Task 1A: Professional Profile

Task 1a: Professional Profile 

The first experience I ever had of writing a C.V was, like most others, from school.  I sat down with my mum and we talked about all the different things that potential employers might want to see.  How to make it readable and easy to understand, the last thing you want is to lose an opportunity because your C.V doesn't clearly represent who you are.  As a performer it's vital to have another type of C.V. In college we had a talk from a spotlight representative on different formats, what people wanted to see and,  most importantly… information that wasn't deemed relevant.  I remember finding this hard, how to sell yourself to a casting director in just one sheet of A4. To me, it seems very impersonal.  I have two C.Vs, one that I refer to as my academic C.V and one that is my performance C.V, from reading other students blogs I feel a lot of us are in the same boat! I once had a workshop with a London casting director and a few people asked for advice on C.Vs and headshot etc.  He reminded us of how important it is to just include relevant information and to leave out things that simply don’t matter to them. He said it was common to get thousands of C.Vs for a castings so time was always an issue! One of the main differences between my two C.V’s is that my performance C.V contains my headshot displayed in the top right corner.  For a job that is not performance related it seems completely unethical that you could be selected for interview purely because of how you look, but of course in the performance world your headshot is the first thing they look at.  

Both my C.V’s are designed to promote myself and advertise to a potential employer that I have the right skills and experience to work for them.   There are plenty things you can learn from looking at a C.V but also plenty of things left unanswered.  Maybe you will be asked about a specific topic  in an interview, maybe they just don’t see it as relevant. Today, I had an interview and I couldn't wait for a certain topic to come up as I was eager to share my experience, it seemed to be the type of thing they were looking for and I knew, given the opportunity, that I could excel with my knowledge in this area.  Today, my C.V guided the potential employer into asking that question, so maybe they are more of just a guideline into a persons professional experience. 

In this task, I'm given the opportunity to miss out the middle man and to write a profile that includes things I particularly want to mention.  I’m not going to set it out like my current C.Vs ( see below) but more of a readable story.  This is the first time I have ever attempted something like this and it took a few drafts before I thought It was worth publishing! I welcome feedback so please feel free to leave comments.

   

My name is Kayleigh Hughes, though on my Equity card it says Kayleigh LeMay, I adopted a name change for my performance career simply because my surname can be quite common.  My first experience of the performing arts was a recreational school when I was four years old and by the time I was a young teenager I had decided that performing arts was more that just a hobby, I switched dance schools in order to gain exam qualifications.  I was also attending De La Salle High School which had a performing arts status at the time.  Throughout school I was actively involved in anything and everything I could be, from the big end of year productions to the orchestra and the choir. 

I then went on to pursue my A levels in Dance, Performing Arts and Drama and Theatre studies.  Whilst at Winstanley College I was auditioning for Schools across the country and was fortunate enough to gain a full scholarship to attend Liverpool Theatre School on their three year course in Professional Musical Theatre.  It was here that I had my first experience of the professional world and just how challenging it was going to be.  Liverpool Theatre School was extremely disciplined and I am proud to have attended a school that really prepared me for the industry. 

Graduating into the professional world I secured my first job as a performer working as a lead vocalist for Warner Leisure Hotels.  This job was incredibly demanding and required a lot of hours, here I learned that to be in this industry, sacrifices were not uncommon. 

 After that contract I took the leap and moved from the north of England down to London. This is were I became a teaching assistant.  This was primarily supposed to be just a job but I was surprised just how much I enjoyed it.  I found myself asking my teaching agency for more challenging roles and placements in a range of schools. Often I worked one to one with children who had SEN, I found this particular rewarding.  I also worked in a Children's' Hospital School where  I was constantly required to be creative and ‘think outside the box’  the children in my care had various barriers to learning and it was and extremely rewarding to rely on my performing arts background to solve problems.  I quickly learnt that no two days were ever the same when working with children and young adults, I found the challenge exciting and invigorating. It was here that I developed and interest in Arts used as Therapy, I am fascinated with this topic and am looking forward to learning more.  

I also have experience teaching the performing arts in private dance schools. Like other fellow performers, this is something I love to do.  The experience of helping a student develop their skills is a journey I am proud to be a part of.   

I was then given the opportunity to work for Stiletto Entertainment in LA and then perform on board a Holland America Line Ship.  I jumped at the chance to develop my performance career and was given the F1 role as a lead vocalist.  Cruise ships were never part of my plan, but I am so glad that It happened!  Cruise ship life presents so many opportunities not only to do the job you adore but to travel the world and meet amazing people. I met my partner on my last contract, he is a navigation officer, and now we live in South Shields whilst he completes his next licence. It was on my last contract that I started to really think about the BAPP course and what I would like to do next. Im incredibly excited to develop as a professional and look forward to the challenges ahead.