‘Thin Threads’ is a family escapist drama following a struggling mother’s fight to make ends meet. When a welfare letter demands repayment, she turns to work long extra hours in her home sweatshop, straining to support her family back in Vietnam and both her daughter’s education. It’s an impossible job, so she forces her teenage daughters to help, but can they ever meet their mother’s expectations? Desperation leads her to involve her teen daughters, each with their struggles—Catherine seeks acceptance through magic and diet pills, while Jessica battles racial challenges and defiance. Under one roof, tensions escalate between the three of them until they’re all pushed to a breaking point. To remain together, they have to confront insecurities within them and reimagine the portrait of family.
Written by Vivian Nguyen
Director: Jessica Arthur
Produced by Empty Seat Theatre
This reading has been supported by the Besen Family Foundation.