A theatre resume follows a unique format that differs significantly from a standard professional resume. It fits on a single page, uses a column layout for credits, and for performers, gets printed at 8×10 inches to attach directly to the back of a headshot. Whether you’re an actor, stage manager, or designer, the structure prioritizes your credits, training, and relevant skills over traditional work history.
Start With Your Header
Your name goes at the top in a larger font, centered or left-aligned. Below it, include your phone number, email address, and optionally a link to your website or portfolio. If you have union affiliation (Actors’ Equity, SAG-AFTRA), list it here. Performers should also include representation information if they have an agent or manager.
Actors add one more element to the header that no other type of resume includes: physical stats. List your height, weight, hair color, and eye color. Singers should specify their vocal range with actual notes (for example, “Soprano: C4 to C6”). If you’re not a trained singer, a general term like “alto” or “baritone” works. Some actors also include clothing sizes, though this is optional.
How to List Performance Credits
Your credits section is the core of a theatre resume, and it uses a three-column format that casting directors expect to see at a glance. Each line contains the show title, your role, and the theatre or production company. Some actors add a fourth column for the director’s name. Organize credits into categories that reflect the level of work: professional experience at the top, followed by educational or community productions. Within each category, lead with your strongest and most recent work rather than listing strictly by date.
Be honest about the context of each credit. Don’t disguise a college production as something it wasn’t. Listing “University Theatre” or “Department of Theatre” as the producing organization is perfectly appropriate, and casting directors respect transparency. If you have limited credits, that’s fine. A short, honest list reads better than one padded with vague or misleading entries.
Formatting a Technical Theatre Resume
If you work backstage as a stage manager, designer, or technician, your resume follows a slightly different structure. Use standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper with black ink on white stock. Credits still go in columns, but the headers shift: Position, Show, Theatre/Company, and Supervisor/Contact. That last column matters because hiring managers in technical theatre often want to verify your work with someone who oversaw it directly.
Break your credits into categories that highlight your specialty. If you’re a scenic designer, lead with a section titled “Scenic Design” or “Academic Scenic Design” for school-level work. Follow it with a section for other theatre experience outside your primary focus. This structure lets a potential employer quickly see both your depth in one area and your breadth across production work.
Arrange the resume so the positions most relevant to the job you’re applying for appear first. If you’re applying for a lighting design assistantship, your lighting credits should come before your run crew experience. You don’t need to include dates for each show, though listing them is common for professional credits.
Education and Training
List your degree program, institution, and expected or actual graduation date. Include relevant minors, certificates, or concentrations. For performers, this section also covers private coaching and workshops. List the names of notable teachers or mentors in full, as industry professionals often recognize these names and it signals the caliber of your training. A line might read: “Scene Study with [Teacher Name], Voice with [Teacher Name].”
Designers and production professionals should include any relevant certifications, conferences attended, or specialized training programs. If you completed an internship at a regional theatre or summer program, this is a strong addition.
Skills That Actually Matter
The skills section on a theatre resume needs to be specific and useful. For performers, list concrete abilities that could affect casting: dialects you can perform convincingly, musical instruments you play, dance styles you’re trained in, combat or stage fighting certifications, and any athletic skills like tumbling or swimming. Vague entries like “good with accents” don’t help. “Standard British RP, General Southern, New York” tells a casting director exactly what you can deliver.
For technical professionals, focus on software proficiencies and hands-on skills. CAD programs, lighting consoles, sound boards, sewing and draping techniques, welding certifications, or rigging experience all belong here. A link to an online portfolio is valuable for designers, and you can place it in either the header or the skills section.
Paper Size and Headshot Attachment
This is where theatre resumes diverge most from anything else in the professional world. Performers print their resume at 8×10 inches to match the standard headshot size. Since normal paper is 8.5 x 11, you have two options: set your document size to 8×10 before printing, or print on standard paper and trim it down. Either way, the resume gets stapled to the back of your headshot at all four corners, with staples positioned about a quarter inch from the edges. The headshot faces up so the staple pinchers show on the resume side.
Never use paper clips. Don’t assume a casting director will have a stapler at the audition. Bring your headshot and resume already attached. If you print on separate paper and staple, write your name and contact number on the back of the photo itself, in case the pages separate.
Use plain white, light cream, or pale gray paper. Stick with a clean, legible font like Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, or Gill Sans, and don’t go smaller than 11-point type. Save digital versions as PDFs to preserve your formatting when submitting electronically.
Keep It to One Page
A theatre resume is always one page, regardless of how many credits you have. If you’re early in your career, the page won’t be full, and that’s expected. If you have years of experience, you’ll need to edit ruthlessly. Cut older or less impressive credits to make room for stronger, more recent work. The goal is a curated snapshot, not a comprehensive archive.
Avoid abbreviations unless they’re universally understood in the industry. Spell out theatre company names fully so there’s no ambiguity. Use consistent formatting throughout: if you bold show titles in one section, bold them in every section. Small inconsistencies signal carelessness in a field where attention to detail is part of the job.