That Tall Blonde at the Callback — Your Resumé Speaks Volumes
I’ve been in a couple conversations recently with friends about what they’ve got on their resumé for local, community theatre. There is a LOT of variation! I realize there are different conventions when you are Equity and submitting from afar, but within community theatre I think you can really get creative with what you put on that one sheet of paper that theoretically tells the team what kind of amazing performer you are. Your job, like with any resumé, is to sell yourself. You are talented, in-demand and the greatest thing since sliced bread, so get comfy with tooting your own horn. No one else is going to do it for you. I’ll cover what I know (and even some I don’t know) below.
1. Do I Need One? Yes. Although it is not required to audition, a resumé is proof that you have at least a little experience in theatrical endeavors, you know a little bit about what happens in community theatre and you are taking this as seriously as you would any other job opportunity, even if this is unpaid, community theatre. Casting directors value “easy to work with”, “reliable” and “shows initiative and doesn’t have to be told every little thing” almost as highly as talent. Thus, my kid had a resumé from her first audition. But what do you put on it when you’ve never actually done a show? ANYTHING that might be relevant. Music or dance classes. Speaking part in a grade school pageant. I even put things like that she was a good reader for her age, and was well behaved and attentive. Adults can come up with quite a few more things that are relevant. Public speaking experience? Sang at church? It doesn’t have to be an actual show to count as experience.
2. The Basics. For local community theatre, resumé must haves are 1) your name and contact info (which is the most important detail), 2) a list of previous shows and roles, and 3) any relevant arts education. It may be daunting at first, but putting it in a document you can email around, print and take with you rather than writing a bunch of details every time you audition somewhere will save you a TON of time and effort. And you will FORGET these details if you don’t keep them somewhere, so it also does double duty as a historical record of what you did that you are going to want and need later. For shows and roles, I have listed the role, show, theater, director’s name and year. *EDIT* Lots of folks have told me you don’t need the year and to just include the most recent experience — don’t go back years and years. You can add more details if you have space, or less details. But I do think that it matters WHERE you did a show or role. Casting directors will look for WHO you have worked with previously just as much as what you did. An ensemble role at a prestigious theater can be more valuable than that time you were the lead in the middle school show.
3. How Much History? This is one that has gotten me in a tizzy. I used a one-page resumé (printed front and back), *EDIT* but SOOO many of you responded that it should ONLY be one side and never any longer I’m going to need to consolidate mine further — how embarrassing. I’m not the most prolific artist, but I can no longer fit every role I’ve done on it, even with a smaller font, so I had to start paring down. I chose the boundary of college graduation. Mine now has a full list of roles and shows I’ve done since I graduated college, and a later section called “Performing Arts Experience” now has a bullet that lists a few of the highlight roles I did as a child and a student. This is amongst a list of bullets with other types of performing I’ve done (like bands and choirs). You can decide a boundary and only show recent experience, or only show the best roles, whatever you choose, but don’t forget what I said above about work at good places. Careful not to leave off something great!
4. The Extras. Put ALL the extras you can in the space you have, and put the most important things first as they are more likely to be read. I put my vocal range near the top. I have a “headline” that says something about who I am as an artist. If I had a fancy award, that would be in my headline as well as footnoted in the list of roles. I’ve seen people put a quote from a review that mentions their work. Those who have a website usually include that URL (I don’t have a website, but I do mention this blog!) Earlier I mentioned the “experience” section I’ve got — I also have an “education” section (my theatre minor, plus recent dance classes, voice lessons, acting lessons, etc.), and a “special skills” section for things like playing an instrument, ability to read music, sing close harmony, do cartwheels or the splits or walk on stilts. Puppetry! Stage combat! Whatever you think might be useful on stage.
5. The Physical. Here’s a big debate. I’ve seen many people put height and weight and hair and eye color as is customary with modeling and screen acting, but that one bothers me a bit for local theatre, and I personally do not include most of this. As your resumé is nearly always accompanied by your headshot they will know “which one you were” without the vague description. Especially since headshots are now customarily in COLOR, when back in the day they were black and white — and I’m talking “back in the day” like 2005 here folks. I for one will NEVER put my weight on the resumé. It’s just unnecessary. I’m showing up in person and you can see my body, there is NO reason I need to provide a number or a dress size or measurements until I am actually cast and you need to get these things to a costumer. One audition form that ASKED for weight a few years back got a cheeky answer of “buxom” from me. I probably outweigh you, but I look good, honey. I have, however, recently changed my tune on height, and I’ve just added it. Here’s why. I think I’ve missed out on a lot of roles because I was considered too tall for a woman (or opposite a shorter man). I’m statuesque, so I actually think people over-estimate how tall I am. So I might as well say it (I am 5’8” tall) and perhaps it will give them pause that I’m not THAT tall, for goodness sakes. We’ll see how that works out.
6. The Variation. Some people rewrite their resumé every time to target it for a particular audition. I’m not one of those people, but I do have some variation suggestions. If you do both musical theatre and “straight plays” you might have a version targeted at each. If you also direct, musical direct, choreograph or design this should be mentioned on your resumé, but you will likely need a specific resumé just for that set of experience that has all the details. If you do use just one for everything like me, I often just take a plain old yellow highlighter and highlight certain roles in my experience list (or skills or whatever is relevant) that have special significance to the role or show for which I’m auditioning.
Bonus thoughts for directors/casting directors/artistic staff. When reading through a performers resumé, what is it that you are looking for? I’m sure you are looking for lead roles, and whether they have worked in shows you’ve seen with people you know. But I encourage you to look for more. Is all their experience at ONE theater? Or do they never work at the same theater twice? Both are red flags for me. The former person may have some close friend or family tie that gets them cast without really having the talent to back it up. The latter person may be extremely talented but difficult to work with or unreliable. I’d also look for recent training. It shows initiative to still be working on their skills. But also realize that training is an expensive luxury that not everyone can afford (either by a measure of time or dollars), so careful when using it to rule people out as well. And have you ever thought of asking for references? I’ve only been asked ONCE (and I’ve auditioned a LOT of places). I think it’s such an excellent idea, especially if you want to go out on a limb to cast someone you don’t know personally in a leading role. It’s so often looked at as “too risky” to cast your lead this way, and then we get these boring casts of so-and-sos best friends where they’ve done 85 shows together. And often, those insular groups are NOT the most diverse groups, so if we are committed to more equity in casting, you’ve got to look outside your own little network and take a risk on someone new. You may just have to do a little reading and homework.
So here, start with my resumé! I worked real hard on it, and that shows initiative, commitment and follow through — pretty good things to have in your cast.
