is different and the way in which you list your experiences should reflect that. Make sure to be specific and honest about your experience. For instance, if you were playing a lead role in a school play, list it as “Lead Role: [Character], in [Play Name], [Company].” Give yourself credit for the work and specific roles that you have played.
Step 6: Final Touches
Before submitting your resume, have a few trusted people look over it and give you some feedback. Typos and misspellings should be avoided, so make sure to triple check everything that you have written. Make sure that your resume is tailored to fit each role and project that you are submitting for. Once your resume is perfect, print it out, double-check it one more time, and submit it to the production.