Actor Update Cards

This upcoming weekend is Closing Weekend for my current show (I can't believe it's almost over) and I am going over in my mind what I need to do to inform my contacts that I will be back in LA full-time (well, until I travel for Xmas/NYE).

Being in San Diego (predominately) for the past few months has required me to put all other auditions on hold. Most of the shoot dates, as well as the actual auditions, conflicted with my play. While yes, that forced me to remain solely focused on the task at hand, it crippled me in that I was not being seen for 3 months. People can forget you very easily in this town if you don't make yourself known.

That being said, I decided I should send out an "Update Card". Essentially, this is a shortened version of a One-Sheet, "a single document that summarizes a product for publicity and sales." (Dallas Travers talks about the One-Sheet frequently).

My intention was to send something by email, that would be visible within the body of the email (so the receiver doesn't have to actually click on anything to open it) and would ultimately update them on what I had achieved in the recent few months.

With the frame of a One-Sheet in mind, I opened up a blank document in Word and created something that was stylized similarly to my website. I included reviews that I've received for my performance in my current show, and also included quick snippets of what I have been up to in the past few months. As you can see, it's short, sweet and to the point.

I've emailed it to my agents and some other contacts and will also email it to others after the Holiday Season so I can hopefully foster new relationships. I think it's a great, free way to connect with industry and update them in an easy, non-evasive manner. I'll keep you posted on how it works!

--Tamara Dhia