"PSN Friends - was wondering how you
cite your work as a Slam Performer and/or Producer on your resume?"
What started out as a discussion on résumé advice, quickly turned into a broader conversation on how we value our work and interface with the rest of the performing arts world. A number of slam organizers and performers weighed in and here are some highlights. Note: If you have anything to add, please join the conversation on our Facebook Page or start your own conversation.
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If it's performance-based -
"Puppeteer", "Puppet Showplace Slam", or if administrative, "Producer/Curator","Puppet Showplace Slam". I have never really seen a resume that
successfully integrates performance and production responsibilities,
other than making one or the other just a brief footnote (i.e. my
production admin resume includes "puppetry" in the "miscellaneous
skills" section)
As a performer, I don't like
to take up more than one line for puppet slams even though I've performed
in roughly 8 a year. but as a producer should it be listed by slam
title?
Have you produced more than
one slam? It should definitely be on your resume.
"Slam producers put a
whole lot of work in than what everyone sees. It deserves attention on
your resume."
Describe what you did, but offer quantitative info such as
how many performers you brought in, how much money you raised, how many
people saw it, etc.
It does depend on what job
you're applying for. What type of job do you think would be most
interested in hearing about producing work? If you are auditioning for a
role, do they want to know you produce as well?
I
have a separate section in my resume about "Personal Productions" - my
own work. I simply state the title, the subject and the genre so: Flirty
Birdie/Cabaret Style Peacock/Marionette". Or: "The Hoarding
Show/Satirical History of Hoarding/Tabletop and Shadows", "Object Theater". Anyone who is asking for my resume doesn't care about what the venue
is - slams or not. If they are asking me for my resume then they don't
know me - all they care about is - can she do the specific thing I need
for this job - so - can she do marionettes? Fine. Can she do green
screen? Black light/ Whatever. No one actually cares what you did- they
care who you know and if you have that one thing they need. . . That said - if you perform at a National Festival- or a major venue - you might say you performed there
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| Honey Goodenough in “Sweet Dreams”, 2011, photo: Frankie Cordero |
Personal productions. . ..I
like it. . . But I wonder if there's another way to phrase it. Self
produced? or Independent Projects? Carole - you deserve a producer credit for all the work you've created. . . it's hard to sum up in one title.
Well everyone's resume is
individualized- and I will customize my own resumes to suit the client-
some people don't care if I can build. I have a show resume. Some
people don't care if I can make puppets- I have a costume resume. I am
not sure who to define "producer' but I do know if I put THAT on a
resume an "actual" producer will think he can't afford me and I won't
get hired.
It's complicated. . . "Producer" can encompass so many duties. It's hard to know when it's a useful to post on a resume. . . I wonder what Katie McClenahan
of Beady Little Eye Puppet Slam thinks of all this. .. She also helps
produce photo shoots. . . Do the same skills apply to other fields?
i am dirt handed, under the
table, and ghetto. i have never made a resume. i am sure if you live in
NYC or LA a resume for a big puppet job is proper but here in north
carolina, you just have to tell em you do and puppet show and most the
time, yer in....
No
one has mentioned it yet, but I think calling slam production "event
management" is a nice, palatable alternative when you think "producer"
might complicate things... As for a
performance resume: I do a similar thing
to Carole; I have a section for Personal Productions, and I give a
one-sentence overview of the scope of each {ex: "Original 30m marionette
production with troupe of 3 performers, production sponsored by CFL
ArtsFest"}. If the job calls for skills that are specific, like hand/rod
work, I also put a list of bullet point summaries at the top of the
resume describing jobs I've done with the most relevant skills called
"Recent Achievements" or something bilious thing like that, where I list
3-4 specific challenges or performance triumphs that relate.
Keith, what about when you lived in Chicago?
pretty much the same. for a
decade i opened for rock bands in bars and clubs. i had a couple good
booking guys who would basically call me up whenever they had a "weird"
or "art rock " band. and 80% of the time i was a fan of the band.
needless to say, i have never been able to completely support myself
with my art and have always had some sort of shit job that eats up most
of my time.
Amy Rush - Performer-at-Large #Atlanta:
You need a resume in Atlanta.
Or should. I've noticed that local people list puppet slam or
Xperimental Puppetry Theater (at the Center for Puppetry Arts - which is
like a large-scale slam/workshop) pieces that they've performed in (not
produced) and that's weird to me. Seems
like a desperate move. They are listed alongside large-scale work. Or,
as though they ARE large scale because the performer hasn't really done
anything but little slams. I mean, if you PRODUCE a slam
production/night - list it. If you've PRODUCED/DIRECTED/PAID FOR a piece
in XPT at the CforPA, list it. Mine are listed under "self-produced."
Some of those pieces at XPT have gone beyond XPT - to the National
Festival and a local fringe festival, for example. Gotta list that. As far as listing individual, one-or-two-time puppet slam pieces in my
performance resume goes, I never would, but our slams are pretty loose
and fun/drunk/easy down here. And they're like 5 minutes long. It's not
the same as a marionette piece you developed at the O'Neill and have
traveled the country with (I can name a few folks who have done this, of
course and they rock!). That's different. List that - a small cabaret
piece.
I like Carole D'Agostino's
idea of having a section about "Personal Projects" or "Self Produced"
section. Would that work?... I think that's important, but it's hard to
list on a resume. I find most Puppet Slam artists are self starters.
I wonder, then, if a resume
is the right document for showing your work? It might be that the resume
should highlight and point to certain things, and a portfolio or a
"list of original pieces" or "current repertory" is what you need in
addition. Or a website? What is this for?
Honey, your right about the "self starters" and if I had $1 for every time The Puppet Co. Playhouse positioned that I "was not a producer," well, we know how that would end ha. The PuppetCo Playhouse is more "the producer," per se, with their
amazing puppet-ready venue, classy theatre/backstage and all those
beautiful, full-sized velour curtains. My job is to find the right
collection of pieces among the small pool of willing and/or able &
available puppet artists that live here in the D.C. area.
For one of my resumes - the " arts professional" version, here is an example:
Curator, Playhouse Puppetry SLAM!, 2009 - present.
A showcase of
vignettes aimed at mature audiences. Assembled and communicated with
puppeteers, musicians, backstage crews and the Puppet Co. staff in
months prior to slam as well as during the event. Sold playbill
advertising. Designed posters and press graphics. Arranged and selected
live music setlists. Coordinated, choreographed and co-wrote opening and
closing numbers. Performed as a puppeteer and musician.
• Founded slam
program at the Puppet Co., curating six slams to date
• Established and
maintained relationships with puppetry networks throughout the East
Coast
• Introduced playbill advertising, generating approximately
$_ per event
• Organized and oversaw _ performers and crew
during each event
• Attracted an average of 100 audience members for
each performance
• Coordinated directly with The Puppet Slam Network for
puppet slam grants to receive a total of _
• Managed staff
assistant in press-related matters, as well as in garnering, over two
slams, $_ in in-kind donations
• Slams reviewed and featured by DC
Theatre Scene and The Gazette and The Washington Post
... to agree with many of the
above comments, if you are an "event manager," a "showcase coordinator"
or a "curator," list that wholeheartedly.
For the record- nobody reads
that. I've asked tons of hiring types- they scan for key words- they
need a rod puppeteer- they scan for "rod" and "puppet". At least in NY.
And It's true- most of my jobs come from recommendations and referrals.
If they re asking for my resume at all, I know they have little
interest in who I am as an artist- they just need to have a placeholder
for me in the cattle call. More often than not, I get hired to the job-
THEN they see my credientials and go- oh! You've done a lot of work!
yeah- so maybe how 'bout paying me what i'm worth.
I was thrilled about Beau Brown's
proposal of the National Puppet Slam - I think it validates the work of
the Slam Artist. And the success of his Slams a the POA Festival spoke
voluminous about the type of work that can be produced in 7 mins of
stage time (or less).
I list selected ones on my resume, especially ones that are in a well known venue like the Museum of Photographic Arts
.. I think its hard to represent all the things that puppet and generative artists do in one document
for all purposes and I would love to see how other people address that.
I am curious what other categories people include in their puppet
artist resumes. Personally, I list "Major Performance Works" (shows
that usually they had a premiere and little pieces had been workshopped
at slams - I write a short one line description). Then I also include
"Other Performance Works" - this category could be one-off shows, shows
where I performed for somebody else in a role, and occasionally a slam
piece that was performed more than once that I feel was important or at a
fabulous venue that I am proud of
I agree with Marsian,
you have to tailor your resume depending on the job you are applying
for. I have several different resumes and would revise for each
position applied to. I'll include notes harkening to producer-like
qualities, but I wouldn't list every slam I'm produced on a resume for
an audition. Producer = professional organizer.
I
want to second Carole's comment about jobs coming from referrals... I
don't think I've actually USED my resume for anything except grant,
workshop, or award applications in over 4 years. Before I began working
in the arts, I worked in project
management, and reviewed many resumes to fill positions on my teams. I
didn't care about long boring descriptions of jobs at all... like Carole
says, in general, people know what the basic responsibilities of a job
are; what they're interested in are things that relate to what they need
you to do or crazy, amazing success that you could possibly repeat for
them.
Key words and brevity were
what I appreciated; not only did it tell me what I needed to know
quickly, it also told me that the person applying was an effective
communicator and not filled with a sense of self-importance (or have low
self esteem and overcompensate for it)
that might make them difficult to work with. No matter what the field
you're applying for, I think that a resume with a brief section at top
(3-4 bullets) that summarize your biggest accomplishments OR a short
summary of your career paragraph followed by 2 lines of 3 bulleted "area
of expertise" key words AND fits your career history & relevant
training/education onto one page is the absolute most effective,
particularly if sent with a strong cover letter.
Keep in mind: you DO NOT have
to explain what your responsibilities were at a previous job. A title
is really, truly enough. The resume is just to get you in the door: the
interview is the time to elaborate on unusual challenges you took on
under those titles. Okay, super long commenting done now.
I agree with Marsian, Carole and Hannah here, but the biggest snag that I run in to is that different organizations in D.C. have separate expectations of what they want to see or know about a possible candidate. Puppetry is not viewed the same way here as it is in NYC, LA, Boston and Orlando. I have found that people here WANT to know a fair amount of the minutia, even though I think that its unnecessary, too. Few people here have two clues what a puppet slam event coordinator, producer or curator is, let alone a puppet slam!
Of the 6 or 7 actual puppet operations in the DC area, they generally keep to themselves, rarely collaborate with one another (if they ever do) and are not very often placed in positions to vouch for another puppeteer or help find them work, unless they are offering work themselves...
Then there are
the DC area theatres, a different puppet market. They want to include
puppetry in their productions, as they should, but they "just want to
find someone to build their puppets." They are not often searching for
the professionals out there who know what they are doing rather, they
would be content to expect a general props artisan or costumer with no
prior puppet construction experience to make beautiful figures that work
even more beautifully. Sometimes they succeed but then again, they
often fail and in so doing, they perpetuate more bad puppetry. So it can
be a challenge in this area to shine above in an area of mostly
non-puppeteers in order to land steady puppet work.
