When approaching the industry, I want to make sure I portray the true and genuine version of myself in the most professional way possible. The industry can be judgy and specific but I am viewing this as a positive, making the criteria easier to meet and seeking jobs that are most suited to me.

At first glance I am a smiley, short and bubbly character. I would be perceived as playing younger characters such as children or characters my own age. I might be seen as a dancer due to the way I present myself with my clothing choices and the way I hold myself. The way I look could also suggest an ingenue casting type. Graduating from Leeds Conservatoire automatically places me in a box of an actor-singer however, I do not want to be limited to that box. Dance is something I am extremely passionate about and something I feel I am strong in, being limited to purely leading roles that do not dance is not a place I want to be enclosed to as I feel I would feature perfectly in a dancing ensemble.

My Goals

A huge dream of mine is to work at Disney, whether this is Paris, Florida, Tokyo or California. I am a huge Disney fan and believe I know the characters inside out; I would love to play a character in the parks as well as a dancer or performer in general. I currently fit the briefing for what qualities you need to qualify for playing a character at the parks, I believe I would be a great fit due to my animated facial expressions and love for improvisation.

Being a performer on cruses is something i’d love to be a part of, being able to meet new people and bring joy and laughter to people’s holidays is something i’d get a lot of joy from. I understand the cruise industry is just as competitive as every other element of this industry as it appeals to a lot of people. Something I have that other don’t is brilliant social and people skills. I get a lot of enjoyment from brightening other people’s days and being able to do something I love purely to make others happy. It is a fulfilling and beautiful thing. In order to achieve this goal, the way I present myself to the audition panel is crucial. I need the perfect ratio of professional and bubbly. I will come back to this later in my portfolio.

I also believe I would not only enjoy but also feature well in pantomimes due to my loud and creative character.

I mention later, in my website, that I would also consider myself a choreographer as it is something I enjoy but also have a lot of skills in and this is something I’d like to explore at some point in career.

Agencies

I am very interested in ‘Take One Agency’, after a lot of research I found that this agency specialises in theatre, cruise lines, resort and park entertainment. All of these interest me and would fulfil my goals. My research consisted of finding a successful performer I felt had a similar casting as me and seeing which agency they are a part of. The ‘Take One Agency’ also states they nurture new talent, this is important to me as I will be one of the younger graduates going into the industry in 2027 as I attended Leeds Conservatoire straight out of sixth-form.

Having an agency that would represent me in the best way possible for the type of career I am after, is something I believe this agency will do for me. In order to receive an offer from this agency I will begin by sending a polite yet persuasive email including my headshots and why I am interested in joining their team. I intend to invite them to my third-year cabaret as well as my third-year show. Before they attend these, I will send them some self tapes of me singing and dancing. In order to get their attention, I will make sure the tapes include strong choices and my best qualities.

Headshots

After taking a lot of time researching, I found three options for who I would like to take my headshots. All of them have pros and cons but I eventually decided between them all. Headshots are very expensive so finding somewhere that takes great pictures but gives you value for money is vital for me.

I found a great photographer based nearer my hometown than Leeds called ‘Joseph Finn Photography’, this would have been extremely convenient due to where it is based and the pricing was great and cheaper than other places I had found, starting at around £100. However, I thought the backgrounds they used were too dark for the image I’d like to put forward about myself.

I found a place I loved but unfortunately they were based in Hampshire and therefore the whole trip would have been far too expensive for my budget.

Therefore, the place I decided would work best for me is ‘Tabitha Heidi-Brown Videography and Photography’ although the experience is a bit expensive at £160, not only do you get five photos at the end you also get an hour and thirty minutes and additional photos for £10 a photo. They are based in Leeds so this is very convenient and there would be no extra travelling charges.

I have taken some of my own for inspiration and as place holders on my website to successfully present how I would achieve a successful website.

For my placement/example head shots I decided on three different styles, first I went for a youthful look with little make up. I wore a yellow top and dungarees to symbolise a youthful character, this would be perfect when auditioning for roles that are younger than my actual age or characters that require a large unique character. I chose to do a big theethy smile to indicate that youthful joy and lack of inhibition. Some examples of musicals I would use this for are ‘Everybody’s talking about Jamie’ and ‘Matilda the musical’. In both of these I would be cast-able in child roles played by adults as I am a strong dancer and singer while also portraying a young look.

For the second look I decided to go with the most genuine me look. I chose my favourite colour, pink with my favourite curly hair look. This fits the more ingenue casting with my feminine appearance and choice of colours due to stereotypes. For the facial expressions in these head shots I went for a soft smile further portraying an innocent, naïve character. These headshots would be perfect for the Disney princess characters or the feminine lead. Some examples of shows I would take them for are ‘Hairspray’, ‘Legally blond’ and ‘Waitress’. I would also choose these for any Disney cruises I would audition for as well as Pantomimes.

Finally, the last selection of headshots were aimed for the more dance heavy or serious shows. I went for a more mature look with my hair up and slightly more make up to portray a more professional and deliberate character. I would love to be considered for dance heavy shows, so I purposely aimed these head shots for that very reason. I would use these for shows such as ‘Chicago, ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘Burlesque’. The dark plum coloured top with the serious expression aims to indicate a more mature role.

How I will achieve

Now onto how I will achieve all of this. To achieve my goals, I must maintain a good enough income to afford travel to auditions as well as supporting a healthy and balanced lifestyle. I have a reliable and understanding job back home in Derbyshire, if moving home is what I decide to do at the beginning of my career I will be able to earn money at the restaurant I have worked at for five years. I am lucky that I already have a pre-established relationship with a brilliant workplace that would support my other career, letting me take time off for auditions or other work. This allows me to earn enough to continue following my dreams in a realistic way.

If I decide for another reason to not return home, my previous years experience in hospitality will enable me to find another job wherever I am based. I also have previous experience in teaching dance and would also be interested in continuing doing that wherever I end up along side my performance career. This allows me to have a steady income along side the unreliable yet thrilling industry.

Making time for extra classes will be crucial for me to keep my spark and drive alive and this will be something I will continue to do as it brings the enjoyment back into the career I have chosen.Continuing improving as a performer alongside auditions and jobs is vital as for my own self critic, I will never be good enough. To feed this desire to improve I will continue with singing lessons after I graduate, specifically putting aside money in order to afford these lessons. I would have to have one lesson every two weeks instead of the one every week I was recently receiving but this will still help me improve my skills and in theory my career.

Another way I aim to absorb my goals is through self advertisement. Below you would see the website I created in order to attract industry attention.

For the first page of my website I have included a large picture of myself to attract the attention of the viewer. I have written a breif summary of who I am as a person and my passions. This helps the viewer get a clear image of who I am before finding out more about me. I labeled myself ‘Actor, Singer, Dancer, and Choreographer This is direct and to the point, so people know who they are hiring and what my skills are.

On the next page I include more headshots of myself showing versatility in my appearance and casting. I have included my basic physical features as this is important for employers to see and understand.

Here is my gallery on my website, highlighting my acting and dance ability along with a brilliant example of my stage presence. This presents to the viewer the level of skill I have before they have even watched my reels or met me in-person. I added a couple more headshots further showing my versatility, having the contrasting photos alongside one another.

My choice of vocal reels attempts to further present the type of casting I am, along with getting to know me a bit better through what I enjoy singing. To further improve this, I would include a pop song to portray my skills affectivly in hope of attracting cruises and jukebox musicals.  

Finally, I have a page outlet on how to contact me in order to attract viewers to get in-contact with me if they are interested in hiring me or see more.

Overall, the colours and fonts I picked for my website help further describe the type of performer I am. The choice of a light nude pink for my background portrays a youthful, girly performer. In contrast to the pink I have added beige boxes to level the pink out with professionalism and realism through the use of an earthy more natural colour.

To improve this website I would add a dance reel as this is something I would like to say I specialise in but without the evidence I cannot claim this statement.

Below you will be able to see the videos I uploaded onto my website. They fit in well with my goals as they are Disney themed, Ingenue and youthful.

Other platforms

When I make my social media account it will be on instagram. This will be a perfect place to post headshots, Reels and updates on may shows I am doing at the time. I will make this a professional platform and keep it very separate to my personal profile. It will be purely a business profile; it will have links to my spotlight and any professional work I am part of. I have chosen instagram as it is the most accessible platform where I can attract the attention of agents and shows.

Cover Letter 

Here is the cover letter I wrote to Kristen Coonjah, an assistant director at the national theatre. I state my skills in a persuasive way in order to grab their attention. This is another strategy i’d use to achieve my goals as a successful performer.