One Career, Many Hats: Lenses and Personas on Parts Known

If you work in the performing arts, you probably don't do just one thing.

You might be:

• An actor-musician who also puppeteers
• A designer who stage-manages when needed
• A writer who performs their own work
• A drag artist with a separate "day-name" career
• A musician who also MDs, arranges and teaches

Traditional CVs and most platforms don't know what to do with that. They either:

• Make you pick one thing and hide the rest, or
• Dump everything into one long list that doesn't show the story you want for a specific opportunity.

Parts Known was built with multi-hyphenates in mind. That's where lenses and personas come in.

The problem with a single, flat CV

Imagine you're all of these at once:

• Actor
• Musician (guitar + vocals)
• Drag performer
• Stage manager

You see a casting call for an actor-musician. You want them to see:

• Your acting work
• Your musicianship
• Maybe some movement / physical work

You don't necessarily want:

• Every ASM job you've ever done
• Every corporate gig as your drag persona
• Your early school/college projects in a totally different style

But you also don't want to maintain three separate CVs, three websites and three showreels.

That's exhausting, and it's how mistakes creep in.

One underlying career, many views

On Parts Known, you build one underlying record of your work:

• Productions and events you've worked on
• Roles, skills, photos, videos, reviews
• Works you've written, venues and groups you're part of

On top of that, you can create lenses and personas:

• A persona is a separate identity (like a drag character or band name).
• A lens is a curated view of your career for a particular purpose.

Because they all draw from the same credits, you only enter information once.

Personas: when you literally have more than one name

Some people have completely different professional identities:

• A drag persona with its own name, look and bookings
• A band or solo artist name for music work
• A pen name or stage name separate from their legal name

On Parts Known, you can create a persona for each of these:

• Each persona has its own profile, photo, bio and credits
• You can log credits directly under that persona (e.g. gigs as the band, shows as the drag artist)
• You still manage everything from one login

Examples:

• "Jamie Taylor" – your legal/professional name for acting and stage management
• "Miss Marrow" – your drag persona with club gigs, cabarets and festivals
• "The Northern Lights" – your band identity with tours and EP launches

Casting for a straight play doesn't need to see your drag schedule. A booker for a Pride cabaret absolutely does. Personas keep those worlds tidy without forcing you to juggle separate accounts.

Lenses: tailored CVs without three days in Word

Even under one name or persona, you may need different versions of your CV.

Common combinations we see:

• Actor-Musician vs Straight Actor
• Puppeteer vs Scenic Designer
• Musical Theatre Writer vs Playwright
• FOH Sound Engineer vs Composer / Sound Designer
• Drama Teacher vs Performer

On Parts Known, a lens lets you say:

"Show only the credits, skills and media that matter for this side of my work."

You might create:

• "Alex Smith – Actor-Musician"
• "Alex Smith – Scenic Designer"
• "Alex Smith – Musical Theatre Writer"

Each lens:

• Has its own URL
• Shows a selected set of credits, skills, media and testimonials
• Can have its own short bio tailored to that context

You still keep everything up to date in one place. The lenses stay in sync because they draw from the same underlying credits.

How this helps in real situations

1. Applying for an actor-musician casting

You send:

`partsknown.app/alex-smith/actor-musician`

The director sees:

• Acting credits that involve live music
• Your musicianship (instruments, harmony work, sight-singing)
• Relevant media (clips where you're playing and acting)
• Testimonials that mention your musical work

They don't have to wade through ten tech credits or your entire drag career.

2. Pitching yourself as a designer

For a design opportunity, you send:

`partsknown.app/alex-smith/set-designer`

They see:

• Design credits with production photos and reviews
• Your specific design skills (model-making, digital drafting, etc.)
• Your design-focused testimonials

No need to hide the acting work; it just doesn't distract.

3. Keeping your drag persona separate but real

For drag bookings, you send:

`partsknown.app/miss-marrow`

Bookers see:

• Gigs, festivals and cabarets as Miss Marrow
• Photos, video clips and press quotes
• Any works or concepts you've created for that persona

Your legal-name profile remains the place you send for theatre / TV work, and the two don't get tangled.

Why we built lenses and personas this way

A few principles shaped this:

Multi-hyphenate by default

Real careers in the performing arts are messy. The platform should reflect that, not punish it.

One source of truth

You enter a credit once. Lenses and personas just decide which bits to show to whom.

Honest, not airbrushed

Lenses aren't about pretending you've only ever done one thing; they're about presenting the relevant part of your experience clearly.

Affordable, not a luxury add-on

Lenses and personas live in Pro, but Pro is deliberately low-cost – and early Founding Members are getting a year of it free.

How to start using lenses and personas

If you're on Parts Known already:

1. Add your core credits

Get at least 5–10 key productions or events in there, with roles and skills.

2. Decide your main "angles"

Ask: In what distinct ways do I present myself to the world?

For example: "Actor-Musician", "Writer", "Designer", "Drag Artist".

3. Create a lens for your primary angle

• Title it clearly ("Name – Actor-Musician").
• Pick credits that genuinely support that story.
• Choose media and testimonials that show that work.

4. If you truly have separate identities, create personas

• Set up a persona for your drag character, band or alternate project.
• Add credits specific to that identity.
• Create lenses inside that persona if you need them.

5. Start using those links

• In casting emails
• On applications
• In email signatures and bios
• In social profiles

Your old PDF is still there if you need it, but over time, your Parts Known links should be the main way people see your work.

Founding Members get to play with this first

During early access, the first 1,000 individuals, 250 groups and 100 venues that properly join Parts Known get:

• Pro free for 12 months – no card required
• A Founding Member badge on their profile
• A locked-in low Pro price afterwards

That includes full access to lenses and personas.

If you've ever felt like your CV can't quite express everything you do without turning into a mess, we built this for you.