In the weeks leading up to opening night, it is essential to create content that captures the attention of your potential audience. One way to achieve this is by crafting bios of your cast and production team that are different from the ones usually found in a playbill or program. The bios should aim to persuade individuals who are still deciding whether or not to see the show.
To make the audience feel connected to the cast, there are specific elements that you must include in the bios. The first element is a compelling photo that captures the unique personality of each cast member. It could be a serious headshot or a casual and off-the-cuff picture that showcases their best features.
The second element is the cast member's personality. You need to make the audience fall in love with each cast member and their unique traits. One way to achieve this is by structuring the bio like an interview with short questions, such as their favorite show, dream role, or which actor would play them in a movie.
The third element is the relationships between the cast members. You can ask questions that help to highlight the chemistry between them, such as who is the funniest or who is most like their character.
Lastly, you can include a brief background of each cast member. However, it is the least important element and should only be included if necessary. The audience is more interested in the performance than where the cast member studied.
Creating captivating bios that showcase the cast and their personalities is a vital step in persuading potential audiences to buy tickets to the show.
BAD HEADSHOTS
So what makes for a bad headshot? Well, there are a number of things, and in no particular order, they are:
Bad Background: If your headshot has a distracting or unprofessional background, it won't look high-end and people will assume you don't take your acting seriously.
Bad Lighting: If your headshot has poor lighting, meaning shadows under your eyes, bright spots in the background, harsh shadows, etc., it will look like you didn't invest much into your headshot. People will assume you won't invest much into their production either.
Bad Clothing: Your clothing should match your expression and the character Types you're going for. If you're wearing distracting clothing (like strong patterns, logos, pale colors, etc.), people will get distracted.
Bad Posture: If you're hunched or turned at an odd, "posed" angle, people will get distracted and start focusing on your pose more than your eyes, which is the kiss of death.
Bad Expression: If you look like you're "trying to hard" or you're confused, people will assume you're not good at acting.
Lana Gordon. Photo: c/o Boneau Bryan-Brown
