Juilliard Advice

Last night I was invited by my boss to attend her lecture at Julliard for 4th year drama students. First off, let me say it was a dream come true to sit with such an amazing group of students. Secondly, of course I cannot regurgitate a three-hour lecture but I thought I would share some of the key points. This was a lecture for actors so all the advice is aimed towards you.

• Resumes:
• Put your name is ALL CAPS
• Make sure it is extremely clean (organized columns) and in a font that is big enough to read comfortably
• 1 page maximum (no exceptions!) - it should fit neatly on the back of your headshot
• Capitalize the names of the plays
• The casting director does not know that the resume is in chronological order, therefore, it does not matter. Put you best roles first. Most often casting directors only read the first few roles.
• Split you resume into sections (ie: Theatre, Film, Television, Training, Special Skills)
• Do not need to include you height and weight unless it is extreme (anything above 6'2")
• Special skills: instruments, fluent languages, and anything else that you are exceptional at.  If you have played basketball a few times, don't put that on there. If you were semi-pro basketball player, put it on! (of course, only put down skills that you can currently do - so if you are 70, the basketball thing won't help your chances)
• If you can do something totally awesome (like balance a chair on your chin) PUT IT ON YOUR RESUME! Special skills is the conversation ice breaker and essential for getting to know you. 
• Headshots
• Color vs B/W: Honestly it makes no difference. The only exception is if you have really crazy awesome eye color or flaming red hair. Don't EVER try to hide anything interesting!
• Put your name on you headshot (on the bottom or actually in the picture doesn't matter) this constantly re-enforces the relationship between who you are and what you look like
• Little black borders are classy 
• The question my boss asks herself when she looks at a headshot is "would I want to sit next to this person at dinner?" Which means you want to come off as fun, intelligent, and good looking. The perfect date. This doesn't mean you have to smile, just make sure you look really interesting in a positive way (not a scary way)
• READ PLAYS
• See as much theater/film as you can!
• Start a play-reading group
• Like a book club, meet once a month to discuss a play that you all have read. Or act out your favorite scenes.  This is a chance to get a workout with your friends and by the end of the year you will have 12 new plays under your belt.  Knowledge of material is power for an anyone in the industry, especially actors. 
• Volunteer as a Reader
• If you have any personal connection with a casting director, volunteer to be a reader for auditions. (A reader is the person who sits in auditions and reads the other lines for the auditioning actor) This is a great, free workout as well as an educational bombshell. Getting comfortable in an audition setting as well as watching other actors work is invaluable for your career. 

Hope this has been helpful!