The Actor's Toolkit
My Three Favorite Tools to Grow Your Career

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Hey, I'm Martin Bentsen and I want you to ROCK your career!

​Have you ever felt overwhelmed as an actor? Conflicting advice, expensive classes and headshots, plus zillions of actors all competing for the same small number of roles?? 

It can feel like making it is just a pipe dream - especially since it's almost impossible to know who to trust and who just wants to take your hard-earned money. That's exactly why I created these three special hacks. ​I'll lay them out in a moment, but just in case you don't know me, here's a quick bio:

I've had the opportunity to help over 14,000 actors with their headshots, reels, marketing strategies, techniques, and more since I started in 2009, and my number one goal has always been to help my clients take on a leadership role in their acting careers.

​​I've spoken at NYU, Actor's Connection, and The Actor's Green Room, and I've been fortunate enough to have built the #1 Yelp and Google rated headshot studio in New York called City Headshots.

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​The Actor's Toolkit
My Three Favorite Tools to Grow Your Career

Tool #1: Perfect Positioning
Find What Makes You Unique in Just Ten Minutes

Positioning is all about "brand," or in other words, what makes you unique enough to be memorable to casting directors. But when it comes to positioning and Brand, most actors either don't know what their brand is or feel too overwhelmed at having received so many different words for their brand, that they have no idea what to do with all the info.

My Perfect Positioning technique is a way to simplify your entire brand down to just five words and it can be done immediately without the need for taking an entire branding workshop. It's a great place to start, and then you can slowly expand on it over time as you learn more about yourself.

Perfect Positioning

1. Think of someone who you deeply admire and look up to (ideally you should know them personally, though it's not required). Write down the 3 personality traits they have that you admire most about them – these are your Positive Words.
2. Next, think of someone you really dislike. Think of the 3 personality traits they have that you most dislike.
3. Now, take a look at the three negative words you wrote. When thinking about those words, which one describes you accurately when you’re at your worst? Narrow it down to the one word that most represents you - force yourself to just pick ONE word. We'll call this your Dark Word.
4. Now, thinking about the character types you most typically get called in for, what would they be? Examples are police officer, student, teacher, intern, gang member, grandmother, etc. If you don’t have enough auditions under your belt to have an answer for this, reach out to at least five people you know (ideally acting teachers or other actors) and ask them what types of characters they could see you playing. Whatever words come up most often are what you should start with. We'll call this your Type.
5. ​Now, you’ll need to combine the words together into a sentence like this: A Positive Words Type [who can be Dark Word at times]. An example could be "A humble, funny, and daring high school teacher [who can be dishonest at times]."
6. That's your Perfect Positioning! Now post it somewhere you'll see every day, and start looking for roles that fit. Over time you can expand on it, but this is a great starting point.

Tool #2: The Top Reliable Casting Sites
​Use These Sites to Get Auditions and Build Your Resume

Finding auditions can be hard, and if you have no agent or manager to help (or you're not near a major city), it can be even harder!

In this tool I'll outline the top six websites where you can find auditions reliably so you don't have to worry about getting an agent.

However, if you really want an agent, I recommend you check out How to Get an Acting Agent: The Ultimate Guide and Agent vs. Manager: Which is Right for You?

Let's dive right in:

The Top 6 Casting Websites

​#1: BACKSTAGE

Backstage is one of the most well-known casting sites. It's been around for years and started as a hard-copy magazine back in 1960. It's now one of the most popular websites/online magazines read by actors, directors, producers, and other industry professionals. Here are some of the perks Backstage offers it's subscribers:

• Specialization in independent film AND theater breakdowns
• A digital presence for every actor to upload his or her headshot, resume, and reel. You can also include information about representation you have, special skills, size sheets, and more
• An online community and forum for actors, directors, writers, producers, and other crew members to connect
• Total cost: $19.95/month or $120/year

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My take: I highly recommend joining and paying for Backstage on an annual basis – how can you beat that deal?


#2: ACTOR'S ACCESS

Actor's Access is owned by Breakdown Services, Ltd. which is the industry-standard website for professional network film & TV breakdowns – major projects you see on television and in movie theaters around the country. Because of that, it's much more likely that you'll find high-level projects on Actor's Access than on other casting sites.

The downside is that the professional roles available are typically very niche – it's only when casting directors need an actor with a very particular look or skillset that they will post their project to Actor's Access.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you cannot have the same name as any other actor with an Actor's Access profile, (meaning you might need to think up a stage name). This is because Actor's Access and Breakdown Services work under SAG-AFTRA rules. Fun fact: Michael Keaton was forced to create his stage name under this rule because he was born as Michael Douglas, a name that was already taken!

Here's some of the perks:

• Specialization in film, television, commercials, web series, student films. Some theater breakdowns are also included, but not as many as you'll find on Backstage
• A digital presence for every actor to upload his or her headshot, resume, and reel. You can also include information about representation you have, special skills, size sheets, and more
• Direct connection to Breakdown Services, meaning all overflow professional productions come through this website
• Eco-Cast services, or the ability to submit your self-tapes to casting directors directly through their online portal (instead of needing to communicate via email, etc.)
• CMail, a special email account you can use to communicate directly with casting directors and talent agents & managers
• Total cost: $2.00/submission or $68/year for Actor's Access PLUS (no per-submission cost and the ability to include a reel or footage with your submission)

My take: I highly recommend joining Actor's Access PLUS – $68 is absolutely worth it.


#3: CASTING NETWORKS

Casting Networks is similar to Backstage, though slightly less well-known. It offers auditions in most major markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Talent agents and managers often use this service to manage their actor's profiles, but you can also create a profile for yourself using their platform for a nominal fee.

Some Casting Networks perks include:

• Specialization in film, television, commercials, web series, and student films. Some theater breakdowns are also included, but not as many as on Backstage
• A digital presence for every actor to upload his or her headshot, resume, and reel. You can also include information about representation you have, special skills, size sheets, and more
• Total cost: $25/year + $1 per submission (some additional costs may be incurred for uploading additional headshots and footage)

My take: I highly recommend joining​ Casting Networks if you can't find enough auditions to submit to using both Actor's Access and Backstage.


#4: PROJECT CASTING

Project Casting is similar to both Backstage and Casting Networks in that you won't find major productions on it but you will be able to find paid and unpaid indie audition opportunities.  It's primarily focused on commercial and modeling gigs. Features include:

• Specialization in commercial and modeling auditions, but you can occasionally find other production types as well
• A digital presence for every actor to upload his or her headshot, resume, and reel. You can also include information about representation you have, special skills, size sheets, and more
• Audition notices and direct contact information/instructions to submit your materials for consideration
• Total cost: $25/month or $108/year for unlimited submissions

My take: I recommend Project Casting if you're primarily interested in getting commercial work.


#5: THEATRE IN...

Theatre In [Chicago / LA / New York / DC] is a great site for unrepresented actors to find theatrical auditions. You can also use the site to find shows to go see in your area.

Unlike the other sites outlined, Theatre In does not offer the ability to create an online profile. Instead, audition notices are simply posted on the site and you need to reach out directly to the casting directors involved. Features include:

• Specialization theater, both Equity (union) and Non-Equity (non-union) auditions
• Audition notices and direct contact information/instructions to submit your materials for consideration
• Total cost: Free

My take: I highly recommend Theater In if you're looking for theatrical auditions. You can't beat free!


#6: PERFORMINK

PerformInk is another free resources in which actors can find primarily stage auditions (and occasional film opportunities). You can use the online search feature to find auditions that fit your look and Type. Features include:

• Specialization in theater, both Equity (union) and Non-Equity (non-union) auditions
• Audition notices and direct contact information/instructions to submit your materials for consideration
• Search feature that allows you to quickly find auditions you're right for
• Crew position opportunities are available as well
• Total cost: Free​​

My take: I highly recommend PerformInk if you're looking for theatrical auditions. Like Theater In, free is always good!

In order to increase your chances of being invited to an audition when using online casting websites, you should always use the following 3 strategies:

1. Plan to pay if you want better results. Some of these sites will allow you to create a profile and submit yourself for free, but I don't recommend that. Plan to pay at least $100-200/year for best results. That's less than $17 a month, which is TOTALLY worth it in my opinion to build your career. The fact is, because so many other actors are unwilling to pay, you'll instantly put yourself WAY ahead of everyone else because your submission will show up towards the top of the pile. Look at your acting career as a business – you MUST be willing to spend some money on marketing if you want to find gigs.
2. Turn on email notifications and respond FAST. Did you know that most actors who take more than 16 hours to respond to a casting call are never even considered? Casting directors work fast and actors who respond within just a few hours have the highest shot of being called in. Most casting sites allow you to get an automatic daily roundup email informing you of all the casting calls for your age, gender, and ethnicity. This can save tons of time from having to comb through hundreds of audition opportunities each day to find ones you're right for, and will allow you to respond much more quickly.
3. Beware of scams. Beware of any auditions that require you to pay money to apply perform. You should be the one being paid – not them. Also, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Anything that promises huge pay, lots of fame, etc., is almost never real because those auditions are usually reserved for Breakdown Services, LTD., the casting call service that only talent agents have access to.​

Tool #3: Kickstart Your Acting Career
The 5-Day Mini Course to Get Your Acting Career Off the Ground

Get started by clicking here.

​Note that you need to input your name and email to trigger the 5-day email sequence where each course module will be unlocked for you.

I hope you enjoyed The Actor's Toolkit!

My number one goal is to help as many actors as possible move their careers forward so one day, we can all end the cliche of "the starving artist" together.

​If you enjoyed this, be on the lookout for the emails I send each week with other strategies and hacks like these. I look forward to hearing of your future success!