Introduction

My career aspiration is to be a professional musical theatre performer/ play actor. My primary goal is to perform in either a West End venue or on a tour contract at some stage in my career. However, I recognise that to do that, I need to gradually build up my career through smaller contracts to build industry connections and gain more professional credits and experience. 

This portfolio will reflect on my career goals and my plan on how to achieve them. I will explore different strategies I aim to use to market myself and establish myself as a professional.

Who I want to be like

I admire Carrie Hope Fletcher’s career and aspire for a similar trajectory to hers. Fletcher has starred in Les Miserables as Eponine, Heathers as Veronica and is currently in the UK tour of Waitress playing Jenna, my three dream roles. Her fruitful career demonstrates everything that I want for my future. 

Although it could be argued that Fletcher’s career was built on familial industry connections that I do not have access to, her YouTube was also an important contributor to her success: “British musical theatre actress, Carrie Hope Fletcher, for instance, has used her Twitter feed and popular YouTube vlog, ‘ItsWayPastMyBedTime’, to generate a fan base” (Jones, Poore and Dean, 2019). This makes her more desirable to a casting team as her presence within a show would bring a larger audience to watch her perform. This inspired me to create more of a social media presence. In the near future, I want to make my TikTok account more visible and active. I want to generate content linked to my life as a new graduate in hopes that I would gain an audience of theatre fans and eventually gain a large enough following to add extra value to myself as a performer.

It is important to understand your casting type as a performer, particularly because I do not yet have an agent to submit me for jobs. Therefore, I need a clear idea of the roles that I am applicable for. I would currently identify my playing age as 16–27, making me desirable for high-school based musicals and mixed-age ensembles like & Juliet. I am a truthful actor who enjoys both contemporary and traditional texts. I am capable of portraying both comedic, characterful roles and emotionally driven characters. I am a mezzo-soprano, meaning that I can be used as an alto or soprano depending on what the production requires. I would describe myself as a versatile actor, as my appearance and voice do not confine me to any specific role.

Where I want to work 

An important aspect of myself as a performer is my desire to work in regional theatres that amplify Northern accents and voices, particularly:

• Leeds Playhouse
• Northern Stage
• Shakespeare North Playhouse

As a proud North-Easterner, I believe representation of regional characters in theatre is very important. I am disappointed that in many Shakespeare adaptations, the only Northern/regional character is presented as the funny, lower-class or “stupid” one, a stereotype that needs to change. These venues prioritise showcasing Northern talent and giving Northern stories and accents space to take centre stage.

Currently, I work at Leeds Playhouse as a bartender. Although this is not a creative performing role, it has provided opportunities to watch new theatre for free and network with professionals working within the building. A production of I, Daniel Blake is currently playing at the Playhouse and during a shift, I served the cast and production team after the show. I noticed that many of them had native Geordie accents, so I introduced myself and mentioned that I was from Middlesbrough. We spoke about our towns and how much the play meant to people from the North East. I often choose to work press nights as they provide opportunities to liaise with regional directors and speak to cast members about how they secured roles within productions.

Prior to studying at Leeds Conservatoire, I studied at Newcastle Theatre Royal’s in-house actor training programme, Project A. This course introduced me to many professionals within the North East theatre scene, several of whom I still stay in contact with. I am currently auditioning for Northern Stage’s 2026/27 theatre season and hope that this credit on my CV will improve my chances of getting in the room.

Where my skills are now

It is important as a performer to analyse your skillset. At this point in my training, I have a clear understanding of my unique selling points and the areas I need to improve on. I currently identify myself as an actor-singer; however, I recognise that the industry strongly values triple-threat performers. Therefore, to make myself more employable, I need to strengthen my weakest areas.

During my training, I have significantly improved in dance. Although I would not consider myself technically adequate for a dance-heavy musical such as Cats, I would be confident in a first-round dance call for a commercial musical such as Mamma Mia! or Hairspray. I am determined to continue to improve my dance ability and increase my confidence for future auditions. After graduating from Leeds Conservatoire, I will attend classes at Dance City, Yorkshire Dance and other venues where I can broaden my dance technique.

I have also been encouraged to cross-train my voice in both contemporary and legit styles during vocal tuition at university, and I now have a considerably stronger classical voice than when I began the course. Having a balanced voice is an important skill that allows for more casting opportunities and suitability across a wider range of genres.

The improvements I have made continue to increase my employability and professional versatility. However, I also understand the importance of positive representation to casting directors and agents, so I am still deciding whether including a dance reel on my casting platforms would be a valuable addition to my profile. I want agents to see my strengths first and foremost. The videos I have included are first drafts of material for my profiles. In third year, Leeds Conservatoire offers students the opportunity to film professional acting, singing and dance reels, so the videos included are only examples of the type of material I would use.

Networking and making connections

Throughout my university career, I have had numerous opportunities to work with and observe visiting industry professionals and, as a result, I have made professional connections with many of them.

For example, during our Research and Development weeks, creators of new musicals develop their work with groups of Musical Theatre students. One pivotal project was You, Me and the Rest of the World. Although I was involved in a different project at the time, following the sharing I later auditioned for its development in Leeds Theatre Festival and was cast as the lead for this summer’s production.

Due to scheduling conflicts with university commitments, I was unable to accept the role. However, I did not want to lose the opportunity to work with the team, so I asked to understudy the role instead and was accepted. I felt it was important to maintain this professional relationship while also learning a new skill as an off-stage cover. There are many established professionals working on the show, including Katherine Hare, the current West End Director and Global Associate Director of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Although I had to decline the lead role, I wanted to prove my commitment and willingness to be involved regardless.

Additionally, the show has been promised a workshop at Leeds Playhouse, which I hope to be part of.

At Leeds Conservatoire, we hold two showcases at the end of third year, one in London and one in Leeds. These provide an important opportunity to gain representation, which I hope to achieve before graduating. From my research, the conservatoire invites agents they already have connections with; however, students can also send invitations themselves to add a personal touch. Therefore, I have identified several agencies that would support my career aspirations based on their current clients and the types of work they book:

• InterTalent
• Jorg Betts Associates
• Paling and Jenkins
• Roberts & Day
• Global Artists UK

Although an agent is not essential to becoming a professional actor, many theatres send casting calls exclusively to agents, preventing self-represented performers from auditioning. Therefore, to maximise audition opportunities after graduation, I would ideally like professional representation.

Making my own work

One of the biggest developments in my career aspirations is my desire to create my own work. The theatre industry is increasingly competitive and it is naive to believe that I will secure a professional contract immediately after graduating. I have realised that I cannot rely solely on auditions to secure work.

In a previous module, we were required to write and produce our own musicals in groups. I collaborated with several peers on a musical titled Woven. This experience introduced me to new job opportunities that I would like to explore in the future. Our team has discussed taking the musical to the Durham Fringe Festival and eventually to Edinburgh Fringe. Just as Lin-Manuel Miranda did with In the Heights and Hamilton, we want to perform in the musical that we created ourselves.

Fringe theatre is a proven way for emerging talent to be discovered, including Miranda Hart with Amanda’s House Party, Phoebe Waller-Bridge with Fleabag and Graham Norton in Mother Theresa of Calcutta’s Grand Farewell Tour. It would provide an opportunity to develop professional connections and showcase our talent. I would love for the team behind Woven to collaborate on more projects and eventually create our own theatre company.

Contacting Casting Directors

In anticipation of graduate life, I have researched how to contact casting directors, which has improved my understanding of how to present myself professionally and establish connections.

Key points include:

• Always contact a casting director with a purpose (new headshots, a showreel update, or an invitation to a production you are in).
• Keep emails concise, no longer than five sentences.
• Always include your Spotlight pin.
• Do not spam; contact them once or twice a year maximum.
• Send thank-you emails or letters whether successful or not.

James Pearson states: “If you’re not putting the time in to write a proper email or even find out the agent’s name; if you’re not labelling your self-tape correctly when we’ve asked for that, why should we put the time in for you?”

Lauren Evans advises: “You don’t need to write a covering letter with an email. Just be brief, clear, concise… when your email starts to become a life story, then it’s all a bit much.”

This advice has informed my approach, leading me to focus on concise, purposeful communication rather than long covering letters. I have therefore chosen to construct short, informative emails instead, and have included an example email (based on an ‘Actor advice’ template) that I would send to the casting team for Billy Elliot, as it is currently casting. I would make my emails more personal depending on the project, this is just a general template.

Online presence

It is crucial for aspiring performers to have Spotlight. It is the main platform casting directors use to find new talent for productions. A cohesive and interesting profile can significantly influence casting opportunities. A typical Spotlight profile includes headshots, showreels, professional credits, appearance details and a short ‘about me’ section.

I will make a Spotlight account in my third year at university. In preparation, I have made an acting CV containing information that casting directors would find relevant. I have filmed showreel prototypes to display the type of content I would present. When researching showreel etiquette, I found Spotlight’s advice section, which recommends to ‘Only include (videos) if they’re good. Of course they’re incredibly useful but you singing a cappella in your bedroom is of no value to anyone.’ This emphasises that informal, home-made showreel content is unlikely to gain favour and reduces professionalism.

Conclusion

To conclude, this portfolio has helped me reflect on my future career and the steps I need to take to maximise my chances of obtaining the jobs I want. I now realise I cannot wait until I graduate to begin building my career; I need to start now by creating professional relationships, building my online presence and developing an understanding of networking and how to contact casting agents. I will continue developing my performance skills to increase versatility in the job market while simultaneously creating work for myself.

Bibliography

(No date a) How to email acting agents: Template & Advice | Backstage. Available at: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-to-email-agents-4561/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).

(No date b) What does a casting director do? an actual CD explains. Available at: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/casting-director-6395/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).

Email templates for reaching out to casting directors (2025) Actor Advice. Available at: https://actoradvice.com/email-templates-for-reaching-out-to-casting-directors/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).

Jones, K., Poore, B. and Dean, R. (2019) Contemporary gothic drama: Attraction, consummation and consumption on the modern British stage. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Lerner, J. (2022) 14 stars who made it big thanks to the annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Distractify. Available at: https://www.distractify.com/p/celebs-discovered-at-fringe-festival (Accessed: 14 May 2026).

Redford, K. (2023) An actor’s guide to good etiquette, Spotlight. Available at: https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/the-essentials/an-actor-s-guide-to-good-etiquette/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).

Tarento, D. (2026) A casting director’s spotlight profile tips, Spotlight. Available at: https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/spotlight/how-to-create-the-perfect-spotlight-profile/ (Accessed: 14 May 2026).