“All the world’s a stage”, but if you’re set on a career in theater you know exactly which one you want to end up on. Let us help you get in front of (or behind) the bright lights with our expert resume writing advice for careers in the performing arts.
Theater Resume Example MSWord®
Download our free Theater Resume template in Word and save your creative energies for the stage!
“We must all do theater, to find out who we are, and to discover who we could become” – Augusto Boal
The theater is a place of art that has been around for centuries, and it’s where people would go to see a satirical or tragic imitation of life.
However, the stage would be nothing without the people that are behind the action that is theater.
Performers, directors, technicians, costume designers, and make-up artists are just a few of the job positions there.
Building a career in theater is rather demanding. It takes years of hard work and dedication to get the deserved place.
So how does one present themselves as a suitable candidate?
You may not be familiar with how to write a resume that gets you your desired theater job—but we are here to assist you.
Let us guide you through the process of putting together the best theater resume that will land your dream job.
The theater world is a highly competitive place, so the list of must-have skills that need to be included and demonstrated in your resume is long.
Do you have no idea how to make a resume for theater jobs?
Take a look below at our eye-catching theater resume sample to get you started in the right direction. You then might want to see if you can find a resume template that suits your character for building your own.
Resume Example Copy to clipboard[ CA 90012 | 123-987-6540 | amandahill@randomemail.com]
Summary
A passionate, motivated, and talented theater professional with solid and extensive formal training. Committed to a strong work ethic and achieving the highest performance standards. Background in Meisner Acting Technique, method, and classic acting.
Experience
Film
New media
Theater
Training
MFA, Acting
Bachelor of Fine Arts
NYU Steinhardt, New York
2015
Skills
Languages
When writing a resume for a job you are interested in, it helps to create catchy content that will keep the attention of the person reading the resume, and do some serious self-marketing.
Which resume format you choose will largely depend on the role and your work experience. Try to paint the best picture of yourself, so always use the right format to show professionalism.
We recommend you choose from the 3 basic resume formats that are generally accepted by most employers:
We recommend using the reverse chronological format for your theater work resume as it is the one which most recruiters are familiar with.
Be careful with the length of your resume, since a long document might not be fully read, or it might simply end up in the trash. Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager or director. Would you prefer to read resumes the length of a script, or ones that are short and precise?
Remember to express yourself in your theater resume just like you would on stage! Don’t hold back in your summary or objective—stay true to who you are and highlight your strengths!
Writing a resume is never easy, especially if you are in the entertainment business.
However, if you understand what is being asked of you, then you’ll have your theater resume ready in no time.
The most demanding part might well be the resume objective or summary.
A resume objective is mostly used for a beginner theater resume. If you are just entering the entertainment world and are sending out your first resume for a theater audition, the smartest way to go is to use a resume objective to present yourself. Let the hiring manager know your goals and aspirations, as well as the skills you possess.
If you are more experienced and preparing a movie theater manager resume, for example, writing a resume summary will be the better option. You should use the resume summary to captivate the recruiter by highlighting your skills, relevant achievements, major roles, and large theaters you have worked with.
Regardless of which one you use, both have to be precise, and short and reflect on your professional and personal achievements. Just 3 or 4 sentences are enough to paint the best picture of yourself.
Consider the below theater worker’s resume summary as an excellent example you can follow:
A passionate, motivated, and talented theater professional with solid and extensive formal training. Committed to a strong work ethic and achieving the highest performance standards. Background in Meisner Acting Technique, method, and classic acting.
Here is where you can very quickly demonstrate you have the knowledge and work experience necessary for the role you are applying for in theater. However, remember that having experience doesn’t mean you have to overburden the resume with information.
Make a mind map of your experience and compare it to the job description. Look out for keywords in the job offer and try to use them in your work experience bullet points to show that you have what it takes for that specific task.
Ask yourself where your hard and soft skills lie and weave these through your work experience job descriptions.
Categorize your experience based on whether you are an actor, producer, director, or have worked in the background as a technician or make-up artist.
Whatever the case may be, select the relevant information from your experience you think is essential for the recruiter to know.
If you have experience in acting, then this is how you should present your experience section:
Film
The Reason, principal, Catfish Productions (dir. Matt Roberts)
Theater
Tales of India, Parvati, Hero Theater
Television
Grey’s Anatomy, Guest Star, ABC (dir. Shawn Smith)
This section also includes the most impressive credits, without the need to stress the dates.
For the film and television category, you need to list the following information in columns:
Depending on the position you are applying for, list the experience from the most applicable category first. No need to stress about dates, simply list your credits from the most recent to the oldest acting credits.
For the theater category, you need to list the following information in columns:
Theater
Theater professionals may not be required to possess a formal education or degree, but having one is a bonus. Having trained in a specific area may help you stand out among the other candidates.
Add any related workshops, conferences and seminars, studio classes, private coaching you may have attended, or extracurricular activities related to the job role can be added too.
Try to match the job requirements as closely as possible.
For the education section, you can use the following format to present it:
MFA, Acting
University of Utah
Sep 2015 – Mar 2017
Bachelor of Arts in Theater Studies
NYU Steinhardt, New York
Mar 2011 – May 2015
Voice, John Patrick Instruction
Nov 2012 – Jun 2013
The entertainment business requires knowledge and expertise in many fields. Below are some examples of skills for a theater resume to give you ideas of your own.
