Your Online Presence: Actor Websites, Social Media and More

If you're like many actors, chances are you get anxious when thinking about how to show up online. Do I need a website? What should be on it?

What about social media? Will people think I'm bragging when I talk about career stuff? What are casting directors finding out about me online?

It can feel extremely tricky to navigate, as you try to balance exposure while also desiring to be humble and sensitive in your delivery. We get it, we really do - we still think about this for our own careers! 

Last year, we had the pleasure of welcoming Sarah Kleist, who is a website designer and digital creator in addition to being an actor herself, as a guest speaker in our BVC Membership program. She's the owner of Kleist Creative and she spoke with us all about an actor's online presence, from social media to websites to website design to what kind of content you can or should be posting.

Using her helpful insight, we have developed a game plan for you to tackle your online presence in a professional and proactive way!

When building your online presence, think about it as a way to reach out and network with your dream collaborators. Showing up in that space makes you available for opportunity and possibility, and Sarah reminded us during our event last year, that it's the one thing that we have full control of in this industry. You don't get to choose whether or not you get called in for a specific audition, you don't get to choose whether or not they say yes, you don't get to choose how you look, but you do have control over the story you're telling online. 

We wholeheartedly believe that of all the places that you can be online, the most important is to show up on your own website. You can make it look however you want, it's not some trendy app that could disappear tomorrow or next year - it's your personal domain on the internet and it's yours to develop. 

Sarah shared with us the bare minimum content for an actor's website, which are as follows:

1. Your Headshot and Resume: Make sure those are downloadable files! If a casting director is looking for you and they want to file that information away, they don't want to have to reaccess that page every time. Make sure it's an easy-to-download PDF of your headshot and resume.
2. An "About Me" Section: This is your opportunity to write a personal statement that could look a lot of different ways, but it's a place for you to show a little bit of your personality.
3. Your Email Address: You might have a contact form on your website, but including your actual email address is very important because again, a casting director or somebody who's checking you out online, might want to write that down and store that away so they don't have to go back to your homepage and fill out that form every time they want to be in contact with you. Even if you are represented by a manager or an agent, certainly include that information in your resume, but your personal/business email address should be listed on your website.
4. Any Media: This includes photos, videos, recent performance clips, self-tapes you're really proud of, and any high-quality material that reflects your skills. Keep this section up to date with things that are really reflective of your present skills, interests, passions, and what you're currently up to.

If you want to take your personal website to the next level, Sarah even suggests sharing lifestyle shots, because they often tell so much more of a story than a headshot ever could. Develop a fun outing where you choose your style and location and express who you are beyond the theatre world! This will allow potential casting directors or others in the industry to connect with you at a whole new level. 

To continue building up your professional website, we recommend including: 

1. A News or "I'm Currently Up To" Section: Use this space to share a job you just completed at a theater or concert you'll be appearing at. Highlight simple things that show you're updating this website and that you're currently active in the industry. This is also where you can share where you are currently located, where you have traveled, or where you would consider performing in the future.
2. Share Links To Your Social Media: If that's a place where you are public and actively posting/engaging, let people follow you on Instagram, TikTok, or your YouTube channel. That's a great place to get more of a personal connection with you and insight into what you're all about and who you are.
3. Include Creative Sections: What you're inspired by, some of your favorite things, a timeline of your career, or important life moments. You could be bold and share a list of your dreams for your career. If you have critic reviews or any kind of print media, include that. If you're also a voice teacher or acting coach or even a yoga instructor, you might want to include a page about your services. 
4. Sarah also suggested to our members last year, to create a hidden self-tape page on your website. Design a private page on your site to link the self-tapes that you're submitting. So instead of a Vimeo link or a YouTube link that you submit for your auditions, it's actually an unlisted page on your website. So when the casting director or the music director clicks your link to watch your video, they're actually already on your website and can learn more about you.

The point is, you can make your website as simple as possible or as multi-dimensional as you are yourself.

When it comes to some website platforms and how to design one yourself, explore places like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress - all of these are really affordable options and have a fairly beginner-friendly interface. Look up website design inspiration on Pinterest or even on Instagram, and get some ideas for what communicates who you are and encompasses your vibe.

If you are looking for actor-specific templates, Sarah Kleist provides and sells a ton of actor-specific templates on her website, and she can also help you build a custom website. You can find those resources here!

Now let's shift our focus onto social media, which in 2023, you need to be aware of and consider exploring (if you haven't already) 

Social media is a great place to connect with dream collaborators, reach out to folks, and to network. Sarah shared in our class about showing up more fully online, and explained that directors want to hire multi-dimensional people. There's always been this rhetoric in the industry where everyone believed that they need to only be an actor and have to pursue it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And if not, you'll fail in the industry. But Sarah believes most people understand that everyone has a life. So if you're going to go to Central Park with your friends, post that! They love to see that you're doing other things and that you have other hobbies and it can make you seem much more interesting.

If you desire to show up more on social media, here are a few great examples of what to post: 

• Your Life: Share where you went to dinner last night, post about the concert that you went to, highlight the things that you're doing on a daily basis. They want to see that you are a multidimensional person who has life experiences, that you can bring to the role. 
• When You're In A Show
• Your Other Hobbies And Projects
• The Gorgeous Lifestyle Shots You Prepared For Your Website
• Your Own Content: If you're writing and directing your own music videos or short scenes or stories
• Self Tapes: Be careful though, as it can get you in trouble or it can be an awesome tool for your advantage. If you are filming and taping material for existing shows, with material that is well-known, then by all means share a clip of it on your social media. But where this gets sticky is when creating self-tapes for new works that are not yet open to the public. In those instances, it is never appropriate to share online in any way, shape, or form. If ever in any doubt, ask for permission.
• Repost Material That You Shared A Year Ago (Guaranteed it'll get new eyes on it!) 

The name of the game is authenticity. Take the time to consider, what does authenticity mean to you? How would you define authenticity? Especially on something like TikTok? Yeah, that is more theatrical.  

Think about using social media as a way to practice being creative and to share what you're into. You might meet new friends, and connect with your dream collaborators. As actors, we do a lot of second-guessing and perfecting what we put out into the world. But there is so much to be gained when using social media as a platform to practice feeling more free and creative.

As far as what not to post...here are a few guidelines: 

• Any self-tapes or materials from new works that you don't have permission to share or anything currently in development
•  Anything that doesn't reflect your current skillset
• Any negative content about other shows or people in the business (Even if it's just a little snarky, it's not worth spreading negativity about other creatives who are doing their best to show up in this industry)
• Take down anything that you don't want to be found (Whether it's old YouTube videos or even YouTube videos that aren't on your account. See if you can get those things taken down because anything that's up is Googleable. This also applies to tagged media on Facebook and Instagram)

And with any of this, when showing up online, give as much as you take. Networking and creating a persona for yourself online is all about contributing and making well-timed asks when you actually do have something that you need or need some help with. Recommend other folks for gigs, if you see somebody post on their Instagram stories that they are looking for background singers for a studio session this weekend in New York City and you know your friend would be perfect for it, recommend them. That is just contributing to a spirit of generosity and networking will always come back in a positive way for you.

If you're interested in diving deeper into this topic or exploring other interesting musical theatre conversations - check out the Broadway Vocal Coach podcast! Or check us out on Instagram, and get involved in the conversation! 

Are you a musical theatre performer and wondering what your next step should be? Take our Quiz - we can’t wait to hear your story and help you take the next step in your career.