[HereComesAudreyII]

what are some good things to put down in a special talents portion of a resume. seriously? ive seen things as silly as knitting to like great things like tap dance!

[Celeste_SM]

Tap dance belongs in training, not special talents. (At least if you're talking about a musical theater resume.)

Most helpful (or rather, most likely to be something that the director is looking for on any given show): acrobatics, accents, ability to play an instrument, rope twirling, baton twirling, rhythmic gymnastics skills, ballroom dancing, and whistling. Anything really unusual that you can do.

[Chevstriss]

don't put stupid thing to get their attention. Its all they will remember and it doesn't get you cast.

[~Dancing Through Life~]

I have piano and cockney/english/irish accents lol.

[Ariel]

i put the languages i speak

[SmallTownIngenue]

would crying on cue count as a special talent, or is that expected of all actors? I can do it pretty easily so I was just wondering.

[The Drama Queen]

[Bianca.]

[wicked_diva]

Mine are as follows:
Can play B-flat and E-flat clarinets,
Can sew,
Can do side splits,
Can do high-pitched “whistle” scream
Accents: Standard English, Georgian, “hick,” Valley Girl, New York, and other character voices.
Experience as dresser at Busch Gardens Europe in American Jukebox and Kinetix.
Experience as Leigh High School Drama Club president/director/secretary
Valid driver’s license

[what_the_heck013]

Mine says: Good in bed. Has experience doing drive-by's in a gang.

JUST KIDDING!

[Chevstriss]

this straight from a NYC CD:

girl had "can put fist in mouth" as one of her skills.

yes they always asked to see it. No they never cast her. But everyone in NY casting knew her as "girl who puts fist in mouth".

Not all conversation openers are good ones.

If fact, I've found, the more chatty they are, the least likely they are to call you back. It's a way of letting you down easy w/ out being rude.

If they are interested in you they ask legit things like, what's you schedule for the next month, etc.

[MaryMag]

Mine are pretty boring:
Cheerleading lifts and tosses, skateboarding, flute, piano, guitar, Spanish, fire eating, encyclopedic knowledge of British punk rock

I guess the whole 'encyclopedic knowledge of british punk rock' might be looked at as silly and pointless, but i swear i auditioned for a show one time where my character was a modern day version of Siouxise Sioux (a very famous british punk rocker.) They were like, do you know her? And I was like, fu** yeah I know her I wrote a 40 page thesis on British punk rock between 1977 and 1979. To which they laughed out of joy and said, you should really put that on your resume. I said, really? They said yes. Then they gave me the part.

But ever since then CDs have commented on it/joked about it but they usually say uh well i doubt we can utilize it...

[pish123c]

^
Because fire eating is such a blah talent.

[MaryMag]

[beck]

i would like to know info about resumes in general. now that i'm out of high school and attempting to get gigs in the real world, i need a resume. can someone please tell me how to lay out my infortmation, and tips on how to fill it up, considering my experience isnt very large..

[jazzygirlsings]

[star2ballie]

[jazzygirlsings]

LOL! FEELS THE LOVE!

[eXcessDrama]

[mtgirl118]

I have a severely handicapped brother and also volunteer at a support/activity group for the handicapped so my mom says I should write "experience with the handicapped" in my special talents section. Is this a good idea or a bad idea?

Ellen Marie

[jazzygirlsings]

That's a good question. What kind of volunteer work do you do? Is it performance related? I put that stuff on my resume...I sing with a group that goes to nursing homes...

That way you don't have to put down "experience with the handicapped"...that just doesn't sound right. They'll be able to deduce that you are comfortable with people in those situations if you list where you've volunteered. So perhaps under your skills, just list some of the volunteer work you've done...

It is an important skill. Lots of people can't handle that stuff and it makes them uncomfortable. One of the most rewarding and difficult projects I have done was a children's Christmas show in the terminally ill ward of The Foundling Hospital in NYC...

[MaryMag]

[opheliarose]

[Holly]

[what_the_heck013]

[Bianca.]

..I have individual control of my eyes.

like.. it's really.. pretty.. ....special. lol

..should I put that?

[MaryMag]

[Glissando]

I can play the snare drum. I played in my school band for 5 years.

[jazzygirlsings]

[star2ballie]

I should include that I have a valid driver's liscense, right? What about a valid passport?

[Chevstriss]

[Chevstriss]

[jazzygirlsings]

[opheliarose]

And run like hell anytime they ask if you have your own car...

[tinkrbell]

does electric guitar,clarinet,bake professional lookin cakes(that taste good),i watch a 2 year old baby every day that takes talent nat to kill someone

[Chevstriss]

[HereComesAudreyII]

man everyone is SO talented XD, oy vey! i think the fire eater has definately gotten me beat.

[broadway babii x0]

what about cpr certified?

[LaurelDP]

The last resume I turned in (for a strictly straight theatre company), I listed:

Accents/Dialects: Standard British, Various character voices
Crocheting
Voice, Mezzo-Soprano (then I gave my range)
Stage/Special Effects Makeup
Photoshop/Publicity

[mizzie]

Which of these would belong on a resume?

Alto saxophone, belly dancing, basic ballroom dancing, strong belt, krump.

Krump would obviously be a bit of a gimmick - although I am shockingly good at it.

Also, as far as accents go, how good do you actually have to be? I have a pretty strong southern accent (after two years of LITERALLY being forced to learn it - I got an award playing a southern trash character once, although that may have fallen more under the "character voice" category...) and do well with Irish and cockney accents, although I've never actually been judged on them, I just think I can do them.

[LaurelDP]

In my opinion, don't list it unless you've studied the accent. Like with tapes or with a coach. That's why I only list Standard British under my doable accents, and just say character voices for the rest.

I can do loads more regional accents than just Standard British, but they come from listening and basing off of people and stereotypes, so there is definitely going to be some inconsistency even if I'm unaware of it.

[blue wind]

[Elphaba22]

right now, I have aerial circus skills: aerial silks and Spanish Web on my resume. I should leave that right? I took lessons for about two years (I only quit taking regular lessons about 6 months ago).

[Mungojerrie_rt]

I suppose I would have third level mens gymnastics (which includes full splits, handsprings, walkovers, vault, rings, high bar and pummel horse), some poi experience (which is like fire twirling but you live, still hurts though ), animal handling and good lip synching.

The last one is sort of irrelevent for stage I think.

I might actually have an audition some time. Fortunately there's little competition for male dancers.

[mizzie]

Is "works well with children" a special skill?

[JIJane]

In the UK at least the phrase "standard British" doesn't exist, it's called RP (received pronounciation) and is the equivalent.

[kakoforever]