The Spotlight podcast: Dan Hubbard CDG's advice for actors

The latest Spotlight podcast features advice for performers on all areas of castings and the industry from Dan Hubbard of Hubbard Casting. Dan talks us through how graduates can get noticed, the importance of agents to casting directors, what he looks for in photos and showreels, and his top tips for impressing in the industry.

Hubbard Casting is a family-owned business and has cast some of the biggest films in recent years, including The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, and Harry Brown.

We spoke to Dan ahead of the latest Spotlight Graduate event to tap into his wealth of experience and invaluable advice for all actors – both Spotlight Graduates and experienced performers.

Don’t miss this valuable insight from one of the UK’s leading casting directors – click to subscribe to the Spotlight podcast via iTunes now.

You can also download the podcast or listen via the player below.

Don’t miss future podcasts containing valuable insights from key industry professionals. Click to subscribe to the Spotlight podcast in iTunes.
 
You can listen to previous podcasts on the Spotlight podcast site, with a range of hints and tips from industry professionals, ready for you to download.

posted on 9th February 2012

How to sell yourself as a performer on Facebook

Facebook is changing your personal profiles – and this presents a great opportunity for performers to market themselves on the social network, but it also comes with risks and considerations. Spotlight’s social media expert, Gary Andrews, talks you through how to sell yourself on Facebook, and what issues you need to be aware of.

You may not have wanted it, but if you have a personal profile on Facebook then you’ll soon be forced to convert to their Timeline – Facebook’s new, compulsory way of displaying your life’s history, not just your current thoughts on the latest film or television programme.

The Timeline gives a significant change to the look and feel of your profile, backfilling updates through your personal history as well as offering a more visual representation of your life. Some may hate it, some may love it, but everybody’s getting it – and this could be an opportunity for you, as a performer, to market yourself to a wider audience

The basic considerations

The main question for any performer is whether you want to use your personal Facebook account as a way of promoting yourself, or you just want to use it on a personal level for chatting to friends and family. Either way, you’ll need to review your privacy settings and check exactly what you’re happy with the general public seeing.

Assuming you’re happy to open your life up to others (we’ll come to those who are less than happy to do so later), then Facebook’s new Timeline is an opportunity, and keeping your privacy settings open makes it easier for your profile to be found away from Facebook.

The key thing to remember here is Facebook is as private as you want it to be. It’s up to you to decide how much to share (for an overview of Facebook’s privacy settings, click here). But the more people see of you, the more you can use it to your advantage.

Facebook now allows you to “subscribe” to open personal profiles. This means you can get somebody’s updates in your feed without having to be their friend. Journalists, in particular, have adopted the subscribe button, as have celebrities. It removes the need to feel compelled to respond to friend requests from strangers.

Subscribing is a good way to market yourself to a wider public. With millions of people all over the world on Facebook, it makes sense to make it as easy as possible to open up your work to them. You can also add the subscribe button to your personal website – meaning anybody logged into Facebook can subscribe without having to find you on Facebook first.

A word of warning. If you intend to make your profile as public, you may want to go back through your Timeline and remove any pictures, statuses or similar that you wouldn’t be happy with the wider world seeing. If you’re using your personal profile for professional means, you have to ensure this reflects the image you’re looking to convey.

Customising your profile

The Facebook Timeline presents a great opportunity to market yourself using what Facebook calls the “cover”. This is the big picture that you’ll see on the new Timeline - Facebook wants you to use this to reflect a part of you or an impressive moment in your life.

This is a completely customisable photograph, so you can easily upload a professionally designed cover – Act On This’s blog have a particularly good set of designs that show off the possibilities.

Although you can’t embed links within these photos (yet), it’s a very prominent place to put key information such as your Spotlight CV URL or agent’s contact details. Think of it as the nearest you can get to a Facebook business card.

You will need to design this – or get somebody else to design it. Photoshop is the best software to use, or you can try a free tool such as Gimp . Pictures for the cover should be 851 pixels wide by 314 high. This isn’t a big job, so be careful of paying too much to get this designed.

Once you’ve added your key information, think about what you can populate your Timeline with. Chances are you already share links to your material with your friends on Facebook, so it’s just a question of remembering to make these public when you post them.

Adding videos of your latest work, showreels, headshots, links to your latest role, relevant pictures and the like are all great material to populate your Timeline. Think of it as a living, breathing CV being fed out to your subscribers.

If you want to go beyond this, your Timeline gives you a great opportunity to highlight your personality and interests with a wider audience, and really bring across a sense of you, the performer.

There are some good examples of public figures using Timelines to promote themselves and engage with others here, while Jessica Alba is a good example of an actor using Facebook to promote other interests.

The Timeline has the capacity to be a lot more vibrant and multimedia-led than, say, your Twitter profile (although it’s good to have both – they serve different purposes) but, again, it’s worth emphasising that this is public so you need to make sure you’re not posting anything that could present you in a bad light.

Alternatives and issues to be aware of

What if you’re uneasy of using Facebook’s personal profile to sell yourself? It’s perfectly understandable and there are many reasons to be cautious about embracing this completely – even if it is a good self-marketing opportunity.

It does mean your life is in the public domain – and all your updates will go to your existing friends, which may irritate them. Similarly, you’ll have to be very specific about what you want to share publicly and what you just want to share with friends.

There are alternatives to opening up your profile though. Theoretically, you could create a second profile, meaning you have one for private, personality activity, and a public profile to show the world.

But having more than one profile is strictly against Facebook’s terms of service and you risk having one or both accounts suspended. This isn’t something we’d recommend.

It’s better to create a Facebook page for you, the performer – assuming you haven’t already done so. Just like Spotlight (above), almost every brand has Facebook Page. As you’re a brand, you can create a page that others can “like” so you can promote your work.

Pages are much more like official marketing tools and, in many ways, make more sense to sell yourself than using your personal Timeline. However, they come across as less natural and vibrant than a regularly updated Timeline.

You also have to build up your ‘“likes”’ from scratch as Pages require a lot of work and regular updating to show up in your fans’ news feeds. You may spend lots of time and effort only to have a Page with 30 fans and nobody interacting on anything you do or say.

It is, however, an alternative to opening up your personal life. There is also a possibility that Facebook will enable Timelines for Pages as well as profiles, although they’re being typically tight-lipped if about whether this is on the agenda. Nonetheless, it may be worth waiting to see if this happens, especially if you already have an active Page.

Ultimately, it’s your choice whether you want to use your personal profile, a Facebook Page, both, or neither to promote yourself as a performer. Hopefully, by outlining these in-depth, you feel more confident to about making the choice that works best for you.

posted on 8th February 2012

How to choose your professional name for Spotlight and Equity

One of the most important decisions you take in your performing career is what your professional name will be. Most performers keep their own name, but you need to ensure this is unique and isn’t easily confused with other performers.

This is an issue both Spotlight and performers’ union Equity get plenty of questions about from new members. We asked Equity’s Head of Membership Matt Hood for his advice on picking your performing name.

For performers choosing a unique, professional name is key to establishing yourself in a highly competitive industry. Whether by word of mouth, in theatre programmes, television credits or social media exposure, your name is your brand - the means by which you will be identified.

But what makes a good professional name?  The easiest place to start is your legal name, which if distinct enough is a ready-made brand – think Benedict Cumberbatch or Keira Knightley. 

But if not – if you’re Steve Smith or David Jones – then you will need to consider changing your name to make yourself more identifiable. I call this the Google test – if you search for you own name and you’re not the only search result or aren’t in the top results then your brand is not strong enough.

The next step is the creative part, and only you can decide what name you feel most comfortable with. 

Perhaps you’ll keep your first name (it’s what most people call you) and change your surname – a mother’s maiden name or a double-barrelled name is common. Or maybe you’re sick of being Boris, and now you can be the Jamie you always wanted.

You also need to be aware of the global nature of the industry. Checking on IMDB is a must, and a good way to ensure that you are not the tenth person to try to establish a career in your name. You don’t really want people thinking that this is your first job since a TV pilot in the 90s, nor do you want to be confused with an ‘adult’ performer.

When you apply to join Equity or Spotlight you will not be allowed membership if your professional name is already in use. Although most actors will be members of both, there will be some who are not, so you need to check with us both. 

You also need to bear in mind that Equity covers a wider range of performers – singers, models, dancers – and the creative personnel like theatre directors and designers.  Not all Equity members choose to advertise on our website, so it is best to check with us over the phone regarding a name’s availability.

Neither Equity nor Spotlight will allow initials, middle names, misspellings or abbreviations to distinguish between members – so that’s no Judi P Dench, no Emma Louise Watson, no Thandy Neuton and no Mike Caine.  But if you’ve done the simple steps above, you won’t have to worry about that.

If you’ve any questions about your name in Spotlight, you can email us on questions@spotlight.com or visit our name advice page. You can also type your name into the search box on the top right-hand corner on this site to see if we already have a member with the same or similar name.

For more information and advice from Equity, visit www.equity.org.uk.

posted on 7th February 2012

Spotlight’s weekly news roundup: 3 February 2012

Welcome to Spotlight’s weekly news roundup, where we highlight the news and blogs we’ve enjoyed and want to share with our members and others within the industry, so sit back and catch up on the stories you need to know about.

Wonderful West End and beyond

Some good news for the West End this week as it was reported that revenues for 2011 were up by 3.1%, despite more dark weeks, when big theatres were closed for installation. Musicals such as The Wizard Of Oz, Shrek, Ghost and Matilda helped this trend, as did hot tickets like Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem.

If that’s whetted your appetite to watch more theatre this month, London Theatre Tickets has an excellent preview for February’s plays around the capital. There’s so many great shows, it’s difficult to pick which to head to. And looking ahead to May, one of the hottest tickets is likely to be The Sunshine Boys, where Danny DeVito makes his West End debut alongside Spotlight member Richard Griffiths.

There’s no shortage of musicals, both in the West End and touring, and Spotlight member Jonny Vickers has written some excellent advice for performers looking to break into musical theatre. Jonny graduated from the Guildford School of Acting two-and-a-half years ago, and is now touring with Blood Brothers. He’s picked up several useful tips along the way, not all of them conventional.

This weekend sees a celebration of all things off-West End with the Offies on Sunday. There’s been plenty of fantastic plays and performances all over the capital, and Matt Trueman at The Guardian argues London’s fringe theatre has never had it so good, while A Younger Theatre go behind the scenes at the awards.

Focusing on the performer

The results are back from Equity’s survey on TV credits – and it seems the public feel as strongly about this issue as those within the industry. Out of 10,000 respondents, 95.2% said splitting the screen or squeezing credits made them harder to read and 88.7% said they got “very annoyed” about the issue.

Many of our Spotlight Graduates will be thinking of the world beyond drama school at the moment, including securing an agent. Fourthwall Magazine has some sage advice on how to deal with whispers of agent interest and selecting the right agent for you.

Meanwhile, In The Wings has a tale of a rather awkward audition from a “straight” actor who ended up being put through for a musical performance. As Nina, the performer in question says, “Actors should be proactive about finding out about the project” beforehand.

If you’re a Spotlight Presenter, or a performer considering a move into presenting, this week’s Spotlight podcast is essential listening. Waring & McKenna’s Liz Ekberg – a former producer, director and reporter – has some fantastic tips on how to succeed as a presenter, as well as which skills you need to focus on.

There’ve been so many awards in the past couple of weeks, it’s been hard to keep up, but there’s been plenty of success for Spotlight members – and plenty of successes Spotlight has had a hand in, so we’ve rounded up all the winners and nominees. A huge congratulations from everybody here at Spotlight to all winners and nominees.

Looking to the future

What’s On Stage has a fascinating piece on Robert Delamere and Tom Show’s Digital Theatre business and asks, with their release of Much Ado About Nothing, whether theatre-on-demand for the living room has finally come of age.

One on-demand service growing is Sky’s Anytime+ service, with the announcement that it will soon include both BBC iPlayer and ITV Player catch-up services, opening up programmes from these major broadcasters to an even wider audience.

Staying online, how do theatres make the most of the opportunities presented to them from social networking? Tom Beadshaw explains how the National Theatre Wales created its own online community using social network platform Ning that brings audiences closer to the decision making and productions as a whole, and crucially engages younger audiences.

And looking to the future, we’re like to offer our congratulations to Spotlight member Samantha Barks after she landed the role of Eponine in the upcoming Les Miserables film. Securing the part his exciting enough, but Samantha found out when Cameron Mackintosh joined her on stage at Manchester’s Palace Theatre after a performance of Oliver! to announce her success to the audience.

From all at Spotlight, have a fantastic weekend and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. You can also tell us what you’re up to on Facebook, and Google+.

posted on 3rd February 2012

Award success for Spotlight members and projects cast via The Link

We may be into February, but the awards keep on coming, and it’s great to see so many of our members getting recognition for their excellent performances, and we at Spotlight would like to extend a hearty congratulations to all our members who’ve been nominated or have won an award.

Last week saw the National Television Awards, with many Spotlighters richly rewarded. In addition, Spotlight is proud to have played our part in helping to bring together the casts of these much-loved television staples.

Serial drama nominees Hollyoaks and EastEnders were cast first via The Spotlight Link, and then at Spotlight’s Leicester Square casting studios. Rick Laxton was the casting director for Hollyoaks, while Rachelle Warren cast EastEnders, and it’s a privilege to have the pleasure of helping to bring these well-loved soaps together.

Still on the subject of EastEnders, we at Spotlight would like to extend huge congratulations to Spotlight Young Performer Jacqueline Jossa, who won best newcomer for her role as Lauren Branning.

There was also a great send off for Spotlight member Katherine Kelly (above, with Paula Lane) as she bowed out from Coronation Street and headed for She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre. Katherine took home Best Serial Drama Performance, while Corrie itself (with many Spotlighters in the cast) was named Best Serial Drama. The popular ITV show was also cast via the Spotlight Link by Granada Media, and the viewers’ votes at the NTAs show what a great job they’ve done.

There was success for the Doctor Who pairing of Spotlight members Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, while the show itself was another cast via the Spotlight Link, this time by Andy Pryor. Other Spotlight members celebrating were David Walliams, who was awarded the Landmark Award, and the casts of Downton Abbey and Outnumbered.

Downton Abbey was also cast via the Spotlight Link by Jill Trevellick, who also cast fellow NTA nominee Merlin via us as well. Other NTA nominees cast via the Link include Benidorm, by Toby Whale, and Waterloo Road by Michelle Smith. Michelle also used Spotlight’s studios as their base for casting and discovering the young on-screen talent in the school drama.

Last weekend also saw the first BBC Audio Drama Awards, celebrating the excellent productions loved by many across the BBC’s radio services. Congratulations go to Spotlight members David Tennant (Best Actor - Kafka: The Musical), Rosie Cavaliero (Best Actress - Lost Property: A Telegram From The Queen), and Andrew Scott (Best Supporting Actor / Actress - Referee) for their success at the awards. The History Of Titus Groan also won Best Adaptation – Spotlight’s editor Kate Poynton picked this out as one of her highlights of the year in our 2011 round-up.

Of course, the big awards over the Atlantic keep coming, and there was success again for Spotlight member Christopher Plummer (Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role) for his performance in Beginners at the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards. With a Golden Globe also under his belt, we wish Christopher the best of luck for the Oscars this month, where he’s also been nominated.

Other Spotlight members nominated for both the Oscars and Screen Actor Guild Awards in the Supporting Actor and Actress categories were Kenneth Branagh for My Week With Marylin and Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs.

Also at the SAG Awards, other Spotlight member nominees included Tilda Swinton for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and Maggie Smith and Emily Watson for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. The latter was a rich category for Spotlight members, with fellow Spotlighter Kate Winslet taking the prize for her performance in Mildred Pierce.

From everyone here at Spotlight, congratulations to all winners and nominees in what has been an outstanding past 12 months for great performances on television, radio and film.

posted on 3rd February 2012

The Spotlight podcast: Top tips for succeeding as a TV presenter

What are the vital skills you need to succeed as a presenter? How can you gain these skills, and use them to impress producers? And what’s the best way for performers to break into the world of presenting? These are just some of the questions Liz Ekberg answers in the latest Spotlight podcast.

Liz is a former producer, director, and reporter, having worked for Barry Norman’s film review programme, The Wide Awake Club, Newsround and CBBC. She now works as a Junior Talent Agent for leading agency Waring and McKenna.

We spoke to Liz at our recent Spotlight Presenters’ seminar to get her advice on succeeding as a presenter, both on television or elsewhere and whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance your career.

Don’t miss this valuable insight into the world of musical theatre – click to subscribe to the Spotlight podcast via iTunes now.
 
You can also download the podcast or listen via the player below.

Don’t miss future podcasts containing valuable insights from key industry professionals. Click to subscribe to the Spotlight podcast in iTunes.
 
You can listen to previous podcasts on the Spotlight podcast site, with a range of hints and tips from industry professionals, ready for you to download.

posted on 2nd February 2012

Spotlight’s Scandinavian travels: Norway’s Bardar Academy

Spotlight isn’t just confined to the British Isles. As well as our global collaboration with other International Alliance of Casting Directories (IACD) members, we also spend time building contacts in Europe to benefit our members and subscribers.

Last week, Spotlight’s PR Manager Emma Dyson (pictured left, outside Oslo’s National Theatre) headed to Norway to speak to students at the Bardar Academy and discover a little more about the Scandinavian acting industry. Now she’s thawed out, here’s her report:

So to Oslo Spotlight goes! This is the furthest I’ve travelled for Spotlight talk yet and – given the temperature is minus five degrees  – possibly the coldest. It may be below freezing outside, but I’m warmly welcomed by the Bardar Academy principals, Freddy and Hilde Haugan.

Bardar International was founded in 1937 and is a theatre school focusing on professional preparation in all areas of musical theatre - performance, auditioning, dance, singing and acting. The students perform shows in English and Norwegian and you can watch their London showcase at the Criterion Theatre on Tuesday, 3 April.

I’m here at Bardar to take a look at the school, talk to the students about Spotlight and watch the students perform in their production of Cabaret. Being one of my favourite musicals, I was keenly anticipating how 1930's Berlin would translate to these young students performing a dark and dazzling musical and they didn't disappoint.

Directed by Tony award-winner Chet Walker, the theatre lent itself well to a traditional Cabaret layout and the students gave their all to a packed and appreciative audience. I loved it.

I loved Oslo, the people, the school, the enthusiasm of the students and even the snow (although I’ll hold back my love for the general cost of, well, everything), but Oslo, I've found a friend!

For more information on the Bardar Academy, visit their website at http://www.baardar.no/ (although you may need Google Translate at the ready if you don’t speak Norwegian) or follow them on Twitter @Baardar.

posted on 1st February 2012

Musical theatre: What I’ve learnt from my audition experiences

Musical theatre is a competitive industry, with many specific skills and considerations, and no matter how much training you have, there’s no substitute for learning on the job.

Here, Spotlight member Jonathan Vickers shares his experiences and advice from the past few years, as he made the transition from graduate to musical theatre performer. Some of his auditions may have been unconventional, but he’s always found a way to make the best of any situation, in or out of work...

It’s been two-and-a-half years since that sunny August day in 2009 when I graduated from the Guildford School of Acting and made the move to London to start out as a young actor.

Drama school absolutely prepared me for the demands of the business in many respects, but it isn’t until you leave that bubble of training that you fully understand what being an actor really involves. I’m far from being an expert, but nonetheless I’ve gleaned a few pearls of wisdom along the way.

Surviving the harder and leaner times within this business ultimately comes down to seeing every experience, good or bad, as a learning curve. A bad audition really is a good story.

How many people can say they have walked into an audition doing diablo tricks before realising that they had misread the breakdown and the panel wasn’t looking for any such skills? Not many. I can!

Despite what the above anecdote may suggest, there is an art to auditioning. Being yourself in an audition is incredibly difficult, but incredibly useful. It is hard because you want to present yourself in the best possible light but this often makes you become a bit robotic.

Try and carry your quirks and quiddities into the room with you - the panel wants to see what you can bring to a role. I discovered this wholly by accident.

I was auditioning for a production in south east London, which finished later than expected, and I had very little time to get into central London for another audition. Panting and sweating, I arrived at the audition venue with about three minutes to spare and was directed into a room that I presumed was the waiting area.

I burst in sweating and dumped my bag down only to realise I had walked into the audition room. I turned to the panel, panicked, and blurted out the first thing that came into my head, which was, “Oh, sorry, I’m not ready, I need to do my hair.” I then bent down to do my hair quickly in the reflection of the piano, stood up and said, “OK, I’m ready!”

The panel looked beyond bewildered and I walked out after the audition feeling like a bit of a plum, so you can imagine my incredulity when I got offered the job an hour later.

When rehearsals started I asked the director why on earth he had cast me after my rather unusual conduct. It turns out that was the reason they cast me. The part required a quirky, off-the-wall actor and my initial entrance showed me to be exactly that.

Again, I wouldn’t recommend doing what I did (bit of a running theme here, isn’t there), but it does show that a strong personality-led audition is often the sort of thing that helps you to stand out from the crowd. 

If you’re auditioning for musical theatre then your song choice is of course crucial, but I would suggest that trying to find the perfect song days, or even hours, before the audition can be counter-productive.

Take the time to establish yourself a good repertoire so that you always have a song ready that is appropriate for the show and that you are comfortable singing.

As an actor, you rely on your body and mind to be successful. It is important to keep both in good shape. If your CV says you are a dancer, make sure you keep this up. Believe me, attempting a triple pirouette in front of an audition panel having not done one for six months is an ugly, ugly sight.

Never underestimate the power of reputation. It has a very high currency in this business and you should always present yourself as a professional.

Your reputation as a hard-working, reliable performer is as important as being a fantastic singer or actor, so turning up unprepared or uninterested for an audition may have a knock-on effect to any subsequent auditions the casting director holds.

Being in work is a fantastic feeling, but most actors will find that they spend periods of time between jobs, so it’s important to find ways of keeping your skills up. Creating your own opportunities is a fantastic way to do this.

Whether it’s writing a screenplay or choreographing your own piece, by developing your own work you can give yourself a feeling of empowerment when you are waiting for the phone to ring, or working in a job you would rather not be.

It should be noted that part-time jobs can be a fantastic opportunity to people watch though. I worked in a lovely little London pub for nearly 12 months and got to know the regulars rather well. If I had been foresighted enough to write down some of the conversations that took place, I would have the material for a pretty compelling sitcom.

If I could go back and change anything that has happened in the last few years, I wouldn’t. We are all a product of our experiences, and we are who we are today because of them. Keep the faith, and enjoy being a part of this wonderful and exciting industry.
I wish you all a happy and successful 2012.

Jonathan is currently touring with the Blood Brothers UK tour. You can follow his experiences on Twitter @jonnyvickers or visit his website for more information.

Photo credit: Garry Lake (Jonathan’s headshot).

posted on 31st January 2012

Advice for Spotlight members on submitting your tax return

Tax returns may not be the first thing on performers’ minds, but with many Spotlight members self-employed, sorting out your finances is a necessity, especially as the deadline for filing your returns is less than 48 hours away.

Ahead of tomorrow’s deadline, James Pickford from TWD Accountants has the following advice for Spotlight members looking to get to grips with their tax returns. Over to you, James.

Q. Can I claim for pre-trading training?

No. Because it was your choice to become a sole trader, the training costs prior to actually trading are not allowable.

Q. What pre-trading expenses can I claim?

You can claim non-consumable expenses, such as books, business cards, advertising, motor expenses, tools, machinery, stationery such as clipboards and storage facilities.

Q. What can I claim for using my home as an office?

If you have a dedicated office in your home, you can claim a percentage of your utility bills – such as gas and electric, council tax, mortgage interest / rents and contents insurance - based on the rooms in your home, not including the landing or bathroom.

You must also take into consideration the amount of time you use the office. If you don’t want to go to all the trouble of calculating this, a reasonable claim would be between £5 and £10 per week.

Q. What records do I need to keep to claim travelling expenses? Do I also need to keep receipts for petrol?

You should record the date, destination and distance of each business journey you drive in your own car. It is good practice to record the total on your car's milometer at the start and end of each journey. You can claim up to 45p per mile for the first ten thousand business miles. Business journeys do not include normal commuting between your home and your permanent workplace.

If you are VAT registered it may be possible to reclaim VAT on fuel. However, there are special rules surrounding this and we would advise you to speak to your accountant before making these claims.

Q. I am worried that my book-keeping records would not stand up to a tax investigation. What records should I be keeping?

You should keep comprehensive records with supporting receipts. Anyone who has undergone an investigation will know that HM Revenue & Customs can spend months looking through your records, asking probing questions and wanting what might seem like meaningless information about your business affairs.

This can be both time consuming, stressful and very expensive – not just in terms of tax but in terms of your own lost time spent dealing with any investigation.

Prevention is, of course, better than cure. One recommendation is to have a separate business bank account. If a credit card is preferable, then again, separating business and personal transactions into two separate cards could be helpful.

Separating your business and personal life will not only help your accountant but it will also help in the event of an HMRC investigation.

Q. Does Self Assessment affect everyone?

No. However, self-assessment rules state that, even if you have not been sent a return, you have a statutory duty to tell the Revenue of any untaxed income.

Q. Does Self Assessment really mean that I have to calculate my own tax? It seems very complicated.

No. You do not have to calculate your own tax under Self Assessment. However, if you require the tax office to calculate your tax liability in time to pay the correct amount on time (31 January), you will have needed to file your return by 31 October. After this date, the tax office will still calculate your liability but they may not advise you of the amount to pay in time for the deadline and you will be charged interest on late payments.

Q. What is the deadline for submitting my return?

The online tax return deadline is on Tuesday, 31 January 2012. The new penalties for late self-assessment returns are:

• An initial £100 fixed penalty, which will now apply even if there is no tax to pay, or if the tax due is paid on time.
• After three months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900.
• After six months, a further penalty of 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater.
• After 12 months, another 5% or £300 charge, whichever is greater. In serious cases, the penalty after 12 months can be up to 100% of the tax due.
• New penalties for paying late are 5% of the tax unpaid at 30 days, at six months, and at 12 months.

Q. Although my return was late, it was not my fault. Do I still have to pay the fine?

Not necessarily.  The law recognises that some things are out of our control. If you can prove that there was a "reasonable excuse" for the lateness of the return, you may well get the fine overturned.

Unfortunately, there is no definitive guidance on what constitutes "reasonable". Some excuses will not be successful, such as not having information, your accountant letting you down, or not having time because of work.

Some excuses should be accepted, though, if genuine. These include not having received the return in the first place, serious illness or bereavement, losing all your financial records through fire, flood or theft. You may even cite postal delay, but there must be a provable reason for this in the Post Office, such as strike or fire in the sorting office.

Q. I owe tax. How will it be collected?

The most common method for the employed or pensioners is to have your tax code adjusted which can be done on amounts up to £2,000. It is done by collecting additional tax on your salary or pension each week or month.

If you are going to send in a paper return, it will have had to been in before 31 October to do this. If you send it electronically, you have until Tuesday, 31 January.

For self-employed or those with large tax liabilities in excess of £2,000 the amount is due for payment by 31 January following the end of the tax year. Payments on account may also arise for the following tax year.

Q. How are payments on account worked out?

You will be asked to make payments on account equal to your tax bill for the previous tax year, of which 50% is payable by 31 January and 50% by 31 July.

If you have any other tax questions for James, please visit TWD Accountants’ advice page for Spotlight members.

You can also read James’ advice on whether performers can claim for gym membership or cosmetic work on the Spotlight news blog.

Spotlight members can see the range of discounted financial services offers in the Spotlight card offers shops and services section.

posted on 30th January 2012

Spotlight’s weekly news roundup: 27 January 2012

Welcome to Spotlight’s weekly news roundup, where we highlight the news and blogs we’ve enjoyed and want to share with our members and others within the industry, so grab sit back and catch up on the stories you need to know.

Awards season steps up a gear

It’s been another big week in 2012’s awards season, with more nominations and ceremonies. All eyes were on the Oscars earlier this week, which released its nominations ahead of the big event on February 26. Hugo and The Artist led the pack in terms of nominations and there were several nods for Spotlight members with Janet McTeer, Kenneth Branagh and Christopher Plummer (who has already scooped a Golden Globe for Beginners) all nominated. You can read an interview with Christopher in the LA Times.

In theatreland, the Critics’ Circle Awards were dominated by The National Theatre, with One Man, Two Guvnors, starring Spotlight member James Corden, winning Best New Play. There was also success for Spotlight members Benedict Cumberbatch (Best Actor, Frankenstein), Sheridan Smith (Best Actress, Flare Path) and Eddie Redmayne (Best Shakespearean Performance).

Wednesday saw viewers’ votes totted up for the National Television Awards. In such a great year for television, there were plenty of successes for Spotlight members. Katherine Kelly, currently appearing in She Stoops To Conquer at the National Theatre, won Best Serial Drama Performance, while the Doctor Who pairing of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan took home Best Drama Performance: Male and Female respectively. Spotlight Young Performer Jacqueline Jossa won Best Newcomer, while there was a Landmark Award for David Walliams.

And next month’s BAFTAs will see Spotlight member John Hurt (above) receive the Outstanding Contribution To Cinema Award. BAFTA’s chairman Tim Corrie described him as “iconic” and with memorable roles in The Elephant Man, Midnight Express and The Naked Civil Servant, it’s hard to disagree. From all at Spotlight, congratulations to John and all of our members who’ve experienced awards success this week.

Making your way in the industry

Equity published their new survey this week about whether it is safe for performers to be open about their sexuality. Their findings included the news that almost half of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual actors have not come out to their agents, and more than a third have experienced homophobia at work. In the wake of the report, The Stage asked two openly gay performers on their views on being out in the industry.

Spotlight has published some essential tips for graduates and performers at the start of their journey on our news blog this week. Head of casting for the Ambassador Theatre Group Neil Rutherford spoke to us for the latest Spotlight Podcast, and offered essential tips on succeeding as a musical theatre performer, including plenty of audition advice.

In addition, casting director Annelie Powell offered ten top tips for our Graduate members on how to network and stand out as a performer. Annelie was speaking at last Sunday’s CDS networking event and kindly let us republish her advice.

Old Vic New Voices launched their 2012 season this week, in conjunction with Ideas Tap ahead of their launch event on Saturday. There’s a whole host of exciting opportunities and we’d recommend Spotlight members check out what’s on offer.

Jemima Laing, mum of 12-year-old Spotlight member Felix Soper, considered the subject of pushy parents in her latest post, and asked if the label was justified, as well as wondering if she herself could be labelled as such.

A digital future for television

Time Out has been making moves in the digital world this week with two high-profile announcements. The popular listings magazine has acquired Whatsonstage.com, and is also preparing to launch an online social TV guide that harnesses Facebook and Twitter, and could challenge existing second screen apps such as Zeebox for dominance of the market.

Proof, if any were needed, that audience viewing habits are changing. Research from KPMG suggests television streaming services such as the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and 4oD is on the rise, especially among the younger generation, while 30% of respondents to the survey said they would be willing to pay to stream TV content.

Meanwhile, new on-demand arts site Hibrow launched this week, with audiences able to watch entire stage productions and performances, as well as behind-the-scenes documentary. Richard Eyre, Simon Callow and Tilda Swinton are among those lined up to curate work in the future, according to site founder Don Boyd.

And it could be all change at the BBC in the coming years with Director General Mark Thompson signalling that he’s ready to step down at some point in the future, possibly as early as the end of 2012.

From all at Spotlight, have a fantastic weekend and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. You can also tell us what you’re up to on Facebook, and Google+.

posted on 27th January 2012