The Highs and Lows of an Icing

So, you totally nailed that audition yesterday and now you are just waiting for a call to hear you booked the gig. Instead, you get a message that the client wants to “ice” you or “put you on hold”. What does that mean!?!

First of all, these two terms are used interchangeably by most of the industry. Basically, the client likes you (they really like you!) and they might want to book you. However, they haven’t quite made up their mind yet or they may be waiting for a big wig or higher level decision maker to approve their talent choices. Or, they may have narrowed down the choices to one or two folks and they don’t want to risk losing an option while they pick.

When you agree to an icing or hold, you are agreeing to keep yourself available for the shoot date. That means you make arrangements for your work or schedule and you do not make other plans or accept other jobs on that date. However, the client still has the option to release you from the hold, or not book you without consequences. If you were “booked” and a client changed their mind, they would be required to pay a cancellation fee. An icing gives them a chance to lock in the talent they want before they are ready to move forward with a firm booking.

Icings are good. In fact, they are GREAT! It means you did a great audition and the client saw something they liked. 4 out of 5 times, an icing will be a booking for you. That fifth time when you don’t get the job usually happens when multiple talent were iced for one role. By the way, I’ll always warn you if you are one of multiple people holding for a role so you can set your expectations accordingly.

It never feels good to be passed on for a job, but it can actually be even harder when you were iced. To come so close and miss out? Some talent would rather have assumed they never had a shot. I encourage you to remember that an icing, regardless of what happens next, means that you were a client’s pick for a job. They saw something they liked and that almost always leads to a future gig. You are now on the client’s radar and they will be more likely to recognize you at another casting or think of you for an upcoming role.