The enCAST Inbox and Messaging System

Your enCAST inbox is where you talk to other actors, casting directors, productions and our admin team. Everything stays in one place, so you can find what was said months later. This page explains how it works.

Finding your inbox #

Your inbox is in the top menu, at MY PROFILE > INBOX. When you have unread messages, a small red number appears next to your name at the top of the page.

We also send you an email when a new message arrives. For your privacy, that email only tells you who wrote to you and gives you a link. It does not include the message itself, so you always read it on the site.

While you have an unread message in a conversation, we will not keep emailing you about that same conversation. Once you open it, the next new message will email you again.

Before you start #

Two things are worth doing first.

• Verify your email address. You need a verified email to send messages. If you have not done this yet, you will see a prompt with a button to send yourself a new verification link.
• Choose who can write to you. In Edit Profile you can decide who is allowed to start a conversation with you: anyone on enCAST, paying members only, ID-verified members only, or nobody except admin. You can change this whenever you like. It only affects new conversations, so people you are already talking to are not cut off.

Sending someone a message #

Go to the person's profile and click the small message icon under their name. Write what you want to say and click Send.

Your first message starts a conversation, and it waits for them. Until they reply or accept it, you can send one message only. This is deliberate: it means nobody can be flooded by someone they do not know. Once they reply or accept, you can both write freely.

Remember, short and clear works better than long. Treat it like WhatsApp or Signal.

When someone writes to you #

A new conversation from someone you have not spoken to before arrives as a request. You have three choices:

• Reply. This opens the conversation, and you can both write from then on.
• Accept conversation. The same thing without writing anything yet.
• Block user. They can no longer message you. You do not have to explain, and they are not told.

You are never under any obligation to reply. Ignoring a request is a perfectly reasonable answer.

In a conversation #

• Attachments. You can attach an image or a PDF, up to 20 MB per file. Scripts, sides, a headshot or a CV all work.
• Reactions. Click the smiley on someone's message to react to it. Handy for saying "got it, thanks" without sending another message.
• Seen. Under your own messages you will see whether the other person has read them yet.
• Download conversation. At the top of every conversation there is a link to download a copy. Worth doing if a conversation matters, because the other person can close their account, and their messages go with it.

Castings and applications #

When you apply to a casting, your application appears as a conversation with the production, with a note at the top showing which casting it relates to and when you applied. Anything the production writes back lands in the same place, so the whole thread stays together.

Keeping conversations on enCAST #

People will sometimes suggest carrying on by email, WhatsApp or Instagram. That is very often perfectly normal, especially with smaller productions.

Even so, we always recommend keeping the conversation here. It keeps things professional, it gives you both a record of what was agreed, and it means we can help if you ever need us.

There is more about this, and why it matters, on our page about keeping conversations on enCAST.

If something is not right #

At the top of every conversation you will find Report and Block user. Reporting sends the conversation straight to our admin team. You can add a note saying what concerned you, which helps us a great deal.

You can also write to us directly at any time through our contact page, which opens a conversation with admin in your inbox like any other.

Privacy #

Conversations may be reviewed by enCAST staff for safety and moderation. We do not read messages casually, but we can look when something is reported or when we are investigating a problem.

If someone closes their account, their name is removed from the conversation and it shows as a deleted user. This is another reason to download a copy of anything important.