Having a professional headshot should be one of the first things on your to do list as you start presenting yourself as a professional actor in Madison, Wisconsin. This also includes having a polished resume on hand too. It may seem harsh but it doesn’t matter how talented you are, without headshots it makes it much harder for directors and casting directors to notice you for any upcoming parts in any production.
They show casting directors what you look like so they can decide whether to bring you (or someone else) in for the audition. Fair or unfair, most actors get hired not just for their acting ability, but because of what they look like. If a production needs an Asian person, they will never consider you if you are white, this is probably the only industry where they can legitimately discriminate against people based on what they look like without getting into trouble.
Production companies in Madison, Wisconsin hire casting directors with the goal that the casting director will be able to find the right actor for the parts that they are currently casting for. This can involve having them sift through thousands of headshots per day until they find the actors or actor that will be the best fit for the parts that they are casting for and then the casting director will then bring them in to audition to see if that person will be the right fit for sure and if they fit the vision that the director has in mind for that character. Which is why it is important that you learn how to make a great impression everytime you walk into the audition room and this may even open you up for other parts too.
Casting directors have learned how to look at an actor's headshot and get a sense of how experienced that person is and whether they seem the type to take their acting seriously, while being professional. They can also figure out if you can act, yes seriously they can get a sense of this by just noting your expression. They can see if you are well trained or not, while also knowing your brand and what type you fit into. In order to get yourself booked in Madison, Wisconsin you will need a great headshot, footage showing your acting ability (demo reel) and a resume with your training and or credits. Without those three basic marketing materials, it is almost impossible to get booked, even for non-speaking background roles in Madison, Wisconsin.
So the question now is what should an actor's headshot look like in Madison, Wisconsin? To put it simply, an actor’s headshot needs to show you clearly, have a good expression and look like you spent some money on it. Low budget, unprofessional headshots tend to perform poorly because casting directors (who look at thousands of these a day) can tell right away if you spent money on it and shot it with a dedicated headshot photographer. Their thinking goes, “If an actor has a low-budget headshot (one that doesn’t look expensive”, they probably won't take their career seriously and won’t be worth bringing in.”
Headshots should be stapled to the back of your acting resume in Madison, Wisconsin. Resumes should be cut down to size or printed on matching 8 x 10 inch paper. You should staple your headshot to your resume on all four corners, with the staples positioned a quarter of an inch away from the photo’s edges. Staple them together with the headshot facing up, so that the staple’s pincers are visible only on the resume side.
Alternatively, you can opt to have your resume printed directly on the back of your headshot. Some casting directors discourage this, however, as they prefer to separate your headshot and resume for filing. Printing your acting resume directly on the back of your headshot can also make it more complicated to update your resume. It is important to keep your resume up to date in Madison, Wisconsin. Having an up to date resume can ensure that you are noticed and will get more auditions in Madison, Wisconsin because casting directors will be able to clearly understand what experience you already have and the skills that you have as well without having to ask too many questions before setting up the audition.
