A Sample Audition Resume To Help You Play The Part

What I have put together here is a bunch of kids sample audition resume tips that I have learned from my personal experience as well as what I have been taught by people who should know. Casting directors, producers, managers, and agents have all contributed to my understanding of what needs to be included in a sample audition resume. I hope you find this information helpful.

Sample Audition Resume

Personal Saftey Tips for Kids

---

Acting, you will soon find out, is a business of opinions. Most people involved in this industry have an opinion of how a resume should be written. Regardless of what you hear or read, as a child, your kids audition resume must be considerate of your safety first.

You should always, always, consult with an adult before giving out any personal information. This includes things like your home address, home phone number, e-mail address, school attending or attended, home town, house of worship ...anything that an adoring fan or stranger might use to bother you.

Keeping this in mind, let's get into how you should present or in this case, sell yourself. Essentially, this is what you are doing when you give your resume to the director at an audition or send one to a potential manager or agent. You want to paint the best possible picture of your ability to do the job without putting something on the audition resume which is not truthful.

Remember, the audition resume is like your business card. It is also a way for the casting director to know enough about you that he can start a conversation with you. A resume can also give information about you that a director might not know by your appearance. The special skills section of the sample audition resume is very good for illustrating this.

What follows is the basic format of a sample audition resume and the major rules that people in the performing arts follow to create a one. Resumes are attached and cut to size or printed on the back of a 8 1/2" x 10" Headshot. Therefore, the resume must fit the size of the Headshot. There will be more information about this on the Headshot page, for now let's talk about the format and the rules.

Sample Audition Resume Template

Rules To Follow When Creating Your Audition Resume

• An audition resume is usually a three columned document. Please check our audition resume template for an example of how to set up the columns.
• Your name goes first. It should be BOLD and in the center of the line. Legibility of the information is key. This means no strange fonts and no strange alignments of the layout (see the Sample Audition Resume Template for a good example). You need to make sure that the casting director can read it without any problems.
• The next item to be listed is your contact information. Your audition resume is useless without this information, so please be sure that it is correct. Center it under your name and please remember what was mentioned earlier about listing personal information. Consult the Sample Audition Resume for what should be included
• The third item listed is your e-mail information and again, this is personal so take precautions. It is a good idea to have a separate e-mail address used just for auditions that you and your parents can access.
• Next, you can list any union memberships that you have. Don't worry if you have nothing to put here. Just skip this part if you're not a member of a professional actor's union.
• Beneath this you will list the information about your acting website. Again, don't worry if you do not have one yet.
• Below all of this basic information you will now begin to list the items related to the art of performance. This includes but is not limited to any acting, singing or dancing credits you have (see the Sample Audition Resume Template for an illustration).
• If your list is short it's OK. School shows are fine but stick to the important ones. Also, don't forget to list any performance awards you have received. Remember, it is better to be honest than to get caught in a lie. All casting directors know that kids need to start somewhere.
• On the other hand, if you have a bunch of credits, pick out the most important ones or if you're not sure, use those that you have done most recently. If you have a website, a director can always check it for additional information.
• Notice how the sample audition resume template has the Theater section broken up into Professional, and School. You could also use Community(church could be included here), and Regional if that applies to you. There is also a listing for Film, Television, Commercials ...you could add Voiceovers, and other categories of performance, too.

  Please Note: As this is the Musical-Theater-Kids.com website it is assumed that you are auditioning for Musical Theater. This is why the Theater Experience is listed first. If you are auditioning for another kind of performance art, e.g. Film, TV, you may want to consult information regarding the resume requirements

• Adapt the audition resume so that it applies to you but, keep it simple. Dates are not necessary but roles, directors, and theaters are necessary. Directors may wish to contact creative staff you have worked with in the past.
• Training is listed following the Experience Section. Here you will list everything from music lessons, dance training, acting workshops or classes, voice lessons, circus training, magic classes, musical theater camps, anything pertaining to the performing arts that you have studied. If you have a long list keep it to the most important and longest course of study. If you have studied something for a long time you might make an exception here and mention how many years if has been, but for the most part leave the dates out.
• The next section in the sample audition resume is Special Skills. These skills can sometimes really help to get you the part. Think long and hard about your special skills and then do not hesitate to put them on your resume. You never know what a director is looking for in a actor, or what he has in mind for a particular role. Just be prepared to demonstrate or discuss your skill should you be called upon to do so in the audition.
• Last but not least, while most of you will want to list everything you have ever done, it is important to keep your audition resume to only one page. So if you've been doing performing arts since you were a baby, edit and edit well!

Audition Resume and Headshot

---

Once you have created your audition resume and have it ready to go, you have two ways you can attach your resume to your Headshot. Either way is perfectly acceptable.

1)You can have your audition resume professionally printed on the back of your Headshot. Usually these are printed in fairly large quantities. It has become cheaper these days to have Resumes and Headshots professionally printed so may want to check into this.

2)You can print your own audition resume, and then attach it yourself to the back of your printed Headshot. For kids, this may be the better way because you will be physically changing at a fast pace and may need to have your Headshot redone more quickly than an adult.

If you choose Number 2, this is how you should do it.....

To attach your audition resume to your Headshot, take one of your resumes and staple it to your Headshot with the clean straight part of the staple facing (where the metal is unbroken) the resume side. The folded under parts of the staples should show on the Headshot side.

Be sure to staple all four corners and do each one in the same way as the others. This means if you decide to staple your audition resume angled in one corner then all four corners must be angled or if you decide to staple parallel with the sides, all four corners must be parallel and in the same direction.

Cut the audition resume very neatly to fit the Headshot. This means neat edges. A Clean, Neat Resume Is A Happy Resume!

Bring at least 4 copies of your audition resume with you to an audition. You never know if you are going to meet someone who may help to further your career. If they ask for a copy of your resume it would be to your advantage to have one with you.

Update! Update! Update!

---

A final word about your audition resume. Remember, it is "a living, breathing document", which once you get going in Musical Theater, will almost take on a life of it's own. With each part you play, you must remember to update your resume. It is will never ever be finished unless you retire from the performing arts.

---

From Sample Audition Resume to Home Page
Take Me to Resume Template

Theater Related Gifts