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i. My name is Glen Cooper. I’ve played the guitar, badly complete, for them to jump ship and you’d have to record
Hand written poems, for my own benefit, for as long as I them all over again. We did manage to get one recorded run
can remember. Often to cover up sadness or rejection. On the through complete, one evening before 2 more singers pulled
occasions I have written for love, I’ve always kept it to myself. out.

In 2008, my Mother died and like anybody else who’s lost a For prosperity I took a copy of that show, split it up into the
loved one, I was racked with grief. So much so, that I wrote individual songs, added the lyrics and put out on my YouTube
poem after poem, after poem and that seemed to help me so channel. It’s a very raw production but it gave some ideas as
much. Later in the year, going through some old clothes and to what we were trying to create.
handbags of my mother’s to give to charity, my father and I
found a handwritten poem from a lady who my parents knew, During, and around production, I wrote another 5 musical
from when they were first married. As was, my parent’s first creations which I hoped we could deliver at a later date, but
born suffered complications during birth, which resulted in my colleague took the failure, I believe, quite hard and within
brain damage. He developed cerebral palsy and died before a very short space of time, lost both his parents. He hasn’t
his 5th birthday. This part time carer, who gave my returned to music.
mother some respite, once a week, was so taken by Michael
(my brother), that she wrote a beautiful poem and my In the meantime, I joined FB and decided to put my poems
Mother carried that poem everywhere she went for over 50 and lyrics on line to see when the feeling was. I’m opening
years. my heart up, and have never taken rejection well but held my
breath and dived straight in…
I just had to take that story to the local newspapers. Partly
because it was so tragic, and partly because I just hoped it Having been unsuccessful so far, in finding a writer for a
might give hope to others who were suffering at the time. As complete musical, I have decided to put some of the lyrics out
it was, 2 weeks later, I was contacted by the newspaper, who as stand alone songs and see if I can, in part get some of the
told me a local musician, had taken those words and created a songs written.
beautiful, haunting song.
Moving on down the line to today and the situation is, is that
Andy (the musician) and I became good friends, especially there are another 5 musicals mostly written. The story com-
after he asked me, that he was always on the lookout for good plete. The lyrics of all the songs written, all it needs is a music
lyrics and did I have anything he could use? writer and a director to move the projects forward.
One such project is Daisy May (A Farmer’s Daughter)
Many songs later, he suggested writing a musical. I was
excited but didn’t realise how much work was involved. Andy The idea is complete, we’re on the runway. The story line is
wrote very much in the style of Les Miserables, where the finished, all the suitcases have been stowed. The structure of
complete story is told within the words of the songs. There is the two Acts is together and all the songs have been identified
little or no dialogue, just a lot of hard listening and and the titles and lyrics all written. The ground work and
concentration needed. solid floor is all finalised BUT..... what it needs now is the
building of the walls, putting on the roof and adding all the
Our first complete works was called The Lost Cavalier. A creative furnishings.
local musical set around Bristol, during the English Civil War,
based on facts, where two brothers find themselves on oppo- And by that I mean, one or more song writers needs to grab
site sides of the conflict. Using real life settings in and around the words, create a vision with their music, so we can start
Bristol and a true life battlefield in Waldour castle, Wiltshire, building up the walls. When the songs all written, we can
the drama unfolds when the king’s army decided to take this start pulling them all together to form a solid structure. From
famous city for the crown. there we need to bring in the singers and performers and look
to take this project on the road. Either by piecing together
The complete story is told in two hours of song and the songs on You-tube or performing the complete works on
adventure, with 2 full acts and over 30 new and original song stage. I know there are some fantastically creative people out
creations. All the music has been written and a full orchestral there, who can really make this thing work.
arrangement exists, we even have a fully automated £4,000+
lighting system which has been programmed to interact with It just needs artists with different skills to pull together to
the music, a smoke machine if needed and a backdrop create something we all can be proud of. And maybe put us
collage. However, we found trying to get a cast of 9, fully on the map.
versed and together and ready to perform was too much.
Every so often a singer would pull out with other commit- So if this project sparks an interest in you, please make
ments and the cast had to start all over again. contact with me, initially through Songwriters Workshop and
we will set to and hopefully bring this project to life.
Even trying to get a full studio set proved difficult as we
found ourselves with half the songs of one character

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