I won’t suggest that you turn down any auditions for pilots. That goes without saying, doesn’t it? You want to audition for any series regular roles you can get, but to waste a lot of energy during Pilot Season trying to hunt down these highly-coveted auditions prior to having the necessary credits and representation may cost you the entire season. You want to be in a better place for the next pilot season and the only way to make that happen is to be realistic this year.
The key to Pilot Season is to focus on what you can get and not on things you can’t get. I look at who is booking most of the series regular roles and it is actors with the top 20 or so agencies. By the time casting directors get through the client lists of those agencies there is very little left for people who have never booked a pilot before. I have some ideas about how you can get the most out of Pilot Season…and beyond.Of course, you are going to keep training every week while submitting and networking. Those are just things you need to be doing every week of the year. But, specifically during Pilot Season, you can still get a lot of other things accomplished. One way is to focus on all of the other jobs.
Independent Films
There is a group of casting directors like myself that spend most of their time casting and producing independent features. I am unaffected by Pilot Season. So, folks like me are as easy to audition for during Pilot Season as any other time of year. Reach out to as many as possible with hard copy headshots or post cards. It’s a small investment that could yield great returns.
Post as often as possible on social media. Since you will be training and networking the whole time, you should have plenty to talk about on. It is always great to see actors busy doing anything they can while so many others are spinning their wheels with no results. Let us know anything and everything that is happening in your acting pursuits.
Shorts and Web Series
Why not make your own short or web series during Pilot Season? Even a three-minute short will land you nice footage and a new credit on IMDb. You can also post all over social media about casting it, shooting it and then share it with us as well. One little project should provide you with over a month’s worth of posts and it keeps you active. Activity is always better than stagnation.
AgentsWhat about trying to land an agent during Pilot Season? Well, Pilot Season is the worst time of year to try to meet with an agent, but under the right circumstances those meetings still go on. If you have a great referral you might at least be able to open the door. If you are young, especially under 18, there is no bad time if an agent or manager sees money in your future. Trust me, if a working actor decided to seek new representation during Pilot Season they will get meetings!
And last but not least, you can start getting things lined up for that period following Pilot Season when all those reps will resume meetings with actors. Make sure all of your materials are up to date and posted all over the web. Pilot Season may not yield many series regular jobs for you this year, but you can still get a lot done and set yourself up to be in line for more of those parts in 2018.