A request to all my readers

As you may well know this summer season has been especially exciting because Rhys Edwards, the award-winning documentary film maker has been trailing me filming all the strange and wonderful aspects of my extraordinary life, and I am pleased to say that his final recent visit to Widnes was successful and he now says he has enough ‘in the can’ to finish the short documentary which he is planning to enter for film competitions throughout Europe during the course of next year.  He is to call it ‘The Last Little Show at the End of the World’ which is one of my occasional audience gathering lines, (used especially if I am somewhere where the audience are slow in gathering or look as though they’d prefer to be at home watching tv). I haven’t seen the finished product yet as he is still editing from the hours of footage those special moments that will make the end product a great success.  I have every confidence in his abilities and you can check his films out for yourself on his website (www.rhysedwards.tv).  Included there are his award winning short film ‘A Good Bitch’ and also a lovely film tribute to his daughter Heti.

Part of the agreement between Rhys and me was that there would be enough footage to complete a DVD about Mr Alexander’s Travelling Life.  I am planning to help in the process of editing this over the next few months once the Festival film is finished. 

One of the challenges of this DVD project has been the music.  Rhys has had to pay a small fortune (rightly in some ways) for the performers’ rights for the music I use in my shows for the Festival film. For anyone wondering, I pay the Performing Rights Society for an annual license to use the music in my live shows, but using it for films is a LOT more expensive and it would be far too expensive to use it in the DVD we are planning. 

So I have come up with what I think may be a solution to the problem.  Regular readers of this blog will know that Maff Potts, a musician/composer in Wallingford has recently composed about twenty minutes of original music which he played as live accompaniment to my shows at the BunkFest this year and a recording of which I have been using at shows since then.  I have developed a silent show to this wonderful suite and plan to properly premiere it at Wallingford next year, but I think the music would make the perfect accompaniment to the DVD.  Maff is in agreement and we would both like to have the suite recorded by a small cabaret band so the quality is good enough for the DVD.  The only issue is the cost involved in scoring the suite, rehearsing a band and recording it in a studio.

So what I am launching today is a fund to raise the money for this. I am proposing a sponsorship deal for individuals, associations or companies to raise the required funds, which in total is likely to be in the region of £1000.  If anyone is interested in making a contribution to this I propose the following incentives and rewards:

For £25 sponsorship

A free copy of the DVD

For £50 sponsorship

Two free copies of the DVD signed by all the artists involved

Your name immortalised on the DVD cover

For £100 sponsorship

The above plus

A specific show dedicated to you (or a charity of your choice) during my 2015 season and the contents of all the money taken in the hat at that show (which would be yours or could be donated to your charity)

For £200 sponsorship

The above plus a free show for you, your family, friends or work colleagues at a venue to be decided.  This would be my family party show that includes much of what I do in the stage show, (but without the stage).  Travel costs to the venue might have to be found, but the show itself would be free.

Sponsorships for any larger amounts would receive all the above plus some even more amazing special benefits.

If you are interested in sponsoring Maff Potts’ amazing ‘Mr Alexander’ suite for the DVD, you can got to my Kickstarter funding page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/990902434/mr-alexanders-travelling-show) to give direct or you can use Paypal to make a payment via the same email address.  Or you can send a cheque to me, David Alexander, at the address below.  Please include your email or snail address. If you would rather donate anonymously please drop me an (anonymous) postcard to

David Alexander

Unit 28 Barrowmore Ltd

Barnhouse Lane

Chester

CH3 7JA

and we will work out something. I like mystery benefactors as you probably know.

Above all you would be directly sponsoring the Arts, without any middle men, administrators or buildings.

Thank you for at least reading this far.

Here is a link to download the music played by Maff on his front room piano. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Download Mr Alexander suite

All the best from a road near you,

Mr Alexander