As a general rule - your resume is meant to sell you as an entity that would benefit a specific organization. So,
NEVER PUT ANYTHING ON YOUR RESUME THAT WILL NO HELP YOU!! (did I make that
clear enough...?) The industry has come to a
point that if a
theatre HR person cannot see what he wants from 15 seconds of looking at a resume you get round filed - period. Obviously you are selling YOU so make that your biggest focus on the
page. There are also some other really small things that have become standards but are unspoken:
Every entry you put on your resume needs to have
1) Show Title,
2) Your
Role/responsibility, and
3) Where the production took place (I have to agree that if your show did not actually get produced you do NOT put it on a resume, even if you got paid for it...)
I tell my students that they need to clump your experience to make it look like you have as much as you can. One or two entries is not enough for a whole section of its own. Special skills are all well and good, but do not overload on them. At this
point in time you cannot graduate from college without knowing how to use a computer for basic functions, so stating that you know how to wordprocess and
powerpoint is a
mute point. I will say it again - ONLY PUT THINGS ON YOUR RESUME THAT WILL HELP YOU! Employers know when you are trying to pad your resume - they really do.
The last thing I would say is chose a font - ONE FONT - preferably a sans serriff font, and stick to it. I HATE getting resumes that are trying to stand out or look pretty and they end up just hurting my eyes. I know it is a lot to take in and get right the first time you try to get a job, but it really is the only way that
theatre folk can get to know you from the very first time that they even see just a piece of paper with you on it.
Good Luck!