Home Stagehand Resume template
Stagehand resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what stagehands actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most stagehands should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Stagehand with hands-on backstage experience across theatre, concert and event settings. Skilled in set assembly, lighting and sound positioning, fly system operation and safe backstage practice. Available for casual evening and weekend shifts, with a calm approach to cues and changeovers.
Key skills
- Set bump in and bump out
- Fly system operation and scenery moves
- Lighting and sound equipment positioning
- Hand and power tool work
- Rigging hardware handling
- WHS and risk assessment
- Manual handling and physical stamina
- Cue and changeover coordination
- Time and deadline management
- Backstage housekeeping
- Lighting console basic operation
- Sound desk basic operation
- Problem solving under show conditions
- Written communication for show reports
Experience: example bullet points
- Set up and struck stage sets for theatre and live music events across several venues, keeping bump in and bump out within scheduled windows.
- Operated counterweight fly system to move scenery on cue, maintaining smooth scene changes and performer safety.
- Positioned and adjusted lighting fixtures, sound gear and staging under direction from technical crew, reducing last-minute adjustments before doors.
- Assisted performers and crew with quick changes and cue calls during shows, helping maintain show timing without interrupting the audience experience.
- Maintained a safe and tidy backstage area by clearing trip hazards, checking equipment and reporting faults before each performance.
- Worked across evening, weekend and touring schedules, adapting to different venue layouts and load-in restrictions.
- Used hand and power tools to assemble set pieces, braces and temporary structures, following WHS procedures and safe work method statements.
Education
Certificate III or IV in Live Production and Technical Services is the most common qualification, and some stagehands hold a diploma or degree in technical theatre or event production. Others enter after Year 12 and learn on the job through venue and casual crew work.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- White Card
- Working at Heights
- Elevated Work Platform ticket
- Basic Rigging ticket
- Dogging ticket
- WHS
- SWMS
- SafeWork
- MEAA
- Live Performance Australia
- bump in
- bump out
- fly system
- counterweight fly system
- lighting console
- sound desk
- rigging hardware
- theatre
- arena
- convention centre
- casual
- evening and weekend
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.