If you have been taking acting lessons and are thinking about applying for your first acting roles, you might be wondering what to include in your CV. Even if you do not yet have any professional experience, It’s important to highlight your training, education, any amateur productions you have worked on, and your particular skill set.
As you start to look for work, you will notice that there are various casting call platforms where you can post your details and apply for auditions. Some of them, such as Spotlight, require you to have a qualification from an accredited course or experience in the form of professional credits in order to sign up. They also ask for an annual fee.
There are some platforms such as The Mandy Network that have tiered levels of access, with a free entry level that anyone can sign up to. However, it is unlikely you will have access to large scale productions and major roles for the free membership.
This may not be a disadvantage if you have no experience at all, and are just looking for something to get your feet wet and build up confidence. You will find plenty of opportunities for low-key and low pay work, such as presenting short videos for social media or corporate promotionals, student productions or low-budget independent films.
There are many other platforms with varying degrees of functionality and membership requirements. Look for features such as the ability to filter your searches, so that you can check theatre work or screen work depending on your preferences, and so on, and search different regions, age groups, genders, and so on.
Casting platforms usually have email listings so you can opt to be emailed about auditions or roles that are relevant to your profile as soon as they appear. This can save you time and help you to get ahead of the crowd when making an application for auditions.
So what should you include in your casting platform profile to grab the attention of the audition panel? Generally, you will be asked to upload a headshot, list your skills, experience, and any acting credits. It’s worth taking your time to put up a good show, because it’s a highly competitive field and you want to do yourself justice.
Your headshot is important but there’s no need to spend a fortune on a professional photographer if you are on a limited budget. However, your physical appearance obviously matters to most casting directors because they want to cast someone who looks the part. Therefore you should have a good quality photograph that clearly represents what you look like, rather than a heavily edited image.
Avoid using a ‘social media’ type photo where you are with family, pets or friends. It should be a forward-facing headshot of just you, with nothing distracting in the background. The casting professional will probably print off the photo and shrink it down to a smaller size, so use a well-lit high resolution image.
For best results, take the photograph in natural light and get a friend or family member to take it for you (a selfie is fine if you do not have anyone on hand to take the shot for you). Wear plain clothing with no distracting logos or items of jewellery, and keep your hair and makeup natural and minimal.
You can smile if you want to, but try to keep your expression relatively neutral so that the casting director doesn’t form any assumptions about what type of roles you might be suitable for. Only use editing tools to crop the photo to frame your face; never be tempted to use filters as this will distort your natural appearance.
The next most important step is to fill in your ‘about me’ section. This is a brief personal statement that will appear near the top of your profile, so think carefully about what you want to say. If you are currently appearing in a production, you may want to include this information first to demonstrate your latest experience.
If you have little or no experience, then focus on your training, qualifications, or any special skills you have. What makes you unique as a performer? For example, can you carry a tune and have a great singing voice, or are you athletic and able to tackle physical challenges in your stride? Are you great at accents or fluent in a foreign language?
Finally, include other essential or useful information, such as your location, visa or passport status, age (and playing age) and driving licence.
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