Auditions sometimes require a personal biography from auditioners.
If you're a dedicated performer (especially an actor), you will probably go to your fair share of auditions over time. Auditions are all different from one to the next, but there are certain things that are universal. Most auditions, for instance, require that you bring a resume and an up-to-date headshot. Less commonly, you will be asked to supply a biography of yourself so that casting directors can get a sense of your personality.
Instructions
1. Avoid listing all your theatre and film roles, as these should already be outlined in your resume. Listing them again in your biography is redundant.
2. Focus on the facts. Standard biographical information to include in an actor bio might include where you were born, where you currently reside, where you did your acting training and any other artistic involvement not listed on your resume.
3. Add a "hook," which is an interesting piece of information about you that will engage anyone reading your bio. A hook can be anything from a unique non-performance-related hobby you have to a crazy anecdote that demonstrates something amusing or different about you as a person.
4. Avoid getting too personal or deep. Your bio is not the place to tell tales of personal struggle, give shout-outs to friends and family or reveal your fondest ambitions. Keep your bio light in tone, and keep the content relatively shallow.
5. Keep it short. A paragraph is all you need to touch on some basic biographical information and include a hook or two.
6. Write in third person. Don't say, "I played Hamlet in college." Instead, try, "In college, John was cast as Hamlet."
