HOW TO CREATE YOUR R É SUM É

1. HOW TO CREATE YOUR RÉSUMÉ From “The Complete Professional Audition” by Darren Cohen, Back Stage Books, New York, 2005

2. Your ‘calling card’ is your résumé • Photo and résumé (stapled together at all 4 corners, back-to-back) • The casting person’s first glimpse of you • Should be honest, professional and a current representation of yourself • It lists for auditors your credits and experience, and gives them a tangible piece of you to keep on file.

3. LENGTH • Should never be longer than 1 page! • As you progress in your career/ experience, move the smaller roles to the bottom until you can eventually leave them off • (Only designers, directors, choreographers, musical directors can sometimes have more than one page)

4. COLOR • Résumés should be white! • (Color makes the actor look desperate to be noticed) • (A well-prepared audition will get you the job, not the colorful résumé

5. DIMENSIONS • Standard 8x11 • Photos are 8x10, so you need to trim the paper to fit the photo

6. NAME • Should always be at the top center • Typeset in boldface

7. HOME ADDRESS • Not really needed or safe for certain instances. • For community theater, it’s fine, but for professional work there is no reason to have it until you are hired

8. TELEPHONE NUMBER • You should list your cell phone number, not your house number (if you are on the road a great deal) • You don’t want to miss the call

9. E-MAIL ADDRESS • Do use your e-mail address! • You can be contacted for other jobs, or to get other information, mailings, etc.

10. UNION AFFILIATION • You are expected to list your affiliation • Right below your name • 3 major affiliations are: • Actors Equity Association (AEA) • Screen Actors Guild (SAG) • American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)

11. REPRESENTATION • If you have an agent/management company, you need to list its: • Name • Address • Contact number (Very often agencies will give you a sticker with all the information that you can place at the top of your résumé)

12. AGE • There is no need to include it • It causes casting committees to be biased • At an Equity audition they are not allowed to ask your age by law. • If you are asked your age you can say, “Onstage I usually read between…..” or “I am as old or as young as you would like me to be” (see p. 122)

13. HEIGHT • Do put your height on the résumé • It is helpful when the panel is trying to pair up couples. • Be honest

14. HAIR COLOR • Listing it is helpful, but not as important as stating your height • (Wigs are often used, or they may ask you if you would dye it…) • It can, however, help them remember you. For example…”Oh, the guy with the long blonde hair and big bass voice…”

15. EYE COLOR • Color of eyes can’t be seen by audiences • Really only matters in film and television

16. WEIGHT • Not necessary for theatre auditions • Appropriate for film, commercial or t.v.

17. VOICE RANGE • List your voice type: (Common ones:) • Soprano/belt • Alto/belt • Bari/tenor • Know the range of your belt and head voices • Know the range of your highest/lowest notes that you can perform at any time of the day and under any level of stress. Don’t lie!

18. COMMERCIALS • If you include this category, instead of listing each product, you should simply write: “Conflicts available upon request” • If you filmed for Pepsi, the producer of a Coke commercial probably won’t hire you. Even if your contract is done, they may not want to use an actor from their competitor

19. RESUME FORMATTING • Most common is the 3 column format • Don’t get too fancy • Heading needs to be very clear and easy to follow • At a busy audition, assume that the panel will only have time to glance at the top third of your résumé. • List all important credits first, including leading roles and noteworthy theatres.

20. SOME HEADINGS: • Broadway • National Tours • European Tours • Off-Broadway • Regional Theater • Summer Stock

21. Dinner Theater • Community Theater • Educational Theater (High School, College) • Revues/Theme Parks/Cruise Ships • Television • Film • Commercials • Vocal Experience (All-State Choir, a cappella singing group) • Education, Training • Dialects • Special Skills

22. LISTING CREDITS • It is common to list in order of importance, rather than chronoligically. • (A leading role from a year ago holds more clout than a chorus part you just did) • NYC casting directors want to see stage credits first • L.A. directors want to see film and tv first

23. NAME DROPPING • Listing directors’ name next to each show is not necessary, unless a given director is very well known throughout the industry. • (Most likely your local dance teacher will make no impression on anyone in the professional world!)

24. JOB LOCATION • When listing a theatre you performed in, note its location by either state or nearest large city • This validates the credit, and if someone on the panel happens to know the area, it can start a conversation. Any conversation gives the panel a sense of your personality

25. UNDERSTUDYING • If you have understudied a role, you can write it on your résumé in two ways: • Never performed role: • “name of role u/s”: Tony u/s • Performed role: • “name of role u/s (performed)”: Tony u/s (performed) • If you were also in ensemble: • “Ensemble/name of role (u/s)”: Ensemble/Tony (u/s) (acceptable for both performed and not performed)

26. SCHOOL CREDITS • It’s ok to use them when you’re first starting out!

27. OTHER CREDITS YOU CAN INCLUDE • When first starting out you can include: • Choral festivals and awards: (These tell the musical director that you have experience singing in harmony) • Pageants • A cappella singing groups (suggest you have a good musical ear) • Scholarships to schools, performing arts camps or festivals • Master classes with notable artists • Cruise ship and theme parks • High School Band and Orchestra (These tell the musical director that you have skill reading music)

28. SPECIAL SKILLS • Gives the auditors more insight to who you are • Technical skills, painting, sewing etc. are valuable and summer stock theatre require actors to be able to do them • Sometimes directors will add your skills to the character to make him/her more interesting • Be able to follow through if asked to demonstrate! • Don’t list skills you can barely pull off.

29. REFERENCES • When you list the names of people you’ve trained with, it’s often assumed that they can be used as references. • If you studied with someone who possibly won’t remember you, it’s best not to list them. • Write at bottom of résumé: “References Upon Request” and keep a separate list with names/phone numbers • Make sure your references know you are using them; refresh their memory as to who you are!

30. FABRICATED CREDITS • Don’t make up credits! • Everyone knows everyone else: you’ll get caught! (p. 129)

31. JOHN SMITH 333-444-5555 Height: 6’0” Hair: Brown Voice:Tenor Community Theater Fiddler on the Roof Perchik Long Island Players Grease Danny Plainview Dinner Theatre Damn Yankees Ensemble Bradford Road Theatre Co. Arsenic and Old Lace Mr. Gibbs Rembrandt Playhouse Vocal Experience All-State Chorus Tenor New York State Madrigal Singers Tenor JFK High School Show Choir Soloist JFK High School Educational Theater Oklahoma Curley NYU Anything Goes Ensemble NYU Training NYU Theater Major JFK High School Voice: P.C. Epstein Acting: Ryan Drew Dance: Allie Nicole Special Skills Southern accent, gymnastics, jazz singing, juggling, piano (8 years)

32. JOE SMITH AEA - SAG 111-222-3333 Broadway Wicked Ensemble Gershwin Theatre A Chorus Line Paul Shubert Theatre 42nd Street Billy Majestic Theatre Me and My Girl Ensemble Marquis Theatre Off-Broadway Little Shop of Horrors Seymour Orpheum Theatre The Fantasticks Matt Sullivan St. Playhouse Regional Footloose Ren Sacramento Music Circus Zorba Dancer North Shore Music Theatre Television Law & Order Lawyer NBC Third Watch Fireman NBC Commercials Conflicts available upon request Dialects Standard British, German, French, Southeaster United States Special Skills Jazz scatting, gymnastics, martial arts, hip-hop dancing