How to write an acting resume with no experience
By MTResume. Last reviewed .
Start with what is true: classes, school and community shows (ensemble counts), choir, camps, and skills you can actually do. A director casting young performers expects a short resume, and a short honest one reads better than a long padded one. Never invent a credit.
Here is a complete first resume for a fictional middle school student auditioning for a community production.
Theo Wrenfield
Contact: Dana Wrenfield · dana.wrenfield@example.com · 518-555-0174
Height 5'6" · Red Hair · Green Eyes · Baritone
Stage
Training
Linden Hollow Middle School
Chorus: J. Moreau (2 years) Drama Club: S. Castile
Brookmere Parks and Recreation
Intro to Acting (8-week class): P. Whitlock
Academics & Community
Morning announcements reader, Linden Hollow Middle School
Special Skills
Juggling (three balls), Soccer, Spanish (beginner), Reads music
What counts when you are just starting
- Any show you were in. School plays and musicals, community theater, camp productions. Ensemble is a role; write it as one: “Ensemble (Munchkin)”.
- Performances that are not plays. A choir solo, a concert, a showcase. Theo lists a holiday concert solo under Stage with the chorus as the company.
- Training. Chorus, drama club, a parks and recreation acting class, private voice or dance lessons, with the teacher’s name. For a beginner this is often the strongest part of the page.
- Skills you can show on the spot. Juggling three balls, a sport you play, a language you are learning (say “beginner”), reading music.
- School and community. Reading the morning announcements, speech team, a talent show. MTResume has an optional Academics and Community section for these.
What to leave off
- Anything you did not do. “Bear in mind that directors understand that young actors can’t have accumulated a vast amount of experience, so you really don’t need to embellish the facts,” as the Ohio Northern guidebook puts it.
- Skills added to fill space. If a director asks you to do it and you cannot, the page has hurt you.
- Your age, school grade or birth date. A performer lists the age range they play, if anything. Theo leaves it off; that is fine.
- Private details. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian’s email and phone go on the page, not yours, and never a home address.
- Filler. An objective statement, references, or computer skills do not belong on a theater resume.
Making a short page look finished
A short resume is fine; a messy one is not. Keep the standard order (name and contact, physical description, credits, training, skills), use the same three columns for every credit, and leave white space rather than stretching the text. Keep the type at its normal size rather than enlarging it to fill the page. When you gain new credits, replace the weakest ones.
Questions people ask
Is a resume with only school shows worth handing in?
Yes. It tells the director what you have done and how to reach you, which is its whole job.
Do I need a headshot too?
Some school and community auditions do not ask for one; the audition notice will say. If one is requested, a clear, recent photo of your face in good light matters more than an expensive session.
Can I make this for free?
Yes. MTResume lays out the page as you type, leaves empty sections off, and the 8x10 PDF of your resume is free. No account is needed to start; a free account keeps it across devices. See how to make an acting resume for the full walk-through.
Where this advice comes from
- Theatre Resume Guidebook, Ohio Northern University. Format, order of sections, the 10 point minimum, and its list of dos and don'ts, quoted above.