My Top Five Resources, Number One

In FIRST Place

Hotmail/Spotlight

www.hotmail.com

So I've joint these together because I don't use one without the other. I get my spotlight auditions sent straight to me, rather than an agent at my hotmail account. I rarely just visit the Spotlight website. In conjunction, my hotmail account would be useless to me without the spotlight emails so I wouldn't bother checking it as much without the need for updates. Therefore they work hand in hand.

Hotmail: This is probably my first choice as a performer because emailing in itself is very important when applying for auditions and jobs, it's good for networking and sending information and attachments.

Spotlight: Spotlight is a well known casting directory which every performer needs to be on. or so I've been told. The top casting directors search here and it's great for getting you're name out there. Plus it's quite pricey so it had better be my number one as it's the only one out of top five which I indeed pay for, so I must rate it. When on spotlight you also go into the spotlight book, which is almost like a people catalogue, luckily not seen myself in it and don't dare to. So if you're a performer and you're not in spotlight, I definitely recommend it.

Though of course, not every audition sent through is validated and whilst you won't be receiving junk and untrustworthy auditions, you do get a range of jobs and quality of jobs. Mostly if you don't have a lot on your CV you'll barely ever hear back until you have the experience. Jobs will come through no doubt and you do hear back which is very exciting and the process is completed.

In Reference to My Last Blog

In reference to my last blog; an example of my “It's not what you know, it's who know” is it's worked like that for me in terms of teaching. I was lucky enough to have been told I would be someone's student teacher when I was just 13, a year later I was choreographing for big shows, and not long after I was a student teacher. From my experience gained, I have been lead to teach at other theatre schools, called in regularly at a dance schools and in various classes in London. Yet, I want to do this degree to eventually gain my PGCE so I can do what I'm already doing, and although I have years of teaching experience now and of course a CRB, every one of my teaching jobs came through someone I knew. I am the one who wants to make my qualifications official so I am able to teach at any school, including senior schools. So looking from the other perspective if I had done this in reverse without having any experience, gaining my PGCE but not knowing anyone within the teaching world, would it have been this easy?

My Top Five Resources, Number Two

In 2nd Place

Facebook

www.facebook.com

I know what you might be thinking; it's a massive time waster so how can it possibly be useful? Social networking is a huge part of being a performer, teacher and choreographer. My favourite saying which I will continue to use as both reason and excuse; “IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW, IT'S WHO YOU KNOW” So if you have everyone you could possibly know on you're facebook, you need to be constantly chatting, networking and getting the latest news. Everyone I trained with are on my facebook, some of my teachers, and all of them have contacts and different experiences. I like to keep up to date with everyone incase they want me for something I.e a job and they think of me or vise versa. PLUS I get as many auditions through facebook as a I do through Spotlight. There are many pages sending out auditions and information about the industry and even if it's not all specifically relevant to me, I still like to know and have the opportunities.

The downside of this site is most people will have one account which means you will mix friends with work colleagues, your boss, your mum, teachers and students. Therefore you have to be constantly very careful what you write on your profile of what others write, and especially not to have any compromising pictures. I have limited profiles on the students I teach, most of them are senior school age and very into facebook and I rather keep my personal life from them.

My Top Five Resources, Number Three

In 3rd Place

Youtube

www.youtube.com

A website used for uploading videos for personal and promotional purposes. Very popular and used worldwide. I bet you're all on there somewhere!

I find this site very useful for learning songs for auditions, checking out the competition, learning about different artists, getting choreography ideas and basically seeing what's new out there. It's a brilliant contact and insight with the world. Plus it's ultimately very entertaining. I shall put some links to some of my favourites soon, some relevant others not so much. A great idea and a third place on my resources list.

Here is the most viewed video on youtube to date. Very comical, natural and British!

Obviously a con of this popular website is if you are personally on there with an professional video it could possibly harm your career. Though can also start your career, which happened to a girl year below me in college when a casting director watched a poor quality video of her in a show at Urdang and now she is in We Will Rock You in the West End!

To search the youtube site, there is a search bar which predicts what you are typing, helping you to find the video you are looking for or suggesting others to look at. Once you have searched a video others are suggested at the side as similar choices and/or posted by the same user. Business' can use youtube to promote their company or product, such as trailers for a film, or a dance school.

The reliability of the site of course is supported by the fact that you can see it for yourself. Though if you are trying to find something in particular, all that is found in a search won't necessarily be relevant.

My Top Five Resources, Number Four

In 4th Place

Google

www.google.co.uk

What would I do without Google? All I know is, if I'm not sure about something, or need to research a company/song/show/person, Google is where I turn first. Though I must admit, Wikepedia is usually the first site they churn up for information and after our induction slatings I have been feeling guilty to my ignorance and have been known on several occasions to trust their words.

Google: a gigantic search engine, used for anything and everything.

For example I just now googled myself (note: it's such a successful site it's been awarded it's own verb “to google”) and it's come up with a few sites about me “Lucy Florence Clark”

It came up firstly with my Myspace blog site (which I gave up on many moons ago but did check it recently after about two years of neglect!). Secondly my facebook site, then my Casting Call Page. Then two pages linked with work from college (Urdang) reviews written about our shows. Finally a wesite called 123people.co.uk which scarily has some pictures of me. That's hopefully it, but I'm not willing to check out of the 1380,000 results it found in 1.21 seconds. Not bad considering a year ago there was nothing, (yes, sadly I have tried it before but probably without my middle name which I use now as there are so many Lucy Clarks!!)

Anyway, in conclusion Google

Unfortunately being one of the largest search engines in the world, Google is susceptible to searching through lots of useless, unofficial and dangerous sites, which is a large con to this resource. Sites like wikepedia often come up first when researching a word, which can be informative but not always correct.

To search for sites on Google you would type a word or phrase, name or company into the search bar. It will conveniently predict what you are typing and find thousands of sites for what you've searched as well as sponsoring websites in less than a second. The first page is usually the most relevant to your search. With most sites you can tell by their structure and professionalism how useful and reliable they are. Others can be posts on blogs, which will more than likely be opinions rather than factual information.

Referencing my Previous Blog

In reference to my last blog:

By the way, when I was seventeen I went to the first ever Wicked open audition before my professional training so I am one the ones I'm referring to in my last comment!! Plus since I have been trained I have seen others like my seventeen-year-old-self giving it a shot. To be fair, if you look right for the part it doesn't matter where you've come from or what training you've had. It's all about the luck of the draw.

My Top Five Resourses In Descending Order, Number Five

In 5th Place

The Stage

www.thestage.co.uk

I pretty much doubt this will be a shock to anyone, but i will inform and persuade any of you in the entertainment industry who don't use The Stage to give it a second thought.

A weekly newspaper and useful website for keeping up-to-date with entertainment industry. It has recent news concerning arts funding, new shows, television, actors, deals and appeals. It includes news, reviews and information for shows in and around the UK. It holds blogs filled with gossip and tips from the industry. The site and paper offer advice and chats dealing with aspects of making a career or evolving careers within the arts. The website also contains an archive of all past articles to refer back to. Not only all this, but the main reason I personally subscribe to this paper is because of the jobs and auditions section. It often includes open auditions of interest. Amongst quiet periods in the industry this jobs and auditions section usually includes something to keep you going. Prestigious companies regularly use The Stage to advertise their auditions because of it's popularity within the industry. Most performers do subscribe to The Stage and consequently auditions are packed full because of the great publicity it allows companies. Also, you do not have to be a trained professional to read and attend auditions advertised in The Stage and this somewhat becomes apparent at open musical audition.

The downside to The Stage would be that not all published auditions are validated and therefore not always trustworthy. The Stage advertises this idea of reliability amongst the auditions warning readers about the dangers of companies requesting fees up front etc. Sometimes jobs can sound and be too good to be true, but you quickly realise the companies that are safe to apply to. Most companies become quite well known and with that comes the trust, the smaller lesser known companies offering less information and details about an audition and job can be ambiguous. Yet, sometimes they will be fine and can land you a decent job; it's all about the luck of the draw.

On the website you can search in the relevant sections i.e "jobs and auditions" and they are then filtered again into different types of jobs.