A woman who's just had a mastectomy walks into a surprise memorial for her left breast.

There's nothing funny about breast cancer.

So why are we making a comedy short about it? Because when director Traven Rice went through treatment for it, it was so scary that all she wanted to hear was a good joke.

In our comedic short film, Abby, our Hero, who’s just had a mastectomy, walks into a surprise memorial for her left breast. 

To her horror, she quickly learns her Aunt Eudora has invited anyone who might have had any sort of relationship with “Lefty” to come and say a few words.

These include:

• Her young children
• Her estranged-husband
• Her first true love from high school
• Her college roommate who recently came out
• Her boss (along with the entire HR department)
• You get the idea

There may or may not be a mime, juggling water balloons that look like breasts.

And Slippery Nipple cocktails will be served.

Oh, and Aunt Eudora's dance team has put together a little number to close out this farewell event.

Just as Abby finds herself on the brink of running far, far away, she learns that Aunt Eudora has her own secrets to "get off her chest."

This is a story about the importance of talking about hard things, and especially - laughing about hard things. Director Traven Rice is on the other side of treatment, so she knows there's nothing funny about breast cancer, which is why she, for one, has been hoping someone would tell some jokes.

After almost two full years of breast cancer treatment, Traven is luckily all clear now, but there was obviously nothing fun about it. Along with chemo, radiation and hormone therapy, having to deal with the loss of a breast was incredibly overwhelming, and it felt like people didn't understand the severity of it. A lot of unexpected issues came up around objectification and sexual identity in our society.

For some reason, she also met a lot of women who didn’t want anyone to know they were going through it. Feeling uncomfortable talking about these things only leads to unnecessary feelings of shame and isolation. By setting up a comedic situation with a lot of heart, it opens the door for real talk as well as catharsis for everyone involved.

The idea came about when Traven was reading a blog by a woman who had to have a mastectomy and was trying to explain what that meant to her small children. They wanted to know what she was going to do with her breast after the operation and if she was going to bring it home with her. Would she put it on the mantle? Or would they have a funeral for it? The way they had one for their pet goldfish?

This brought to light the humorous but heartfelt need to honor the loss of this part of us with some sort of serious acknowledgement.

The tone of the film is darkly funny while still tackling some real topics. The visual style of the film is absurd and over the top, deadpan.

Traven Rice has written and directed almost a dozen different short film projects, some comedy, some magical realism and some sci-fi, but nothing this personal.

Writer Brady Evan Walker has written a lot of comedies and we’ve been workshopping this script for over a year now. We’re continuing to do live readings with breast cancer organizations to get feedback, while we prepare for our shoot. 

Producer Vadim Egoul has produced nearly a dozen feature and short films. This is a topic that resonates close to home for him, having a close family member recently overcome treatment.

Producer Erin Brennan has helped produce and assistant direct a dozen feature and short films. She is drawn to stories that use humor to confront grief and shed light on difficult topics.

*Many people on our crew have had someone close to them go through breast cancer treatment, as well.

We will be shooting the film in NYC for four days at the end of the summer. Pre-production is well underway as we hire cast and crew, search for the perfect location, gather props and costumes, and more. 

Your contribution will help to get us through production and pay everyone equitably.

The film will be available to stream online after post-production is completed. We will invite sponsors and non-profit organizations to partner with us for screenings with talk backs around the country.

Our intention is to create a safe space for conversations around breast cancer treatment, ways to ask for, and offer support throughout the whole "misadventure" that too many of us have had to go through.

*We're inviting additional support from sponsors and community partners.

We are delighted to have Pitta & Baione on board as our Lead Sponsor!

Traven was a client who first found out about 9/11 toxins causing cancer from a happenstance phone call about her publication, The Lo-Down. Pitta & Baione came on board because they wanted to support her artistic vision being utilized to raise awareness about cancer and the need for open dialogue, early detection, and emotional support during treatment and after.

We are grateful to have Donnybrook, our neighborhood taproom, on board as a Community Sponsor!

We are honored to have received a pledge of $1000 from Seed&Spark Patron Jason Reitman!  Check out more details about the Seed&Spark Patrons Circle here.

We hope you’ll join our campaign so that we can share this story in solidarity with the women in your life who’ve gone through this – or anyone who could use an invitation to laugh when things get hard.

Along the way, we will invite our backers to share their stories and funny moments from their own personal experiences on our Facebook page and on our Instagram page.

If you’d pledge, follow and share this project with anyone you think it might resonate with, we’d be so grateful.

Sample text for social media: "I just joined the Lay Lefty Down campaign to raise money for the comedic short film tackling the serious topic of breast cancer treatment. Learn more here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lay-lefty-down"

Share our updates on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/LayLeftyDown/

Share our updates on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/layleftydownfilm/

Thank You!