Larry Garrison - Breaking into Acting For Dummies

If you’re just starting out in acting, the hardest part of making up a resume can be figuring out how to fill up a blank page when you have absolutely no acting experience whatsoever.

Be sure to include any acting experience you have — no matter how small the part. Whether you performed a bit role in a community theater or appeared in a student film or a public access television show, that’s acting experience and you should include it on your resume until you can list something more noteworthy. Any type of acting job, however trivial, shows agents and casting directors that you at least have some experience performing in front of an audience.

Figure 5-1 shows Nancy Novice’s acting resume. Notice how Nancy uses a large (but reasonable) font size to fill the page with text. Also, notice how Nancy doesn’t have much acting experience, but she still includes minor work in theatrical productions as well as supporting roles in small films. Nancy’s resume does a nice job of highlighting all the performance-related training she’s received (including ballet and ballroom dancing — skills that may come in handy when auditioning for a part in a musical).

Every actor was a beginner at one time, so the lack of actual working experience doesn’t matter as much as the way you handle yourself at an audition (see Chapter 9). Even beginners can compete against veteran actors and land a role, especially in the film, television, theater, and commercial market where looks can override any acting experience you may (or may not) have.

An intermediate actor generally has at least one or two fairly impressive acting credits or a long list of minor credits that demonstrates you’ve been getting acting work on a regular basis.

The resume for an intermediate actor is usually a combination of acting experience and training. The top portion of the resume lists your acting experience, and the bottom portion of your resume lists any classes or additional training you may have taken.

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 5-1:A beginner’s resume must often emphasize training and special skills in lieu of actual acting experience.

Figure 5-2 shows a typical intermediate actor’s resume. Notice that an intermediate actor most likely has an agent and is a member of one or more of the actors’ unions. Also, under each acting category (film, television, theater, and so on) Ian lists his most impressive credits first because those are likely to catch someone’s eye.

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 5-2:An intermediate actor’s resume is often a balance between acting experience and training.

As you gain more working experience, you’ll need to start trimming your educational and acting credits, starting with the less prestigious ones. For example, you may have taken both a television commercial workshop and an acting class from a famous acting coach. If you only have room on your resume to list one of them, which one should you keep? The answer is both and neither, depending on circumstances.

A veteran actor is someone who has plenty of acting experience and can afford the luxury of minimizing training skills altogether. A veteran actor often has impressive credits and a handful of lesser known credits.

Unlike a novice’s resume, a veteran actor’s resume heavily emphasizes past acting experience in film, television, and theater. Training is still important, but when casting directors and agents see that you’ve spent the last five years performing on Broadway, in a blockbuster film, and as a recurring character on a hit television situation comedy, they’ll tend to assume that you must know what you’re doing with or without any training listed on your resume.

As a veteran (or even an intermediate) actor, you may want to tailor your resume to emphasize specific skills when auditioning for certain parts. For example, when auditioning for a theatrical part, you may want to list together all your Broadway experience and experience in Shakespearean plays. Just be sure to list other types of theater credits as well, so people don’t think that all you can do is Shakespearean plays.

Figure 5-3 shows a typical veteran’s resume. Vinnie is auditioning for a theatrical role — you can tell because his theater experience is listed first and he lists his famous acting coach in the Training section.

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 5-3:A veteran actor’s resume emphasizes actual working experience.

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