THETR 191

Me File/Basic Resume

The "Me File":

The simplest way to keep track of information for your resume is to keep a "Me File" document on your desktop and keep it up to date everytime you do something "resume-worthy". Most professionals I know do this as a quick way to keep track of things so that everything is handy when you need to update your resume.

It can be by category or just as a simple chronological list, but the data should include:

What you did

Where you did it

With whom you did it

When you did it

So, for instance:

July 4, 2019     Murder for Two    Set Design   Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre  

Dir: Sam  Scalamoni, Lighting Dsr: Patricia Nichols, Costume Dsr: Jen Spagone

This is the basic info I will need if I want to add this to my resume. Other notes are fine, but it's best to keep this list simple.

Resume Basics:

The parts of the resume are:

The Header: This includes all of your identifying info: name, mailing address (not your home address), other contact info, what you do. For actors, personal info such as height, weight, hair color, eye color (specifically for film), agents. Never put your age on a resume unless you are under 18.

Selected theatre work history: At first, this may not be so selective . . . but put whatever jobs you have done here.

Other work experience: They don't all have to be professional or even directly relaated to theatre. You're just starting out: it's OK to put that you worked at an ice cream shop last summer—it's work expreience.

Education: At this point, state your high schoo, followed by Suffolk/ your major(s) and any minors. Your degree is stated as "expected graduation Spring 2023". Any internships would go here, too.

Affiliations: Any Union or professional organizations should be listed.

Skills: Do you drive a stick shift, have CPR training, fight training, dance experience? Can you program an ETC. Ion light board? Do you weld? Have any certifications? Don't inflate your abilities or put common skills here—everyone can use WORD and EXCEL.

References: Three are recommended. Get permission from the epople you list! Give all contact info.

Selective resumes:

Over time you may acquire a lot of experience in a variety of areas. I keep a "complete CV" with everything on it, from which I extract infromation for a more selective resume. You may also want multiple resumes for different jobs—for instance, a technical resume and a design resume, or an acting resume and a teaching resume.

I will hand out examples of actual acting and tech/design resumes in class.