SPECIAL SKILLS
I am 16 and am seriously considering becoming an actress. I've looked at some samples resumes on the internet but have a question. What kind of things count as special skills? I'd to develop some useful ones but am not sure what I should do.
Suzie
Hi Suzie, thanks for checking out my acting tips. You ask a great question. I've never heard of anyone pro-actively aquiring special skills for their resume, but more power to you. People usually brain storm all the things they can do that might be useful to a film or theatre role.
On resumes I come across I see a lot of people listing accents they can do, languages they speak, sports they play, physical abilities such as gymnastics, acrobatics, stage combat or juggling, and also practical things like: (in New York) valid driver's license, valid passport, or any kind of certification or licensing that might come in handy on a film shoot or stage show.
I've heard mixed things from casting directors about the special skills section. Some say they don't put too much thought into it, but I've been called in to auditions for items placed on my special skills section. Accents are big, if you're actively trying to aquire special skills most US actors should be able to do a British accent and most UK actors should be able to do a US accent. Also any kind of physical ability can be listed as special skill, from motorcycle riding to bdoing backflips to being able to whistle the Star Spangled Banner. It might sound silly but a casting director might be on the lookout for actors in your age range who can do all three of things just mentioned.
In terms of developing a strategy to aquire the perfect special skills the only thing I can think of is to do three things: keep researching resumes on the internet to see what people list, watch theatre, film, television, and commericals and take note on the special skills you see the actors possesing, and look at audition notices and breakdowns to see what specials skills casting directors are looking for. Casting directors often list the special skills of roles they are seeking in the breakdown of the roles. Some places to check out online audition notices are Backstage.com and ActorsAccess.com
The general rule for special skills is that they should only cover two lines on your resume, also the last item should be something wacky (and truthful) that gets the reader's attention, i.e. "mother of twelve."
And lastly, never lie in your special skills. You'll eventually be called to perform one of your special skills in an audition. If you list "backflips" and they ask you to do a back flip, everyone will be embarassed.
So in conclusion, to answer your question what counts as a special skill, anything that you can do that you think might be needed in any aspect of performing a role. So pretty much everything counts as a special skill. And if you look at enough resumes you'll see people put down everything to fill out those two lines.
Thanks again for your question and good luck!
Hi Suzie, thanks for checking out my acting tips. You ask a great question. I've never heard of anyone pro-actively aquiring special skills for their resume, but more power to you. People usually brain storm all the things they can do that might be useful to a film or theatre role.
On resumes I come across I see a lot of people listing accents they can do, languages they speak, sports they play, physical abilities such as gymnastics, acrobatics, stage combat or juggling, and also practical things like: (in New York) valid driver's license, valid passport, or any kind of certification or licensing that might come in handy on a film shoot or stage show.
I've heard mixed things from casting directors about the special skills section. Some say they don't put too much thought into it, but I've been called in to auditions for items placed on my special skills section. Accents are big, if you're actively trying to aquire special skills most US actors should be able to do a British accent and most UK actors should be able to do a US accent. Also any kind of physical ability can be listed as special skill, from motorcycle riding to bdoing backflips to being able to whistle the Star Spangled Banner. It might sound silly but a casting director might be on the lookout for actors in your age range who can do all three of things just mentioned.
In terms of developing a strategy to aquire the perfect special skills the only thing I can think of is to do three things: keep researching resumes on the internet to see what people list, watch theatre, film, television, and commericals and take note on the special skills you see the actors possesing, and look at audition notices and breakdowns to see what specials skills casting directors are looking for. Casting directors often list the special skills of roles they are seeking in the breakdown of the roles. Some places to check out online audition notices are Backstage.com and ActorsAccess.com
The general rule for special skills is that they should only cover two lines on your resume, also the last item should be something wacky (and truthful) that gets the reader's attention, i.e. "mother of twelve."
And lastly, never lie in your special skills. You'll eventually be called to perform one of your special skills in an audition. If you list "backflips" and they ask you to do a back flip, everyone will be embarassed.
So in conclusion, to answer your question what counts as a special skill, anything that you can do that you think might be needed in any aspect of performing a role. So pretty much everything counts as a special skill. And if you look at enough resumes you'll see people put down everything to fill out those two lines.
Thanks again for your question and good luck!
