Youth Resume Reminders

Don't forget!

Follow these basic resume rules:

• Your resume should never be more than one page long.
• The resume should be stapled to and trimmed to fit the headshot, or even better, printed directly to the back of your photo.
• Don’t staple clippings or reviews to your resume, they will just get in the way.
• You should have an email address created just for your acting resume.
• Never make the font on your resume smaller than 10pt. It is difficult to read in any situation, whether it’s in a well-lit office or a darkened theater

Youth Resume Tips

Sample Resume Outline:


Opening/Heading: This should include your name, contact information ( cell phone or service), height, weight, age range, eye and hair color.

Body: Any lead or featured acting experience you have had belongs in this section. Use the sections: Theater, Film, Television, and Commercials. If you have done voice-overs as well, you can include that here.

List in columns the title of the piece, then your character’s name, then the place where you performed. (i.e., Once Upon a Mattress; Winnifred; Bucks County Playhouse)

Education: List here any acting programs you have attended, any production companies you were apart of as well as any schools you have gone to.

Special Skills: This is a list of skills you have that may be needed for certain roles. (i.e., Spanish speaker, horseback riding, fencing, dialects (list them), etc.

Shaun Robinson

The collected wisdom and shared experiences of Hollywood superstars and everyday teenagers—inspirational advice encouraging young women to be comfortable in their own skin and showing them how to become tomorrow’s leaders

Q: What do Vanessa Williams, Meredith Vieira, Queen Latifah, Danica Patrick, Helen Mirren, Janet Jackson, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Hudson, and Eva Mendes have in common with most teenage girls?

A: They have all struggled with self-esteem and body image; they’ve compared themselves to their peers and have sometimes felt that they come up short.

Drawing on personal interviews with these and many other celebrities, and her volunteer work with teens around the country, in Exactly As I Am, Access Hollywood entertainment co-host Shaun Robinson shares the intimate thoughts, revelations, and feelings of these powerful women, illustrating how similar they are to those of average girls struggling to find their voices. For example, Kelly Clarkson discusses the pressure to be thin, Virginia Madsen talks about standing up to the “in crowd,” and Gabrielle Union shares her thoughts on being yourself. Exactly As I Am shows young women how to achieve a balance between accepting how they look and appreciating who they are on the inside, emphasizing the importance of having a mentor or role model and the support of family. Inspiring and motivating, this tapestry of perspectives will inspire every reader to say, I accept myself “exactly as I am.”

Youth Acting Resume Tips

Your acting resume should begin with your physical statistics and contact information.

The auditor may already have your headshot, but listing your physical attributes is necessary in case the picture and resume are ever separated. Be sure to include height, weight, hair color, and eye color (your real eye color).

When listing contact information, give the address and number where you can be reached most quickly (remember you want the job). If you have an agent or manager, it is that entity's contact information you should list, not your own.

More Youth Resume Tips

Education on Your Acting Resume

It is necessary to include your education in your resume. This way, auditors can be sure of the degree of skills that you possess. Be sure to list any training you have with Acting Technique, Scene Study, Voice (not singing), Movement, Improvisation, On-camera Scene Study, and On-camera Commercials. Also, include the names of the production companies you were apart of and the institutions you have attended and the names of the teachers involved in your training.

Youth Actor Resume Tips

Your Experience

The experience section of your resume should highlight the primary roles that you have played. When considering what to include and what to leave out,

here are a few tips:

• List your lead or featured theater, film and television roles in separate sections.
• Do not list your roles as an extra.
• Keep from listing any non-speaking roles, even if they are primary roles.
• Only include work that you feel best represents you as an actor.

Youth Acting Resume Tips

A Small, Powerful Acting Resume!

Don’t be afraid if your acting resume is sparse. A small but powerful resume can be very convincing. Each item in your resume should stand alone and leave no questions as to what your role was, what the production was, and where. Your work should be credible, which will help to develop an image of you as an actor. You won’t have a lot of experience to list at first, but your resume will evolve with your career, changing as you develop more experience.

Don't be afraid.

Youth Resume Tips

Ross Reports and Your Acting Resume

Mailings are a great way to get your resume seen by agencies and casting directors. What you need to start mailing is: a copy of Ross Reports. Get relevant addresses from there and put your package together. Your package should include a headshot, resume, and (brief!) cover letter. You should have separate resumes for film work and commercial work. Use the cover letter to show your creativity and personality in three short paragraphs: who you are, what do you want to accomplish, and why you are mailing the agent and/or casting director.

Again, brief on the cover letter!

Youth Acting Resume Tips

Be Truthful on your resume! Only include truthful information in your resume for acting.
The industry is big, but it isn’t that big. Chances are that the person interviewing you knows someone who knows someone who knows all of your previous work. A little lie told early on can become a huge problem later. No one expects a young actor to have a stellar resume.

In the end, it is your audition and interview that will land you that job.
Remember, a small, credible resume is much more effective than a large one padded with lies.

Youth Resume Tips

Resume Content

A well-formed acting resume is very important to a performers' career. Be discerning when you are writing your resume. Include only items that highlight and enhance your experience and strengths as a performer. Your resume should allow your auditor to see what kind of roles you have played in the past, and help them to envision the kinds of roles you will play in the future. Your details should be accurate and well-placed. Provide just enough information; too much information will only hurt your chances.

The Resume

Your acting resume is your calling card.

You are presenting yourself to complete strangers who know nothing of your talents. With that in mind, be sure your resume is:

1. Neatly typed
2. No longer than one page
3. Edited and proofread
4. Updated on a regular basis
5. In correct format
   
6. In addition, you should be sure that your name and contact information are prominently displayed at the top of the page. This is so your resume can be found easily among others.
   
7. When attaching your resume to the back of your headshot, be sure it adheres solidly. There should be no clips or opened staples to snag on other photos in the casting director’s pile.
8. Don’t use clever fonts or colors on your resume.
9. Keep the type simple, such as Tahoma, Courier, or Times New Roman.
10. Always use black ink to print your resume, and be sure it doesn’t smudge.

A small effort on your acting resume will go a long way toward presenting yourself as a professional.

Drama School Electives

So you’ve decided to go to a drama school. Great! Now, what courses should you take? Remember that your goal is to become a well-rounded performer. Don’t shy away from classes that challenge you. For example, if you can’t sing, take a singing courses and a lot of them. There’s more to learn than carrying a tune. As an actor breath control is crucial, and there’s no better way to learn the tricks of this skill than a course in vocal music. And who knows, you might land a singing job from it.

Monologues

Monologues for Your Acting College Audition
If you’re planning to attend an acting college, you’ll need to pull together a powerful audition to get accepted. Most acting colleges require that you prepare two monologues, one classical and one modern. Classical monologues are generally thought to be any theatrical piece written prior to the turn of the 20Th century, although some colleges define it as later than that.
Your best bet is to choose any of the Greek classics; Shakespeare, Moliere, Voltaire, etc.

If you’re stuck, go to a local bookstore and search for compilations of classic monologues.
Modern monologues are more recently written, usually within the last 100 years. Try not to choose overdone monologues, as the school's casting directors can get bored hearing the same pieces over and over again. That won’t work to your advantage. Do your best to select a monologue that represents you. Rehearse both monologues enough so that you will go into your audition fluidly and with confidence. It is the confidence that sells.

Drama and Mood

There is a saying in performing; that you should leave your personal problems outside the door. In other words, don’t let your current issues and mood affect your performance. Remember that while on stage or in front of the camera, you are the character you are playing, not the other way around. However, you are human, and the character you are playing is (sometimes!) human. Don’t refuse your feelings, but patiently observe them so that you can call upon them to give life from them into your future roles.

Choosing a School

When you’re in the market for drama schools, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of places to choose from. You’re going to have to weed out the schools that are not a perfect fit for you and find ones that will work with you to help you become the best performer you can be. Here are a few things to consider when searching for a drama school:

• Location. How far are you willing to travel to go to school? If you need to relocate, where will you live?
• Budget. Can you afford tuition at the drama school? If not, are there alternate ways to pay for your education such as financial aid, student loans, or work study programs?
• Coursework. What types of classes are offered? Do they suit the kind of acting you want to be doing in the future? Is there decent variety?
• Faculty. Who will be your teachers? Do you recognize any of them as established current or past actors? If not, what are their credentials and connections as a whole? Are they writers, directors, etc.
• Current and Past Students. What have the graduates of this school done with their careers? Can you speak to current students to find out why they like the school?

Drama and Acting

Drama involves a plot and characters that are ruled by a certain overriding theme. As a performer, it is your duty to understand this theme and let it suffuse your work. Work within the script and let it flow through you and the relationships that you build with other characters. You can begin by discussing the stage- or screenplay with your fellow actors and/or the director. Coming to a common agreement about the motivations of each character will indeed fill out the production to its entirety.