Some would argue that an actors resume is even more important than his or her headshot. In this article we will quickly review the central purpose of an acting resume and also what to think about when you are putting one together.
An acting resume is exactly one side of one page, and you will typically have it stapled to the back of your head shot. This single page should represent you as an artist, as an entertainer, as an employee, and as a colleague. In order to do that, you will have to do a little thinking about what the auditioners seem to be looking for. Think about the specific show they going to be doing and try to compare it to their previous work. What sorts of actors do they like to use, and who do they usually cast for the role you want? After you’ve thought about and understood these things, the only thing to do is to try and give it to them. You’re an actor, so this will come pretty naturally to you.
The only thing you need to realize is that your acting resume should represent the part you want to play more than you as an independent entity. So, you should twist and pull at the facts of your professional life until they fit, as closely as possible, the specific audition. I would never tell you to lie; simply try to select and highlight the parts of your acting career that are the best fit for this show. This will hardly take you any time at all to do before each show. The fifteen minutes that you spend for each audition could be the difference between your next big break and your next season of waiting tables.