Tuesday, October 16, 2007

BUILD YOUR RESUME AND REEL

If you search the profiles on my website, you’ll see that some members have lots of experience, while others have very little or none. If you’re a new actor, it can be very frustrating the first time you sit down to create your resume. How do you create a resume if you don’t really have anything to put on it?

A great way to get experience that you can add to your resume is to audition for student projects. Student filmmakers are required to produce and direct several projects over the course of their program and they actively search for actors they can cast in various roles. While playing a role in a student-directed production may not sound glamorous there are several reasons why it could help your career.

Booking student-directed projects is a great way to build your resume. Have you ever compared your resume to samples you’ve seen on the internet and wondered if you’ll ever get that many credits? By submitting yourself for student projects, you have a great opportunity to play a variety of parts while getting valuable experience, and continually building your resume.

Secondly, it’s a great way to start building a reel. A reel is a collection of clips of your past work that you or your agent can create. A reel can be useful in many situations. You can send it to agents as an alternative to just sending a cover letter and headshot. Also if you want to audition for a part that’s out of state and you’re unable to travel, a reel can be a great way to get the attention of a casting director.

And lastly, participating in student-directed projects is a great way to network. You get to work with other creative individuals with an interest in your craft. And you never know which student director could be the next Scorsese or Coppola. Imagine being able to say that you knew an Academy award winning director when he was just starting his career. Not to mention that by keeping in touch you can establish great relationships that could very well benefit you later in your career.

We have tons of casting notices for student productions on our site. Take a look and start building your resume today. Another great way to land opportunities and start building your resume is The Best Talent Awards, Hollywood’s premier talent showcase. Join Star Search Casting and apply for a scholarship to attend this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Tomorrow I’ll share more information about The Best Talent Awards. It’s an amazing opportunity you won’t want to miss.

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