10 December 2024
WE ARE CASTING!
‘I Love You Mum - I Promise I Won't Die’ by Mark Wheeller,
Spring Term Tour England & Wales, 2025
Casting Breakdown
- 1 x MALE performer
- Age: 20s who can play ages of 16 to 45
- Key skills: multi-role; good physical theatre/movement; emotional depth, comedy
- Accent will be standard English and minor variations on this depending on casting
- Any ethnicity: TiE It Up Theatre particularly welcomes submissions from ethnically diverse/global majority performers
- Must be confident and experienced in creating exciting ensemble performance work
- Must be a strong, supportive, team member
- Ideally, based in Northern England (we particularly welcome submissions from actors with a Yorkshire base)
An advantage but not essential:
- Workshop and facilitation experience
- Experience of delivering theatre in education and/or working with a 13-18 years’ audience
- Driving licence/van driving
- DBS check
- First aid training
Closing date for submissions: 6pm, 15 December 2024
19 December – invitations to self tape
6 January (6pm) – deadline for receipt of self tapes
8 January (6pm) – invitations to in-person auditions
11 January – in-person auditions (Sheffield)
The Play
Sixteen-year-old Daniel Spargo-Mabbs died in 2014 after taking a lethal dose of MDMA (ecstasy) at a rave.Playwright Mark Wheeller worked closely with Daniel's family and friends to create ‘I Love You Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die’, a verbatim play written from the testimonies of his loved ones and titled with the last words Daniel said to his mother, Fiona, before he died.
The result is a powerful and emotional piece of writing produced with the aim of informing young people, their parents and a wider audience, about the impact of drug use. It is a work of depth, touching on the importance of friendship, family and the emotionally-charged ’teen years affected by tragedy. The events leading up to and beyond Dan’s death are retold from different points of view, giving insight into this popular young man’s personality and his important contribution to the lives of those around him.
Background
In July 2016, a drug education charity set up by Dan’s parents, the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, commissioned Mark Wheeller to adapt ‘I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die’ for touring to schools, colleges and the community as a Theatre in Education tour. The production is aimed at students aged 13 to 18. The play explores issues of choice, risk and consequence, but also friendship, love and loss and the impact of our choices on others.
The 30-minute post-show drug education workshop - delivered by the cast - focuses on informed decision making and risk awareness. It aims to leave no student in any doubt that they always have a choice about the decisions they make and the high risks associated with illegal substance use. Students learn key facts that will help them make informed decisions and arm them with additional tools to put their decisions into practice when in a pressured situation. It is definitely not a “just say no” preaching message. The workshop has been developed on strong, evidence-based research.
TiE It Up Theatre
We specialise in creating professional touring theatre to be performed in secondary schools and theatres. The 2025 Spring Term tour of our acclaimed production of ‘I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die’, will be the fourth to visit English and Welsh schools. To-date thousands of young people have seen the play and the overwhelming response to the work has been positive and life-changing.
The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation is our partner. DSMF is a leading national, evidenced-based, drug education charity. We work closely with them to deliver the play and drug education workshops.
The play runs at just under an hour and is a four-hander (2f & 2m). Watch the trailer for ‘I Love You, Mum…’
Dates (min. number of working days below, subject to addition)
17-22 Feb - rehearsals (6 days)
w/c 24 Feb - Tour Wk 1 (4)
w/c 3 Mar - Tour Wk 2 (4.5)
w/c 10 Mar - Tour Wk 3 (4.5)
w/c 17 Mar - Tour Wk 4 (6 inc. 2 x days in a studio theatre)
w/c 24 Mar - Tour Wk 5 (2.5)
The tour is still being booked so the above working days may increase. We are also currently waiting to hear if a funding bid to a specific local authority is successful to add a sixth tour week (w/c 31 Mar).
The working day usually consists of a morning performance in a school, before moving onto a second school relatively nearby for an afternoon performance. There are some days where the team will deliver two performances in the same school. There is a set to unload, build and take down for each performance. Once the unload is done, the set-up takes approximately 15 mins. Depending on the booking, following the performance a 60-minute drama workshop or 30-minute drug education workshop will be delivered by the actors. Full training will be given.
Pay
£110 per day = rehearsals
£110 per day = performance days. There will be no more than 2 x performances on any given day.
Additional pay can be earned if tour managing (£15/day) or driving (£10/day).
Per diems up to £25/day will be provided when away overnight or on double delivery days. Touring will take place in a company provided vehicle, with some additional travel allowance provided where necessary and agreed beforehand.
Accommodation is not provided for the rehearsal period, but a travel allowance up to £50 can be claimed for travel to rehearsals.
Accommodation will be provided for all tour locations away from our nominal base of Leeds.
Please apply via your agent or directly with your CV, Spotlight link (if applicable) and headshot to: David Chafer, Producer, TiE It Up Theatre, david@tiu-theatre.co.uk
This breakdown has also been listed on Spotlight.
