Back Stage 411 - Casting FAQ

Promote Your Multimedia Resume - Marketing Your Resume Link

After you've created one or multiple Multimedia Resumes on BackStage.com, the next step is to make sure that people see your resume.

First, make sure to choose the Public or Confidential option as the Exposure Level for at least one of your resumes. Public and Confidential resumes are showcased in the Back Stage Talent Database, allowing casting directors, agents, and other industry professionals to discover you whenever they're searching for talent.

The second step is to submit your Multimedia Resume to projects by clicking on the "Submit Online" link or "Apply" button anytime these options are available on a casting notice that you're interested in.

Finally, create a customized quick-link pointing to the shareable version of your resume(s), and then come up with a marketing strategy to get your link out to as many people as possible.

The following are resume-link marketing tips to help get you started:

Showcase Your Multimedia Resume with a Custom URL Quick-Link

Creating a customized quick-link for your BackStage.com Multimedia Resume is a great way to promote yourself. After creating a short, easy-to-remember link for your resume, you can add the link to your business cards, include the link in your email-signature, and link to your resume from other websites. For instance, you could post the link on your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, so your contacts will be able to easily view your resume, photos, and reels on Back Stage.

You can create a quick-link in a few simple steps: Just visit your "Manage My Resumes" page on BackStage.com; click on the "Promote My Resumes - Your Resume Page Link" option to find the link to the "shareable" versions of your resume; then paste the link(s) into the "URL to make tiny" field on a free link-shortening site like TinyURL.com; and choose the custom URL text you'd like to use in the link. Or you could even redirect your own website domain to point directly to your resumes on BackStage.com.

Examples: Actress Sri Gordon created this TinyURL link to showcase her full resume on BackStage.com: www.tinyurl.com/SriGordon. And I've used GoDaddy.com to redirect www.LukeCrowe.com to my profile on LinkedIn.com.

See below for detailed instructions:

How to Protect Your Privacy - Multimedia Resume Exposure Options

When you create a Multimedia Resume on BackStage.com, you're given three "exposure level" options that determine who can see your resume, what contact info is visible, and whether or not your resume will appear in the Back Stage Talent Database. Understanding these options can you help you protect your online privacy.

The following article will assist you with deciding which option is best for you, while also providing additional tips that will help keep you safe. 

How to Embed Audio & Video Players on Your Multimedia Resume

You can add audio and video files to your Multimedia Resumes on BackStage.com.

Adding media files to your resume is great way to show off your talent and attract the attention of casting directors. And unlike other casting websites that nickel-and-dime actors by charging for every media file, Back Stage subscribers can include multiple media items on their resumes for no extra cost and no hidden fees.

There are three methods available for including audio and video on your resume: You can upload, embed, or link to the files. We highly recommend our "Embedded Media" option, because embedding your audio and video items provides the nicest presentation and greatest level of control.

See below for details on all three options, plus instructions for using the "embed" options from YouTube,  Video, and MySpace to easily add your media from those sites onto your Back Stage Multimedia Resume:

Jumpstart Your Acting Career - Get the most out of BackStage.com

10 Tips to Help You Get the Most out of Back Stage

The following 10 tips will help you unlock the full potential of BackStage.com and jumpstart your career in the performing arts. Find out how to get your resume more exposure; how to search for casting notices faster; where to find contact info for casting directors, agents, and major feature films; how to find insights from entertainment-industry professionals; how to receive casting notices by email; how to create your own projects; how to avoid scams; and more!

One-Click Searches - Quickly Browse Through Casting Notices

In the entertainment industry, actors rely on Back Stage for real-time casting and audition information, acting advice, job listings, and entertainment-industry news. From production listings of Hollywood films to auditions for Broadway theatre productions, BackStage.com is an invaluable actors' resource.

The following single-click quick searches will help you find all of the latest casting opportunities available in your area.

Browse Casting Notices: Use the Browse Casting page on Casting.BackStage.com to quickly see how many projects are currently seeking talent. The Browse Casting page is organized into sub-sections listing casting and job notices by categories, states, companies, and more, providing a convenient overview of who's hiring and what gigs are currently available. 

Saved Casting Searches: Visit your Saved Searches page to create, update, and run your own customized searches using personalized search criteria.

Additional one-click quick-searches can be found below:

Scam Alert: Beware of Casting Scams!

The Back Stage Casting Department puts great effort into stopping scams from being published in Back Stage; blocking spammers, scammers, and other bad guys from using the BackStage.com Multimedia Resume Talent Database for illegitimate purposes; stopping acting scams and modeling scams; and removing scams from Back Stage whenever a casting notice turns out to be bogus.

However, sometimes con artists still slip through the cracks — so we depend on our readers to let us know if they run into a problem. If you report a scam, we'll quickly investigate and remove any fake casting notices and scammers.

Here are five casting scams and suspicious situations to watch out for:

Call Sheet FAQ and Abbreviations Guide

Call Sheet (formerly known as Ross Reports) is a digest-sized directory published six times a year.

Call Sheet contains details about hundreds of casting directors and talent agents in NY and CA (including contact info for their companies). And each issue also contains additional details, listings, and articles about other regional areas and aspects of the entertainment industry, including spotlights on films currently in preproduction; TV series casting; casting directors and agents in other states; directories of talent managers; opportunities for comedians;  nationwide directories of modeling agencies; and more. Visit Amazon.com to subscribe to the print edition.

Considered an invaluable resource for actors, models, and performers, Call Sheet is the most up-to-date and trustworthy entertainment-industry contact directory of its kind.

And with Call Sheet Online, you can search through an extensive database of casting directors and talent agencies to find contact info for CDs and agents across the U.S. To get started, visit BackStage.com/CallSheet. (If you have a BackStage.com subscription, then you get FULL ACCESS to Call Sheet Online for no extra charge!)

Call Sheet is also available as an iPhone app, called Call Sheet: Casting & Agency Contacts by Back Stage. The app is available in Apple's iTunes store and is compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The app includes contact details for casting directors, talent agents and agencies, talent managers, production companies, and acting schools. To learn more about the app, visit our Call Sheet iPhone App FAQ.

You can also purchase pre-formatted PDF Call Sheet mailing labels (downloadable PDF files that you can print out on mailing-label sheets so you can easily send your headshots and resumes to casting directors and talent agents).

To access additional listings and industry resources, visit BackStage.com/Listings (this page includes Production Listings with casting-director contact info for major film, TV, and theater projects; acting-market guides; lists of acting schools; guides for getting started as an actor in New York and Los Angeles; and much more) and YellowPages.BackStage.com (a searchable directory of products, services, facilities, and training opportunities for actors, models, singers, dancers, models, and comedians. The Back Stage Yellow Pages includes info about headshot photographers, video demo reel editors, rehearsal spaces, and over a dozen other categories to help you find what you need).

If you find an incorrect listing in Call Sheet or need to update your listing, contact Call Sheet editor Pete Keeley at [email protected]. If you need assistance with the Call Sheet iPhone app, email [email protected]. For help with your subscription and other questions, click here to contact Back Stage.

ABBREVIATIONS GUIDE:

Find Top Talent with Back Stage

FIND AMAZING NEW TALENT

Back Stage reaches over 400,000 actors, singers, dancers, models, musicians, comedians, fame-seekers, and entertainment-industry professionals every month.

Visit http://backstage.com/FindTalent to:

• Post a notice to quickly get the word out about your talent calls, job opportunities, workshops, competitions, groups, open mikes, film festivals, script calls, auditions, and more.
• Use one simple form to simultaneously run your notice across Back Stage's multimedia network – including its popular online database, daily Casting/Job Alert emails, and weekly print-edition newspapers and digital magazines.

Tips for Foreign Actors Needing a U.S. Work Visa

If you have acting credits in other countries (such as your home country) and a temporary job offer in the U.S., then you can apply for an O-1 Visa, which is the U.S. work visa for individuals that can demonstrate an “extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and who are coming temporarily to the U.S. to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability.” The O-1 Visa is one of the most popular visas for actors and other performers that want to work in the U.S.

For more info, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-1_visa and the excellent Artists from Abroad website, which calls itself “The Complete Guide to Immigration & Tax Requirements for Foreign Guest Artists.” You might also want to check out the visa-consultant and legal services at sites like http://www.hooyou.com/o-1/faq.html and http://www.actorsevolution.com/visa.php. And visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website for a list of additional visas.

Alternately, you could become a student at an acting school in the U.S., and use a student visa or J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa to enter the country.