Camera, lights, action: Performing arts dos and don’ts

Date: November 8, 2011 Author: J&C Team Share: Email to friend

Tweet

Keen to take to the spotlight on stage or grace the nation’s TV screens? Jobs & Careers offer you the dos and don’ts of performing arts.

Do…

- Be aware that you may have to supplement your quest to work in performing arts with temporary employment in other areas.

- Create a portfolio of your work. When you go to an audition or an interview, your employer will almost certainly want to see what you have been involved in up until now.

- Network. In performing arts, it can often be about who you know, rather than what you know. Getting ear of an audition that is being advertised internally can be a brilliant way to get your foot in the door.

- Go to drama school. According to a report by Manpower Studies for the Arts Council of England, 86% of working performers have been professionally trained.

- Apply for grants to help you succeed in performing arts. The PRS for music foundation, for example, funds new music in the UK across a variety of genres.

Don’t…

- Expect to be flooded with work. Jobs in performing arts are notably few and far between, so you need to take work when you can.

- Neglect your craft. Whether you’re a musician or a dancer, it is important to continue practising, even if you are currently out of work.

- Forget to produce a professional-looking CV for casting and auditions fit with a recent picture and your skills. Becoming a member of the casting directory www.spotlight.com is a brilliant way to get spotted by professionals searching.

- Neglect opportunities for work experience or volunteering. These will help improve your CV and give you something to do in between looking for work!

- Become disinterested. If you fail to convey a positive and enthusiastic attitude to working in performing arts, then employers are unlikely to be positive about you…

Image: Shutterstock

By J&C Team

Jobs and Careers Magazine is your indispensable job-seeking and career-building resource. For over 12 years we have offered expert…

read more

• Twitter
• Website
• Linkedin

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

QotW: How can I give a strong and memorable interview performance? May 17, 2013

Jobs & Careers with Hilary Devey
Top 10 tips for job-hunting graduates
How to prepare for a Skype interview