Welcome to 2021! With this new year comes a new reality and new opportunities. What should actors expect this pilot season? It’s always been tough to get pilot auditions. This year, getting invited into a casting office may be even tougher, but for very good reasons.

For the first time ever, no one is exactly sure how this pilot season is going to unfold.

Will there be a lot less in-person meetings and auditions? Will it be even harder than usual for new actors to be considered for series regular slots? Or will the taped aspect improve a new actor’s chances for consideration? We just don’t know what to expect. And casting may not be the only deciding factor. Producers may hand down strict rules for safety concerns. So how do you prepare for such a mercurial season?

The smart money is on a mix of “prepare for anything” and “expect the unexpected.” The actor that can walk into casting offices ready for anything, will most likely have the best pilot season.

When is pilot season?

Traditionally, the bulk of pilot season is from the end of January through March. However, over the last ten years, pilot season has changed a bit, and many non-network shows cast year-round because the shows air year-round. Shows like “Fear the Walking Dead” and “Veep” can follow their own casting schedule because their seasons don’t line up with network schedules. There are more shows on cable and streaming now than on the five major networks you find on television. For networks like CBS and ABC, much of their content still airs on the old schedule, so pilot season still happens in January through March.

While trying to get as many pilot auditions as possible, you should be sending out your materials as well. You never know when an opportunity will be generated by someone seeing your work. This means that you should continue to create as much content as possible. Many actors are doing this, and it is working for them. The days of just sitting at home and waiting to be booked are long gone for unknown artists.

Get all your materials updated now.

If you don’t LOVE your current headshots, shoot now. Make sure your resume presents you in your best light and is fully updated. Tape has never been this important for some of you. Get tape, even if you shoot it yourself. If you’ve starred in your own web series, no one has to know you produced it. In 2021, any tape is better than no tape.

The biggest news for actors NOT in Los Angeles is that in 2021 at least, the first round of most casting is going to be virtual! So, casting directors will consider talent from all over. You won’t have to actually be in Los Angeles this pilot season to be considered for series regular roles.

Social Media and Emails

Why not remind people of jobs you’ve booked with photos from sets, publicity shots, etc. Let people know you are active. Objects in motion, right?

No matter how fast people are vaccinated, the number of in-person slots will most likely be limited, even by pilot-season standards. Get your face in front of as many casting directors as possible in January. I don’t care if it’s email, social media or by mail. Make sure they’re thinking about you.

Whenever possible, get your WORK in front of them as well. Social media and email would be best for this. We’ll need links to your work, and share any news of booking ANYTHING in the past year or two. Student films, web series, plays. Let us know you’re acting.

You have already done the training or you wouldn’t even be submitting for pilots, right? And you have all your materials and they are dynamic.

Confidence

Now, walk into any office with great confidence, because this year like no other, casting directors aren’t going to want to waste time with actors that don’t have a reasonable shot at booking.

You belong in those rooms if you get into them. Don’t be your own worst enemy. Confidence is a necessary element of any great audition.

You can be a little scared. That’s okay. It is a job interview. Just don’t doubt your talent or your fit. You belong there whether you book or not.

Want to get your acting career started? Sign up or login to Casting Frontier and start auditioning today!

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Mark Sikes began his casting career in 1992 for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Corman. In the past 25 years, he has cast over 100 films as well as television series, commercials and web series. He has cast projects for Tobe Hooper and Luke Greenfield and many others. In the past few years Mark has also produced four feature films.

Based in Los Angeles, Mark has cast films for many markets including the United Kingdom, Peru, the Philippines and Russia. Domestically, he has cast films that shot all over the country in Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Virginia and multiple projects in Colorado.

He currently teaches three weekly on-camera, audition technique classes in West Los Angeles.  Follow Mark on Twitter @castnguy.