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The "business" of acting professionally (and by 'professional' we mean getting PAID for it!) is the process of promoting yourself as an actor to agents, casting directors, and producers. It involves knowing who is looking for talent, finding out whether you might fit what they're looking for, and sending them your marketing materials-your photo, showreel and CV (which is sometimes called a resume - especially in the USA).
Unless you are extremely lucky or grew up with show business connections, it's unlikely that you'll find someone who's waiting to hand you a career. So, if you want to succeed as a professional actor, you must know how to promote yourself professionally.
How do you promote yourself as an actor?
The first step is to put together your photo and CV. Your CV should be typed and free of errors. Dyslexia is not an excuse! Find a friend to check over your spelling! Your photograph should be an 8"x10" picture - or a couple - one showing your FACE (a "head and shoulders" shot) and another your full body.
In the past, agents preferred black and white shots (colour being reserved for professional models) - but today, with digital cameras, either will do. Just make sure the quality is good! A bad picture gives a bad impression of you. For best results, find out what your "look" or "type" is, and try to get your photo to reflect that as much as you can.
Pictured Below: Examples of GOOD and BAD photographs for your Acting CV
Workshop tutor Moira's picture (on the LEFT) is the ideal black & white actor's photograph…
Fellow tutor Emma's (on the RIGHT) is a nice picture of her on a trapeze - but not good for use by Casting Directors and Agents - so not suitable for a CV.
 
Leave Your Modesty at Home!
Many actors are shy, reserved types who enjoy the chance to get on the stage and perform, to explore and express different facets of who they are. Others may be more "out there" and lively. You may have been brought up to believe that you should be modest about your accomplishments, but in the business of acting, you need to be able to promote yourself with confidence and courage, knowing that you have talent and skills to offer. In other words, you have to be able to gracefully blow your own trumpet!
Self-promotion is often a difficult skill for artists to learn. It's not as fun as acting; it's more like advertising a business, and a business which advertises itself modestly doesn't usually do as well as one which puts lots of energy into marketing and advertising. It can be hard to overcome the feeling that you have to be modest, especially if modesty is an important value to you. But modesty will not get you auditions and acting jobs - self-promotion will.
This doesn't mean that you should be egotistical and arrogant - a negative attitude like this can make it difficult to get work. Leaving modesty behind doesn't mean that you're not humble. There's a difference between hiding your gifts, as many modest people do, and being grateful for your gifts as you offer them to the world. An attitude of humility, alongside a determined and positive attitude toward promoting yourself, can be very helpful in building your career.
Learning self-promotion skills will give you the courage you need to market yourself as an actor. Once you know what you're doing, in any endeavor, it's easier to be confident. Knowing that you are simply promoting your acting skills and experience, just as other successful actors do, makes it easier to market yourself as an actor.
The business is not about stepping on other people's toes to get what you want, it's simply about being unafraid - or doing it anyway if you are afraid and acting unafraid! It's about speaking up for yourself and selling yourself as an actor. Remember actors have job interviews - they're just called auditions instead of job interviews - but that's what they are.
You have to believe in yourself and your talents and skills, before anyone else will. And when you believe in yourself, it's easier to promote yourself as an actor.
Self-Promotion
If you're thinking about becoming a professional actor, you need to know how to promote yourself. The competition for roles, especially in large cities, can be staggering, so the more you know about self-promotion, the easier it will be for you to get your name and face in front of the people who matter.
Self-promotion begins with the right marketing "tools", which you're probably already familiar with: the headshot and CV. A headshot is a black-and-white 8"x10" photograph of your head and shoulders (or, three-quarters shot, from your head to your hips or knees).
You should have your headshot is taken by a professional photographer, or by someone who can ensure the best quality photograph of you possible. After all, you wouldn't want to send off a poorly taken holiday snap, a tiny sized passport picture or an out-of focus shot - what kind of first impression would that create of you?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT.
Make sure you come across as a committed professional - not an inexperienced amateur.
Once you've got a headshot photograph that you're proud of, and checked your CV to make sure that it has no errors, your CV should be attached to the back of your photograph. Now you're ready to send this "calling card" off to promote yourself.
How do you send it? And who do you send it to?
The answer to the first question is to prepare a cover letter to send along with your photograph and CV. The letter should be brief and to the point: introduce yourself and state your purpose for contacting this person. Always write to a person - not a "Dear Madam" or "Sir" - a real person! So do your research! Find out THE NAME of the person you are writing to. SPELL THEIR NAME correctly! FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT! Some people get annoyed if you spell their name incorrectly. Others see this as an indicator of just how committed and dedicated you are - or are not. So, write to a person - not a company or department. His way your information is more likely to get seen.
A simple cover letter might read like this:
Dear Mr Fresco,
My name is Fred Bloggs, and I'm new to the Bristol area. I've relocated here from London, where I studied Drama at The Central School for Speech and Drama, and appeared for three years as Buster the Poodle on the daytime CITV children's show, "Kick The Dog."
I'd enjoy meeting with you for an interview or audition, at your convenience.
Please find enclosed my CV and photograph. There are plenty more photographs on my website at www.fredbloggs.whatever if you would like to see more of me dressed up as a dog - which, if you are anything like my parents (who seem to love laughing at me) you will love!
I also have a showreel available on DVD, featuring examples of my TV work to date. If you would be interested in viewing it, I would be happy to drop it by your office.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours sincerely,
Fred Bloggs
P.S. Please find my contact details (postal address, phone numbers and e-mail address) on my enclosed CV.
You'll want to personalize the letter in whatever way you can, because agents and casting people get so many submissions from actors, and you want yours to stand out. But keep your tone professional (check your grammar and spelling!) and clear (i.e. don't get too weird). If you can be funny, so much the better as most people enjoy a little humor. You'll probably refine the letter over time, as you grow and gain experience. Don't be afraid to experiment, to change it until you feel you've got a great letter.
Now that you've got a letter ready to use, who do you send it to? If you're in one of the larger cities, check industry newspapers and magazines and their websites (see our LINKS page for examples, such as BROADCAST and THE STAGE).
If you're in a smaller city, look in the phone book under "Theatrical Agents", and check the local paper's arts listings for auditions, and register with relevant websites.
Keep track of the people you've sent photographs and letters to, and follow up with a flyer for the next show you're in, inviting them to come (offer them complimentary tickets to the show). Once you've made a start on your "mailing list," send flyers and photo postcards to those same people every time you're in a good play, TV show or film. Persistence is all-important: you need to keep your name and face in front of the people who matter, because they'll eventually begin to recognize you, and one day they might give you a call to come in and audition for a great role.
Compiled by Adam Fresco (2006)
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