1 artist/activist. 1 partner. 1 dog. 1 RV. 1 yearlong road trip. 1 epic project. and YOU.

 

The Project:

For Sale is an original one-woman show exploring the complex issues of sex trafficking in America followed by a facilitated talk-back to give the audience tangible tools to successfully combat sexual exploitation in their communities. Through a series of monologues the audience gains insight into this multi-faceted epidemic running rampant in this nation. The characters although fictitious, are based on five years of extensive research with much of the information gained through firsthand interviews with individuals who are involved in human trafficking and those combating the issue

The play has a 15, 30, 45 and 60 min completed version. I have had the opportunity to perform For Sale in theaters, schools and at conferences with incredibly positive feedback. My long-term goal is to publish and tour this prevention education and outreach performance across the country. The final product will also include extensive Director/Playwright notes, a facilitation guide, resources and a list of methods of engagement to equip the audience with viable opportunities to combat sex trafficking in their community and the nation.

 

The Goal:

My goal is to finish the play. I have four monologues already written and am hoping to compile enough information through in-person interviews to create 20 monologues. The idea behind this is two-part. 1. If I was performing this play in your city for 3 nights, the audience could come each night and technically see a different performance because I would perform different monologues each night. 2. Certain monologues will cater to varying audiences. The monologues I choose to perform for a high school will be very different than the monologues I would want to perform for truck drivers, law enforcement, or teachers.

My hope for "For Sale" is to create a platform for dialogue- to make space for the many individuals that are intertwined in the world of sex slavery; an attempt to be a voice for the unheard, for the hundreds of thousands who have been silenced through force, fraud, and coercion. I want an audience to leave my play equipped with the knowledge, resources, and clear steps they can take to becoming modern day abolitionists.

You: 

So here is where you come in! I have 36 states, 69 cities and 12,000 miles of travel to do in a year, interviewing as many people as I can along the way to complete my play. I am excited and eager to gain as much knowledge as possible from experts of all spectrums to create well-balanced, informed, inspiring, truthful accounts of the severity of sex slavery in the U.S. 

Sadly, as wonderful of a home as Caroline is she gets 6 miles to the gallon:ouch is right. So I am asking for your support to fund my project by raising $16,000.00 that will go towards the research/writing phase of my play.

- $9,000.00 will go to gas, filling up Caroline to take me from interview to interview.  

- $1,500.00 will be designated to our "fix-it" fund, which will be the inevitable towing & repairs our 1985 Ford RV will undoubtedly need during a year of cross-country social justice awesomeness. 

- $1,300.00 has been allotted for doggy day-care for Fern when we are in cities doing interviews. 

- $800.00 goes to the 5% GoFundMe will receive for reaching my goal.

- $3,400.00 will go towards supporting the interviews with filming & voice recording equipment, transcribing and editing interviews and the many Earl Grey teas that will be ordered during the countless hours of writing epiphanies that will take place.

 

Check it out:      

Take a look at my website:

 www.mayalea.org where you can watch exclusive clips from a filmed early version of For Sale -or- click on one of the names below

- Ms. Madame, the "narrator" of the play.  A high-powered businesswoman selling 'a product many would kill to have'

- Maria, an 11 yr old trafficked from Guatemala to the US with false hopes of being a nanny

- Jessica, a 16 yr old trafficked from North Carolina to Georgia by her 'boyfriend'

- Natasha, a 19 yr old trafficked from Russia to NYC with false pretenses of becoming a model

 

Learn the facts:

Check out the websites of a few of the organizations I have already interviewed and those I will be interviewing along the way to become informed.

 

Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking www.combathumantrafficking.org/                                               

Colorado Network to End Human Trafficking www.coloradocrimevictims.org/human_trafficking.html                 

Amy's House Program, Kairos Youth & Family Services

http://kairosyfs.org/programs-services/amys-house/ ">http://kairosyfs.org/programs-services/amys-house/                   

Life for the Innocent 

www.lifefortheinnocent.org                                       

Polaris Project

http://www.polarisproject.org/                                                 

Wake People Up

http://www.wakepeopleup.com/                                       

Not For Sale Campaign

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/               

National Human Trafficking Resource Center            

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/   

National Human Trafficking Hotline:  888.3737.888

 

We have the power to "be the change [we] wish to see in the world!" (Gandhi)