Member resources
Before anyone can hire you they have to be able to see you, understand you in about four seconds, and find you again. That is what your materials are for. Most actors have a headshot and a hope. This page is the rest of it.
Start with the masterclasses Go to the libraryOrder matters here: headshots, then resume, then reel, then profiles, then social. Doing them out of order is why people redo them twice.
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Who to shoot your headshots with
Nineteen vetted Los Angeles photographers banded by price, what each session actually includes, who is great with kids, and the retouching and hair and makeup costs nobody puts on the price list.
New here? Start this week
Three steps for your first week
Two masterclasses that between them cover every piece of material you will ever need.
1Journey 2A · 1h 32m
Marketing Materials That Get You Auditions
Resume, character types, headshots and casting profiles. The masterclass that makes everything else on this page possible.
2Journey 2B · 2h 02m
How To Build A Professional Acting Reel
Building a professional reel, including what to do when you have almost no footage yet.
Class downloads
Four downloads with each of these masterclasses
Open the masterclass and you will find them under the video: a Class Summary Booklet so you can read it instead of rewatching, a How To Guide laid out in the order you do the work, a Goal Checklist to tick off as you go, and a 50 question Test with the answers at the back.
Short guides pulled straight from the masterclass. Handy to share with an actor friend, too.
Free guide
Acting Resume Format: One Page, Five Sections
One page, five sections, strongest first. The format agents and casting expect to see.
Free guide
What Headshots Do Actors Need? Character Looks
The six to eight character looks to shoot, plus the free essence exercise that tells you which.
Free guide
How to Make an Acting Reel With No Footage
Five ways to get reel scenes when you have no produced footage yet, and how to cut it under two minutes.
Free PDF
5 Ways to Get Reel Footage When You Have None (PDF)
The printable six page guide: the five ways, the 3-circle scene test, the cut-it-like-they-watch checklist, the footage request email and a tracker.
Two-minute answers, straight from the casting directors, agents and managers in our library.
Actor question
Actor Headshots: What Casting Directors Actually Want
Style, smiling, cost and how often to update, from 25 casting directors.
Actor question
Actor Demo Reel: What to Include and How Long It Should Be
How long, what goes on it, and reels vs clips.
Actor question
How to Find Your Type as an Actor
Essence, age range and why typecasting helps.
Grouped in the order you should actually build them.
Choosing a photographer, what to wear, how many looks, and how to pick the ones that work.
Formatting, what counts as a credit, what to leave off, and what to do when it is thin.
Building it, taping footage when you have none, editing it, and examples of reels that work.
Your type, your lane, and being a specific person rather than a generically available one.
Actors Access, Casting Networks, IMDbPro, CastingAbout and the rest. Set up properly, they work while you sleep.
Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn. What to post, what not to, and how much it actually matters.
A website, business cards, postcards, thank you notes and email. The old-fashioned ones still work.
One more thing. Every piece of material here is answering one question for a stranger: what would I cast you as? If your headshot, reel and profile each answer that differently, they cancel each other out. Pick the answer first, then make the materials.