<p>NotMama:</p>
<p>I don't understand. Using an inkjet printer on the back is just as easy, and I think easier, to make changes to a growing resume as stapling a separate piece of paper. Presumably, both are being kept on a computer somewhere.</p>
<p>soozie:</p>
<p>When I state that stapling a resume to the back of a photo would be very quaint where I live (and note the "where I live"), I was simply making a statement of fact. I think I've mentioned (and I don't know if it was this thread or not) that I sit in on a lot of auditions with a good friend of mine who's a director, and we get those kinds of resumes, but usually not from anyone who's very experienced. Around here, it's just a fact that those kinds of resumes seem quaint.</p>
<p>All kinds of things change in this business, obviously. I no longer do VO demos, for instance, and hand them out on any kind of medium. My demos are all on file on a website and anyone can listen. Almost all my VO auditions are now over the Internet instead of in person, reading specific copy posted there. Like many other VO people, I now do VO work around the country remotely. And, yes, it would seem a bit antediluvian to go back to the old days of having an agent send out tapes (later CDs) and then going to an audition to read copy.</p>
<p>Tarhunt, </p>
<p>I completely understand your points in post #82 because much earlier in the thread I mentioned that it may be different in different markets and also in different branches of the industry. Many folks here are going into musical theater more than film or voice overs or straight theater. As well, many are talking of college auditions and also of professional auditions for musical theater that take place in New York City. Thus, it is not surprising to me that you are sharing some experiences that differ in terms of the type of work you do and where you do it. It is interesting reading of your experiences and the process. I don't think I have read a single person putting down the printing on the back or whatever else you mentioned that you do or prefer or observe. I think others, myself included, mentioned what we have observed and/or prefer in either different regions/levels, and/or for musical theater purposes mostly. I think we all benefit here by sharing these experiences, while at the same time, not putting down the ideas or preferences of others, even if they differ.</p>
<p>soozie:</p>
<p>In looking back over the thread, I think that I did get a bit testy with you because I perceived that you were saying I didn't have a theater background and didn't do theater work. To a theater person, this can be a bit akin to saying, "Oh, you only do that work that doesn't require high levels of acting skills." That set my teeth on edge, I admit. That's why I gave a brief background on my theater experience.</p>
<p>I recognize that, to a non-theater person, the names of the LORTs I gave you might not be familiar, nor might the A and B+ designations, but I think Kat can vouch for the fact that working in those theaters, let alone playing significant roles in them, is not the easiest thing in the world to achieve. </p>
<p>So, I inferred from what you were writing that you thought I was just an on-camera actor, which is a bit like telling an opera singer that she's just a torch song belter. It can be read as an attack.</p>
<p>Tarhunt, I am clearly befuddled by your post #84. I never presumed that you don't have a theater background or do theater work. To the contrary, I have read your posts on CC for a long time and know you have a background in acting and I believe you teach at a university (though I am not sure if you teach theater). I know that you continue to work in acting, including theater. I know you have experience with film and voiceovers. I can assure you I was never remotely questioning your LEVEL of acting skills. I was commenting that many here are discussing MUSICAL THEATER which, correct me if I am in error, is not your MAIN area of acting work. And I was also saying that many here are discussing either college BFA auditions OR professional musical theater auditions in New York. I believe you may be from the western half of the country, is that right? And so I was never dismissing your procedures, nor your experience whatsover. I was sharing what I know and observe and then reading what you know, do, and observe and seeing where there were some differences. I didn't think one way or the other was RIGHT. To the contrary, I believed that both ways are acceptable and used in various types of acting work or markets. I initially got the impression that you were saying staples were a bad idea. I didn't read others saying that your way was wrong. I thought and assumed that we were each sharing our experiences. You also seemed to be putting down the reprinting process that I shared that we used as well. I started to wonder if using Reproductions, which is widely known in the theater industry in NYC, or if stapling the resume, which my own kid does and is what I have observed, was wrong, based on reading your posts considering you are a professional actor. </p>
<p>I never said or thought what you were doing was wrong or certainly not less experienced. I am not an actor. YOU are. I shared our own experiences and those which I have observed in musical theater, colleges, and in New York. I even said I learned something new from you about putting a resume through a printer at home. </p>
<p>I also get uncomfortable reading put downs of a college faculty member here and classifying her ideas as "absurd" or "ridiculous" and welcome all experiences, yours too. You also made an assumption that she said printing on the back was "wrong" when she never said that or meant it. </p>
<p>Now you are also assuming I haven't heard of these LORT theaters and to the contrary, I have indeed heard of them. I don't need anyone to vouch for your experience as I was NEVER questioning it in the first place. In fact, I KNEW you were an Equity actor. I didn't NEED to question your experience. I simply observed that the process you have used or see in your work and where you live may differ than in the East or in Musical Theater and so I was offering another way and got the feeling that you said the way we do things is antiquated and I wasn't sure and started to wonder after that. I never said anything negative about your way and in fact, think both ways are acceptable practices. </p>
<p>I also would never use "ONLY" in reference to an on camera actor. Why would I think that? Theater acting isn't BETTER than on camera acting! They are just different! </p>
<p>So, you are making assumptions about what I was thinking when none of those assumptions are truly the case. I apologize if I was misunderstood in some fashion based on what you are now posting that is making me wonder how you got that impression from me but thanks for sharing and I hope I have clarified what I really did mean in my posts. Thank you.</p>
<p>The changes in business and more frequent electronic submissions were the reason I asked my original question about paper size yesterday. In just a few short years color photos have become the norm for head shots (although OF COURSE black & white are still perfectly acceptable), so I wonder if the norm for the size might change as well. If a casting director asks for (and receives) resumes and head shots electronically, it stands to reason that they might have a need to print them. Standard printer paper is 8 1/2 x 11. Traditional PHOTO paper is 8x10 (that's why head shots have always been 8 x10) 8 1/2 x 11 is what everyone has in their home printers, office printers etc. (No one goes to Office Depot or Staples and buys anything but reams of 8 1/2 x 11 paper stock for their printers, do they?) Surely the casting director will quickly print out the file on the handy office printer and it will be on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Seems unlikely to me that they would then want to go to all the trouble to trim it to 8x10 size to "match" their other more traditional submissions.</p>
<p>I suppose my question SHOULD have been: in the digital age, is using traditional 8x10 photo size paper really that important anymore, when everyone has access to their own personal printers! I am hoping not, because that really might be kind of antiquated! LOL</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I am not intending to ruffle anyone's feathers here with my question. I am asking this question in earnest, to discern if/when the size of the resume/headshot will change, to reflect the massive changes in the (printing) industry which has traditionally produced these materials.</p>
<p>BTW, I know of no filing system, file folders, etc. in which an 8 1/2 x 11 print would stick out. 8 1/2 x 11 has been a standard business size forever :)</p>
<p>^^^ BIGisMama...LOL, I think we may start needing to put disclaimers on our posts! I can see what made you think to do that. </p>
<p>Hopefully, we get back to discussing resumes, etc.</p>
<p>Soozie, I know; it was starting to get downright scary on here :eek:</p>
<p>Kat, Tarhunt (and others with connections to the professional world); I'd love feedback, thoughts, on the question I posed. Thanks!</p>
<p>BIGIs - I think your original theory is correct - if an agent gets an electronic submission, I would be willing to bet if they print it out, it would be on 8 1/2 x 11, and I agree that I doubt if anyone in the office is going to trim it down to make it 8 x 10.</p>
<p>And Soozie - my point about kids "owning" their resume is not about the typing and the formatting - it's about the content. Labelling a role as (Lead) strikes me as a very parent-ish thing to put on a resume. From my perspective, that is a real turnoff to me, and others with whom I've cast. I want to use people who want to act, not who want to be stars. And, usually when I have seen things like that on the resume, it has been the parents doing it - makes me wonder if I'll hear the "woosh" of the blades overhead. :)</p>
<p>MusThCC....I'm also saying that the student is the one who decides the content, not a parent. I thought Alliesmom's question was a valid one. My D doesn't have (lead) next to any of the credits on her current resume, even though many of the credits are lead roles. But I can see Alliesmom's question and have wondered the same thing and I see that KatMT who not only teaches in a theater program, is an Equity actor and directs at a summer stock theater, mentioned that for an obscure or brand new show, that she suggests putting (lead) next to the role. </p>
<p>The idea of CREDITS is to show what you've done. There would be no way to ascertain that the actor had played the lead if just a name of a part is given in a brand new or obscure show. Having lead roles on a resume doesn't mean someone wants to be a "star". Lead roles on a resume speaks to your credits and experiential level. If someone has a background with many lead roles but one cannot determine that on the resume, the impression given in the credits will be different and the resume does serve a purpose in providing credits/background. I think someone who wants to make sure their resume represents their body of experience doesn't imply they wish to be a star. They wish the auditors to have their background which is the reason there IS a resume in the first place and not just an audition. If the roles are hard to discern, it doesn't truly show their experience as well. </p>
<p>I'm not saying to put (lead) next to an obscure show or role in it, but that Alliesmom's question is food for thought as to how the actor can depict their experience and be clear and make sure it represents their credits and background which is the point behind the resume. I don't have an answer for it but was interested in what KatMT had to say or what others would suggest, if anything. For instance, why does one put down a well known director on their credits? It shows a certain level or experience. Why even list one's role and not just list the shows? The roles show a certain type or level of experiential background. However, if the person reading it has no idea what that show is or how signficant the part was, it is not that useful of informaiton. For example, one of my clients was sharing her theater resume with me and I suggested she order the credits from the most significant on down and we talked about eliminating some and she asked me which to eliminate. Well, there were some plays and parts I had never heard of and had no clue the significance of what she had done in them. On other resumes, with more familiar shows, I can get a better idea.</p>
<p>I suppose one way to show it is if the part is a lead and quite significant, it will be higher up on the list of credits even though nobody has a clue the show or the part but can infer it must be big if it is above credits that are also leads. Just guessing. I don't think any of that has to do with wanting to be a "star." If you want to act, you need a resume. The resume needs to show what you have done. If the auditors can't tell what those experiences are, it just is less helpful. I don't see Alliesmom's question as being just relevant to a parent asking about her kid's resume but ANY resume and I would expect a student to have asked a similar question about how to show the roles when nobody has heard of the play or the part. Perhaps do nothing. But it is a good question. If the significance of the parts do not matter at all, one could just list which productions they had been in and never list ANY roles. But they DO list roles, for a reason. And that reason is not due to having an objective of being a "star," but rather to show their experiential background and credits, about which the auditors want to know.</p>
<p>BIGIsmama -- based on my experience... if you are printing out the resume and photo I would suggest sticking to the 8X10... I think if you are doing an electronic submission it would not be important since most paper comes in 8 1/2 X 11.... sometimes your material will be printed out on an electronic submissions... sometimes the submission will probably be looked at on-line.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>BIGismama -- it isn't that the 8-1/2 x 11 would protrude from the file folder -- but it WOULD stick out in a pile of 8 x 10s, which is still the standard size for headshots.</p>
<p>Thanks for your answers & insight. Very helpful!</p>