It\u2019s vitally important that you keep your Spotlight profile up to date so casting directors can find you through\u00a0Spotlight search.<\/a>\u00a0This should be a regular task you set yourself so we\u2019d suggest making a note in your diary to check-in every month.<\/p>\n Publishing accurate up-to-date information about your credits, skills and training will only improve your chances of being found on Spotlight. You never know what might be useful for a casting professional to know about you!<\/p>\n Our bespoke profile editor allows you to update your details intuitively, at any time and on the move. All your changes will be published immediately on your Spotlight profile.<\/p>\n By clicking on any of the edit (pen) icons on your profile edit page you can update each area of your profile individually.<\/p>\n Here you can add information about your\u00a0gender, physical appearance, playing age, location and nationality, vocal and singing ranges\u00a0etc.\u00a0If you want or need to change your performer name\u00a0<\/a>you\u2019ll also see links on how to get in touch so we can check its availability.<\/p>\n Once you have selected a gender option you can decide to publish your gender publicly or keep it private (but still be found by casting professionals).<\/p>\n Brand new members of Spotlight should ensure they update their profile immediately after being accepted since we do not\u00a0 ask for this information when you make an application. This is a key search criteria, so make sure to do this as soon as possible. We will continue to remind you (by email) if this information is missing.<\/strong><\/p>\n When providing information about gender you can choose from the following options:\u00a0 Female, Male, Transgender – Female, Transgender – Male, Non-Binary and Custom*<\/p>\n *If\u00a0you don\u2019t fit into one of these options, you can choose\u00a0 \u2018Custom\u2019 where you can add additional information about yourself e.g. if you\u2019re gender fluid. Anything typed into the custom field can be searched by casting professionals.<\/em><\/p>\n The ability to add further information to your gender selection applies for all gender options.<\/p>\n To change or update your gender on your profile, follow these steps:<\/p>\n You may also want to update your job filters…<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve updated your gender, don\u2019t forget to change your job filters to show you relevant roles. To do this:<\/p>\n If applicable, please also discuss with your agent which gender roles you want to be submitted for in the future. Agents need to understand what gender role(s) you\u2019re interested in playing, how you\u2019d like to be found on Spotlight and how best they can help you. You may find page 9 of the\u00a0Equity Guidelines for Entertainment Professionals working with LGBT+ Performers<\/a>\u00a0which were put together in collaboration with All About Trans and Spotlight useful in this regard.<\/p>\n Some things to discuss with your agent could include:<\/p>\n There are a couple of options currently for displaying your pronouns on your profile e.g. She\/Her, He\/Him, They\/Them. You can either add them to your ‘About me’ section or add them to the ‘Further information’ box when selecting your gender on your profile in the ‘Details’ area.<\/p>\n If you are a Deaf or disabled performer you can choose to add this information to your profile and add more specific information should you wish. You also have full control over whether this information can be seen publicly or not.<\/p>\n Whether you decide to publish your disability(ies) publicly or keep it private, we\u2019ve made sure that you can be found by casting professionals.<\/p>\n To change, remove or update any disabilities on your profile, follow these steps:<\/p>\n Here you are able to self-manage which\u00a0agents<\/strong>\u00a0appear on your profile. If you need to remove your agents and appear as self-representing\u00a0you can find more help as an unrepresented performer in these FAQs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Please note that our Young Performer members do need to be represented to maintain their membership and cannot appear on Spotlight without an agent.<\/p>\n If you are a graduate member the details of your training school will also automatically appear on your profile in this area. Once you are no longer a graduate member these will not appear here.<\/p>\n Currently only Spotlight can add a link to your professional personal website. To have a site added or removed please\u00a0contact us<\/a>. This area will soon be self-editable.<\/p>\n Our photo management system allows you to change your main headshot or any of your gallery images any time you want. You\u2019ll find handy tips and advice about what type of images are best for Spotlight and prompts not to add too many. All photographs are published immediately but note all photo uploads are subsequently reviewed by our team and will be removed if they do not meet our image\u00a0guidelines<\/a>. In this area you can also hide, re-order or remove images. We have lots more\u00a0advice on how to make sure you publish the best photograph<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our easy to use media management system allows you to upload and publish up to\u00a020 minutes each<\/em>\u00a0of video and audio at any one time. You can also re-order, hide and describe your media clips.\u00a0Take a look at our advice and FAQs for managing your Spotlight media library.<\/a><\/p>\n Keeping your credits up-to-date is incredibly important so casting directors can see the breadth of your experience, know the kinds of places you have performed, genres you\u2019ve worked across and with which companies and directors. You can choose to publish your credits in a list, in date order, or under specific headings that you can also manage and reorder e.g. Audio, Television, Film, Feature Film, Short Film, Stage etc. But please note that casting professionals have the option, on a profile by profile basis, to choose how they view credits.<\/p>\n All credit information is searchable so it’s vital you fill out as much information as you can and that you spell names and production titles correctly. Take a look at our\u00a0useful tips to help you make the most of your credits.<\/a><\/p>\n Adding skills to your profile is also key.\u00a0But they must always be honest and accurate<\/a>. You can update your\u00a0accents and dialects, languages, music and dance, performance, presenting and sports skills<\/strong>\u00a0here too whilst also showing your skill level e.g. skilled or highly skilled. You will see prompts to ensure you don\u2019t add too many.<\/p>\n There are two free text areas here,\u00a0\u2018About me\u2019\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Training<\/strong>. You will see prompts and character counts in each so you can keep your information concise.<\/p>\n The free text entered into these sections is\u00a0key word searchable<\/strong>. Casting professionals can search for key words, and if that word is in your \u2018About Me\u2019 or training section, you\u2019ll come up in their results. So it\u2019s important to make every word count!<\/p>\n The \u2018About Me\u2019 section is ideal for listing useful information that doesn\u2019t fit anywhere else on your profile, such as productions you\u2019ve recently appeared in, or for instance more details about your heritage, and unusual skills that might not appear in the \u2018Skills\u2019 section.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to list every course\/workshop you\u2019ve ever attended in your \u2018Training\u2019 section. Focus on your key training, such as drama school. Or, if you\u2019ve done very specialised training such as \u2018L’ecole Jacques Lecoq’, or for example specific combat training then this may be worth including too.<\/p>\n Keep both sections neat and up to date, and don\u2019t forget to adapt the information to suit the roles you\u2019re putting yourself forward for.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll see features at the top of the edit page where you can print or email your profile. And when editing, to see how your published profile appears, click on \u2018View published profile\u2019.<\/p>\n In the top left hand corner (right on mobile) you will see a menu \u2018hamburger\u2019.<\/p>\n Clicking on this gives you access to the navigation menu where you can see your jobs feed (adult performers only); a \u2018Link to my profile\u2019 facility where you\u2019ll find \u2018Spotlight performer\u2019 buttons that you can add to your own website or blog; your account settings; and Spotlight discounts.<\/p>\n Having undertaken industry research as well as collating all our previous feedback we will also be including a range of new appearance options that better represent our members.<\/p>\n We will be expanding the features available when publishing your credits to include more granular date ranges e.g. 04.06.20 – 05.07.21 or June 2020 to July 2021 as well as a way for you to highlight your top five credits to casting directors in a separate \u2018highlights\u2019 heading.<\/p>\n There’ll also be a new venue field for stage and other relevant live performance credits so, as appropriate, you can publish that a performance took place at e.g. The Globe.<\/p>\n A new \u2018Reviews and awards\u2019 section will also follow where you can publish stage, film or television reviews and awards such as e.g. Winner of Carleton Hobbs award.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll be regularly rolling out new features to make your profile the best it can be and to ensure you are more easily found by casting professionals.<\/p>\n We strongly recommend that you always use the most up-to-date version of your browser. If you choose to use browsers\u00a0other than those we recommend<\/a>, or older versions of browsers, please be aware that some functionality may not work as expected or even at all.<\/p>\n As ever our dedicated publishing team checks every edit and photo update you make so we make sure you are always presented in the best possible light.<\/p>\nSpotlight Profile and Profile Editor<\/h3>\n
Your Details<\/h3>\n
Updating Your Gender<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Job Filters<\/h3>\n
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Pronouns<\/h3>\n
Updating Your Disability<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Contact<\/h3>\n
Performer Website<\/h3>\n
Adding Photographs<\/h3>\n
Adding or Updating Your Showreel and Audio Clips<\/h3>\n
Credits<\/h3>\n
Skills<\/h3>\n
‘About Me’ and Training<\/h3>\n
How to Print, Email or View Your Published Profile<\/h3>\n
Your Main Menu<\/h3>\n
Other Improvements to Come…<\/h3>\n
Browsers<\/h3>\n