Image via Flickr by Kelley Mari
Welcome to 2015! I hope your holidays were wonderful, and that you're ready to get back to business, because pilot season is a-coming!
Imagine Black Friday at the mall every day for three months. That's what pilot season is like for casting. They need every ounce of energy they've got just to keep up, so there's none left for thinking creatively about an actor whose headshot isn't right for the role they've submitted for, or trying to hunt an actor down for an audition, or remembering actors they haven't heard from since summer. Working actors know that a little time and effort on our end to make casting's job easier can pay off with a juicy share of pilot season action. So if you want in, here's what you need to do.
Headshots
Of course you should make sure you have enough copies that you won't run out anytime soon. But the most important tool in your marketing arsenal deserves a little special attention. Ask your reps if there are any looks they find themselves wishing they had. If you're not represented, look back over the kinds of roles you've submitted for in the last year -- especially the ones you really think you're right for, but didn't get called in for -- and ask yourself if a different look might have worked better than the one you used. If so, schedule a headshot session to fill in the gaps. Shift your thinking away from a full headshot overhaul every few years, and start treating your headshots like your wardrobe -- keep what works, and freshen it up regularly with new looks.
Online
So you have a good website, you're on Actors Access, and your IMDB page is current. (If those things aren't true, get on them ASAP!) Are you using your online presence to your best possible advantage? Check all of the links in your various pages and profiles to make sure they still work. Make sure the photos you and/or your reps need are on all of the key sites, and the same goes for reels and clips. Triple check to make sure you've added all of your credits, training, and representation to every site where you have a presence (and make a list of those sites to simplify future updates.) The goal is to make it easy for casting and other decision makers to find you -- the same version of you -- no matter where they look.
Marketing
When's the last time you did a mailing? If it's been a few months, it's time for another, so get planning. Did you shoot anything that aired recently, won an award, is available in a new format, or is coming out soon? Did you take a great class? Have you updated your website, headshots, or reels and clips? Did you watch anything over the holidays that you loved? Those are all great reasons to reach out. Before you do, go over your Contact and Target lists. Is there anyone you want to add based on great work you've seen lately? Anyone you met last year who went from being a Target to a Contact? Updating these lists isn't glamorous, but it will get your mind back in the game, and when things get busy, working from the most current information can make a big difference.
To quote the Roman philosopher Seneca, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Pilot season brings a boatload of opportunity, but working actors know they have to do their part -- the preparation -- in order to turn than opportunity into luck. Pilot season will take a few weeks to ramp up, and that's just the right amount of time you need to set yourself up for success. So get to it!