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Remember to come on Tuesday with your bio for the program
How to Write a Bio for a Playbill
Why do you need a bio? What’s the purpose? How do you format it?
These are all common questions actors ask.
A bio (short for biography) is a summary of the highlights of your career—your training, credits, and something about you personally, i.e. what you do when you are not acting. It tells the industry in sentence form—unlike the columns in your resume—what roles you can play and how to cast you. It lets the audience know a bit of additional relevant information about you. It helps to both humanize the artists and broadcast their accomplishments. Remember that you'll be getting more credits as you go, which means that your bio can change constantly.
Tips
- Make it short and sweet. Being direct in your bio is better than flowery or overly imaginative language. Your bio is not the place to list your entire resume. List either your most recent credits or your favorites or some combination. and honestly, super-long bios just look pretentious. Many theatres will have a word limit, adhere to it.
- Write it in third person. This is not an autobiography, it's a biography. Don’t use “I”, instead use “she” or “he” or your name; “Jane” or “Ms. Doe” .
- Do not lie in your bio. Ever.
- Read the programs for shows that you attend. Pay attention to your own reactions to what you read. Adjust your writing accordingly.
- Don't make lists. Describe your skills, training, and experience in sentence form.
- Write in “pyramid” style. Put the most important information at the top, working down to the less critical info.
- Here are some examples of potential opening statements. If they read no further, this will be what they remember about you.
- Weak example: A sunny blonde, Gwyn hails from the Midwest and is happy to be in the Big Apple.
- Strong example: Classically trained, Gwyn has played roles from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams, working in major American repertory theaters, on and Off-Broadway, as well as in dozens of contract/recurring roles for daytime and primetime TV.
Examples:
John Doe (Character Name) has been performing for local audiences for the last five years, having won several awards including a “Best Actor” prize for his portrayal of Richard Lionheart in THE LION IN WINTER at the Twin Rivers Theatre in Wisconsin. Amongst his favorite roles: Demetrius in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Ben Benjamin in GOD’S FAVORITE and Huck Finn in BIG RIVER. He would like to thank his parents for their support.
John Doe (Character Name) makes his debut on this stage. He has never performed before this production, but has really enjoyed the experience. He enjoys singing and dancing and has found the challenge of a live show thrilling. John would like to thank the theatre family for welcoming him and hopes to learn more about acting in future shows.
Jane Doe (Character Name) is delighted to be making her debut with X Company. Recent/Favorite credits include A SHOW with A THEATRE COMPANY/SCHOOL, ANOTHER SHOW with ANOTHER THEATRE COMPANY, and PERHAPS ONE MORE. She is a STUDENT at SOME SCHOOL (and has also trained with SOMEPLACE COOL). She is involved in INTERESTING DETAIL.
John Doe (Character Name) is delighted to be performing in his first production. He is a STUDENT at GREAT SCHOOL where he enjoys SUPER FUN ACTIVITIES.
Mary Hayhurst (Cat In The Hat) is a fifth grader at Hermosa Valley School. She has been dancing since the age of four, and currently takes tap, ballet and jazz at the School of Dance and Music. Mary played a Munchkin in POP’s production of “The Wiz” and this is her second show with Puttin’ On Productions. When she is not performing or dancing, Miss. Hayhurst enjoys reading, watching movies and hanging out with her friends. She is thrilled to be in “Seussical, Jr.”
*Note - As in you resume, you can use you experience in classes at Keppel as part of your training, for example; dance classes with Ms. Neel or drumming classes with Mr. Andrew or Ms. Kim
Bonus questions-
Why are there so many french words in this script?
What does "bonjour" mean?
Happiness 😊
See you Tuesday!
