Noga Yechieli- Let's Talk Sex Work update

I realized a few things over the last few weeks of working on this project. Working on it alone with Salina, we both realized in our last meeting that we put too many expectations, and too many goals, which resulted in both of us feeling overwhelmed and drowning in the amount of work, and not getting anything done. We decided to readjust our agenda, and focus more on preparing for New Works, with the idea of performing in communities outside of CalArts as an agenda to move forward around April. We realized that because the show is still in process, and there isn't a clear description of how the product looks, it makes many aspects difficult in trying to work on outreach. So we decided to focus on outreach, when we will have more of a structured product. 

With these new goals in mind, we decided that the connections we are focused on now, should be collaborating with activists to help improve the process and connect them possibly with the cast, and from that connection and collaboration, to later continue working with them when performing in communities like we originally planned. I am still in process of research for which kind of organizations would be good to collaborate with. I think what has been a block in that is my personal doubts and fears about the project. It is very important for me to do justice to this topic and to the women and girls I have met and worked with. However many organizations here have agendas that are slightly different, but just as valid. I think I have lost some confidence in myself, which has stopped me from reaching out to a few of these organizations. Thanks to Camila, who is helping with our team, she reminded me that it really isn't about my narrative vs. theirs, and that both are valid. I needed to be reminded that the true stories that I am sharing are legitimate to share, and this project will make some people angry and that's okay. I think I was scared of making sex workers angry, because I wanted them to feel they were being represented, but I can't represent everyone. So now I am trying a new approach of finding possibly organizations that have a similar agenda to my own, so that we can work with the cast in a similar mindset, and then expand to organizations that will bring in voices that also oppose mine and paint a different reality, even though I am sure that a lot will overlap. Making it a two step process I think is the conclusion I got to from my fears and doubts.