Creating Your Acting Resume

In my short lived acting career, which involved some classes, a very small extra appearance as a policeman in a chase scene and some auditions for commercials, the one thing I took away from it all that is that you had to do countless auditions to get one part and send out even more resumes to get an audition. The challenge, of course was, how do you get the experience that you would need to create a great resume if you have to start out with a good résumé? Well, if you're just starting out, some formal training and becoming part of an acting agency might help you learn how to get your foot in the door for some low level experience that can count as acting credits and help you set up a good acting portfolio. Also, anyone can work as an extra, and this can give you a chance to be noticed and possibly network with some people in the film industry.

Now, let's get down to some basic requirements. An actor's resume must consist of some of the following specific components to be considered a legitimate resume wherever your go.

Your resume needs to be printed on an 8 x 10 piece of paper and be stapled in the middle to your headshot which goes behind. It's also acceptable to print your actor's resume on the same sheet as your headshot if you have an inkjet printer with photo paper.

Unlike with a corporate resume where you print your name at the top, your name needs to be printed in the center along with your measurements including your height, weight, jacket size, chest, waist, and hip measurements. It's a good idea not to deviate too far from these since agencies and producers, etc. will expect you to fit this profile and it's measurements if and will be angry if you don't. So, if you your overweight and don't want to be typecast as the next John Candy, make sure you lose the weight before you do your resume. Agent and manager information should be included on the right side on the top.

The next section is where you get into the meat and potatoes of your experience, which includes any film credits. On the West Coast, the credits are listed first. It starts with your name on the left, and then the part you played followed by the director and production company. East Coast resumes require the same format but need to have live performance theater credits listed first.

In the same format as film and theater, you will next need to list television credits. Normally, you don't want to waste time listing any commercial acting you have done. However, if it's the only work you've done, you might as well. Meg Ryan started out that way.

After all of that, you can include any voice over credits or Internet work that you've done such as work in college or Youtube or Myspace videos that are professional, funny, or impressive in some other way. Also, any special talents you may have, whether it's juggling, singing, or dancing can go into this section. My acting teacher said don't ever devalue a talent, even if it's working on a computer. You never know when a corporate entity such as Microsoft might be looking for someone who looks like they're working on a computer. I had an audition with Microsoft where I was simply pushing a mouse.

Considering the experience you need to have an acceptable resume, it may seem like a daunting task to get enough experience considering you need a resume in the first place. Some would-be actors are driven to lie or embellish their resumes. There is no need to take this risk. When I was working for a local talent agency in Seattle, there were independent label films going on everywhere.

In every community there are plays, and small parts in local theater productions and colleges where it was very easy to get a small role and be allowed to use your experience as acting credit; they want volunteers. In my region, renaissance fairs are hugely successful and are always accepting volunteers for their outdoor productions and this can be excellent experience. Working as an extra can earn you from minimum wage to $200/day as an extra and get some free food too with no experience.

There's a whole community of aspiring actor's out there; once you get in the loop, you will find people who want to help you. They understand the frustrations and how hard it is to make a living and pursue acting at the same time so they're closely knit, like a family. If you want it bad enough, you'll make some good friends and connections that could help get you to Hollywood.

Sources-

The Kim Brooke Group, Seattle, WA

Theatrgroup.com