Every profession has its forms and rituals, its little ways of doing things that separate those in the know from the neophytes. Show Biz is no different. One of the fastest ways to get pegged as being new to the Business and not very savvy is to present a producer or director with a resume that is not formatted properly. And it’s such an easy mistake to avoid! You should make it your business to find out how an actor’s resume should look and then set yours up accordingly. Even if you don’t have many – or any! -- professional credits, even if all your experience was in college or community theatre, if you lay out your resume clearly and correctly, you’ll be a step ahead. Believe me, the auditors at the League of Washington Theatres (LOWT) Auditions, stage and film/video directors or casting assistants in the various talent agencies notice resumes that don’t conform to the basic professional format. While a good audition may still get you the job, you’re making it harder for yourself if your resume looks like it belongs to Mr. Clueless!

So, what should it look like?

• Your name, phone number and union affiliations, if any, should be right at the top. Most people center this information, but whether you do or not, it should be prominently featured! Most people have this info bolded or in large type, so it stands out better. After all, this is how a potential employer is going to reach you to call you for an audition or offer you a job. Make sure they can see your name and number easily. Actors who are EMC (Equity Membership Candidate) often note that fact, which is especially appreciated by the SPT (Small Professional) theatres, who hire a mix of union and non-union talent for their productions and want to know if you are accruing points toward union membership. I’ve seen people put "non-union actor" or the like at the top of their resume if they aren’t yet a union member, but this frankly puzzles me. Does that mean you don’t ever want to join? If you’re not affiliated with AFTRA, SAG or Actors’ Equity (AEA) in any way, just your name and phone number will do. You don’t need some other label under your name.

• If you are doing a stage audition (or a big call like the LOWT Auditions or Baltimore Theatre Alliance Auditions), list your phone number, not that of any agency you may be signed with. If an agency submits your photo/resume, they usually want their phone number as the contact number, but if you are doing a stage audition or interview which a casting agency did not send you on, make sure your personal number is listed, so the potential employer can reach you.

• Nowadays, many people include their e-mail address or fax number among these vital stats at the top of the resume. That’s fine. However, I strongly advise against including your street address. After all, who knows who might root around in a producer’s file and decide to pay you a late night visit to answer the come hither look they perceived in your resume photo? I’d never really thought about that, until Jerry Manning, who used to be Casting Director at Arena Stage, mentioned the inadvisability of letting the whole world know where you live. But it makes sense, doesn’t it! Especially for the young and lovely of either sex. Until you’re hired and under contract, there’s no need for just anyone to have more than your phone number or e-mail.

• And another big no-no is your social security number. For heaven’s sake, don’t include that! Several auditors at the recent LOWT Auditions noted that some resumes had the actor’s SS# prominently displayed. That’s another one that no one needs to know until they’re signing your paycheck. Plus, in these times of identity theft, don’t make it easier for the bad guys. OK? OK!

• Usually, actors list their height, weight (be honest!!), and hair and eye color above the credits. It helps directors figure out how big or small the rest of you is – you know, the part from the neck down that usually isn’t part of your resume photo. If you sing, note your range (e.g. "alto") but I personally advise against noting your "age range," as in "20s to 50s." Let the potential employer decide if you look right for the role he/she is casting. You risk typing yourself out of a role if you note the range you assume you are right for.

• Credits should then be listed below all these vital statistics, as the body of the resume. There is no one correct way to list them. Some actors elect to list:

• Credits Rule Number One: Don’t Lie! No matter what people might tell you about padding your resume, don’t. You never know when you’ll find yourself auditioning for the director from XYZ Theatre who knows that she didn’t cast you as the lead in last year’s Spring show. Honesty is the best policy, even when you’re starting out and don’t have many credits. Just list what credits you legitimately have and hold your head up proudly.

• Credits Rule Number Two: Don’t even "Stretch the Truth." You know, you did a scene in the Actors’ Center Showcase the year it was at Studio Theatre, so you put on your resume that you did Meg in "Crimes of the Heart" at Studio Theatre. Wrong! First of all, a scene is not an entire production; and second, Studio didn’t produce that play, now did they?! It’s perfectly fine to list AC Showcase credits, if you’re just beginning to build your resume, but list them honestly as such. Don’t try to inflate them. After all, especially here in the D.C. market, all of the producers basically know each other’s production history. They’re going to know Studio never did "Crimes of the Heart"; ergo, you’re a liar. (See Rule Number One.) The same applies to a performance in a ten-minute play in the Washington Theatre Festival, a.k.a. the Source Festival. Don't suggest by careful omission that the performance you were part of at Source was a part of their full, regular season. A Festival show is a nice credit to add to your resume, but it's not a main stage show, so don't misrepresent it as such. OK?!

• A big mistake I’ve seen on many resumes is clutter. Once you pass that stage in your career when you have only a handful of credits and use really large type to fill up the white space and make it look like you’ve got plenty on your resume, many actors are afraid to delete anything. So, after a few years, they’re printing their resume in really small print that most producers have a hard time deciphering! And making the margins reeealllly narrow to fit more in. The better solution is to edit your resume each time you print out a fresh copy for a new audition. Decide what roles you should retain (Hamlet in Hamlet might be a good one to hang onto!) forever, and which ones might be ready to rotate off your resume (maybe "third-maid-from-the-left," if you’ve graduated to bigger parts lately). Some actors choose to label their list of credits "Representative Roles" to indicate that this isn’t absolutely everything they’ve done, just the best stuff.

• If you’ve done different kinds of show business work, divide up the sections of your resume accordingly: Stage, Film/Video, Voiceover (some people call it Audio), Cabaret, Dance, etc. Also list any theatrical, voice or film training you have had. There’s no particular correct order in which to list these different credits, but generally people put "Training" last. Don’t go into detail about degrees and accomplishments in your non-actor life, unless it might be particularly applicable to a role – accomplished pianist, MD, juggler, speak fluent Hungarian, good at accents, etc. Many list this kind of stuff under "Special Skills," down at the bottom below "Training." But unless you dissect frogs as part of a cabaret act, don’t bother sharing a lot of routine "special skills" that lots of people can do. And make sure what you include is relevant to a theatrical resume. Ann Norton of the Washington Stage Guild told me that the Special Skills section of people’s resumes came in really handy when the Guild was casting for the "Magical Mystery History Museum", a children’s play. According to Ann,

• A big "don’t" is putting an "Objective" on your resume. I’ve seen people put this at the top, under their name and phone number. Usually, it’s something like, "I want to be a successful actor in theatre and film." Well, that’s fine, but while a business resume often includes one’s ultimate career goals as part of the accepted format, theatrical resumes just don’t. It’ll peg you as an amateur. Delete it!

• Another "don’t" in my book is printing your resume on ornate, patterned or colored paper that draws attention to itself. Save the gilt paper for a letter to a loved one. Your resume should be on neutral paper – white, cream, pale grey. You want the potential employer to be reading your credits, not considering whether to print party invitations on this kind of paper. I now actually run my resume photos through my printer and print the resume right on the back of each photo, circumventing the problem of what kind of paper to use altogether. (I print it out on my printer’s "fast" setting, using the least ink possible, so it doesn’t smear. My advice is to let the photo/resumes dry before you stack them for a big call like the LOWT Auditions: The time I didn’t the ink bled all over my "face.")

• Never laminate your photo/resume. I only saw this done once, but aside from the considerable expense, most directors want to write on your resume, you know, like: "Call her back for the lead!" Don’t make it difficult for them to make notes on your resume. Plus, it just isn’t done.

• If you have printed your resume on separate paper, you must attach it securely to your photo. A standard resume photo should be 8 by 10 inches. And while I’d have thought it unnecessary to say this, the paper you’ve printed your resume on needs to be cut to the same dimensions as the photo. I’ve seen too many sloppy looking photo/resumes with raggedy edges. Cut it to the precise size of the photo! Once you’ve done that, all four corners should be stapled to the photo. Some people use glue, but in the heat that can melt and cause your resume to stick to someone else’s, or come unstuck altogether! I prefer staples. However, whichever attachment method you prefer, the resume must be attached at all four corners. Using only one staple in the upper left hand corner, or even two just isn’t the way it’s done. And why would you want to risk your resume getting separated from your photo? Take the time to do it right.

See you at the next audition!

LG