I realized recently that there are a lot of life-saving things I use for my acting career that some of my acting buddies aren’t even aware of. They’re missing out! I’m going to share that list with you today, because all of these things have helped me immensely in my career.
These are all the sites I go to for everything I need when it comes to acting: advertising (if not the simplest version), reels, headshots, getting auditions, and research. These sites make all of the upkeep on these categories manageable. Don’t miss out!
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1.) ActorsAccess.com – Getting Auditions
If you’ve read my article on beating Actors Access’ algorithm, you know how much I love ActorsAccess.com. It’s how you get auditions! It’s user-friendly, professional, and effective. I recommend it to anyone and everyone who wants to be an actor.
2.) PrintHeadshots.com – Headshots
Edit: PrintHeadshots.com has gone virtual since the publication of this article and no longer sell physically printed headshots; instead, they can format your headshots for $10 and send you a downloadable version that you can then have printed via any printing service.
PrintHeadshots.com is a website I’ve been using for years and years and years. If you want professional-looking headshots that fit the industry standard, print them with PrintHeadshots.com! You send them your photo and name (and while you’re at it, say Jessica Bell sent you!) and they format them for you, print them, and ship them to your door (usually faster than the amount of time they say it’ll take). Then you staple your resume to the back, and POW! Professional headshot/resumes.
They look nice, right? It’s really worth it. I know that nowadays TV and Film doesn’t use headshots as much, but theater definitely still does, and you have to make a good first impression. Your physical headshot and resume is usually the first thing they see of you at an in-room audition. Do it right!
3.) CastingAbout.com – Developing Connections with Casting Directors
CastingAbout.com is a website where you can see all the projects that are being cast right now and who’s casting them. They’ll tell you the office addresses of these casting directors, what their projects are about, and what they’ve cast in the past. It’s what you use to know who to send your postcards to, and what to write on them. Use whatever they’re casting as inspiration for your short, to-the-point note.
4.) Vistaprint.com – Advertising
Vistaprint.com is what I use to make my postcards. I order postcards and get them shipped, use CastingAbout.com to find casting directors, and send them out with individual messages on each one, preferably every week! It gets your name and face out there, and then when casting directors see your submission (using Actors Access) they think, “Oh, I recognize that face!” and choose to let you in the room. BAM!
Your postcards should, I’ve been told, include your headshot. I format my postcards to look like mini headshots with my representation on them! Since it costs more money to get something printed on the back, I just put everything on the front. Here are my examples:
Pretty nifty, huh? It’s easier than you think to advertise yourself professionally.
There is the option of having the backs printed on and the postcards sent from Vistaprint, but that does cost extra. I get the plain ones and mail them to casting directors myself, but if you’ve got more funds than you do time, I can see how wonderful this option would be. As soon as I get a thick-paying job, you know what I’m doing!
4.5.) Canva.com – More Postcards
Edit: This section was added post-publication because Canva is currently what I use for postcards, business cards, stickers, etc., in the current year of 2022.
Canva is this awesome digital art/design service that makes beautiful, really easy to design work and then can have it printed and shipped right to your door. I use it for all of my postcards and business cards, not to mention for online pictures on my professional acting website and this blog. For example, here are my current business cards, made on Canva:
And my latest postcards, also made on Canva:
5.) Adobe Premiere Pro – Reels
If you didn’t get to read it, I wrote a whole article on how to make your very own reel here. I know it’s more of a program than a website, but making my own videos with Adobe opened up my field of vision when it comes to how much power we really have over our careers. If we don’t have enough material for our reels, let’s make some videos, edit them with Adobe, and get ourselves out there! It makes parts of your career accessible when they previously felt daunting and impossible. I highly recommend getting Adobe Premiere Pro.
6.) Adobe Photoshop – Headshots
Another Adobe masterpiece, bu this one isn’t for everyone. Depending on how much editing you want done on your headshots, this could possibly be a little difficult. But for me, I like a more natural headshot that looks like what I look like when I walk in the room or send in a selftape. Therefore, instead of paying the photographer upwards of $10/photo to edit the 10 photos I want from our photoshoot, I do it myself and save the money. Erasing some zits really isn’t that hard once you’ve watched some tutorials. Below are some photos that I’ve edited some zits off of:
7.) BroadwayHD.com – Research for Theater
I stumbled upon BroadwayHD.com the other day, and I felt like I hit the jackpot. It’s a streaming service for theater and musicals! Theater is expensive. For less than the cost of one Broadway show ticket, you gain access to over 200 plays and musicals with amazing acting, singing, and dancing. You basically just got 200 tickets for less than the price of one. Consider me amazed!
8.) Netflix – Research for TV and Film
This one is pretty obvious and most people at this point in time have Netflix. It’s a wonderful tool for actors and actresses! Knowing your movies is beneficial to our jobs, so the practically limitless selection that Netflix has is a godsend.
How great was that?
They’re gems, every one of them. Use them! Get work! Rejoice! If you need me, I’ll be watching Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma! Have a wonderful rest of your week!
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