Spotlight Graduates is a directory of final-year students from the UK's top drama schools and courses.
Students from CDS schools (see www.drama.ac.uk) are invited to join Spotlight via their schools, during their final year of study.
Spotlight then promotes these students to agents and casting professionals, helping them to take their first steps towards their professional acting career.
What does Spotlight membership give me?
Spotlight web page
Your full CV plus photos, voice-clips and showreel will appear on www.spotlight.com where they can be viewed by casting professionals. Your casting details are fully searchable, so, for example, a casting professional can look for ‘an actor, with a playing age of 18-25, who has dark brown hair and a native Liverpool accent’. Thousands of casting professionals locate performers online in this way.
As soon as your basic web page is live, you will be sent an email with your PIN numbers, which will allow you to access your casting details whenever you wish, to make changes, and to show your CV to others.
Agents can also search Graduate web CVs when looking for new clients to represent.
Spotlight book page
Your photo and brief casting details will appear in the Spotlight Graduates book which is printed in February and distributed to casting professionals and agents. This means they have your photograph and contact details in time for the all-important showcase season, and can use the book as a reference tool for these.
The Spotlight Link
After the Easter holidays during your final year, your CV will also become part of The Spotlight Link, the UK’s leading casting information service. You can start to put yourself forward for job opportunities, so that you have acting work lined up as soon as you graduate.
An average of 160 casting breakdowns are sent out via The Spotlight Link every week, with an average of 571 roles to be cast (based on 2006 statistics). If you have an agent, they will receive these breakdowns on your behalf and put you forward immediately for relevant roles. If you don’t have an agent, you will receive casting information directly by email and can submit your web CV in response if you are suitable.
Spotlight Performance Calendar
Your web CV will also be available to all casting professionals and agents via the Spotlight Performance Calendar: an Internet timetable of drama school showcases which lists upcoming performances and their respective performers. Agents and casting professionals use this daily, to schedule their attendence of these events. Click here for more information about the Performance Calendar.
Spotlight card
Your Spotlight membership card will be sent to you in the second term of your final year. It is a handy reminder of your PIN numbers and entitles you to discounts on products and services negotiated especially for Spotlight members.
How do I join?
If you are invited to join Spotlight, forms will be sent to your school, who will usually hand them out in the first term of your final year. This is because you will need to return them to us by October 15th. Ask your tutor for more information.
We regret that, for this directory, we cannot accept applications from students at other schools. You should instead consider joining our main Actor / Actress directories once you graduate.
Please note: Spotlight does not allow members with the same or similar names. Please click here for more information about choosing your professional name.
How much does it cost?
The cost of membership for Spotlight Graduates is £55.00. You will also be given half-price Spotlight membership for your first year in the main Spotlight Actor / Actress directories, after you graduate.