From left to right: Cat Grey as Lillibeth Villanueva Reed, Jill Jose as Ellen Mercado Craig, Arianne Recto as Josephine Agbayani and Myka Cue as Jesusa Angela Espiritu in Export Quality.
Export Quality, a play centered on the mail-order bride system in the Philippines—a practice that usually leads to the trafficking, rape, abuse and death of many women by American men. Although the mail-order bride industry has existed for decades, Export Quality is a reminder to the public that this issue persists. The four main characters who introduce themselves at the outset are commodified and stripped of their fundamental human rights—sentenced to a life of indentured servitude.
Says one of them, Ellen Mercado Craig (Jill Jose ):
Cue, Jose and Grey scream with excitement at the game show. Photographs by Russ Rowland.
I am small, but strong...
My skin is pearly smooth.
I’m told that I don’t look Filipino–
I don’t have a flat nose.
And they call me mestiza.
The same goes for the other women, Jesusa Angela Espiritu (Myka Cue), Josephine Agbayani (Arianne Recto) and Lillibeth Villanueva Reed (Cat Grey). In her introduction, Lillibeth both her attributes and her skills:
I am 5 foot, 4 inches, medium-built, but with a small waist and good
child-bearing hips. …
I have nimble fingers.
I can sew. I can knead.
Playwrights Dorotea Mendoza, Carolyn Antonio, and Erica Miguel focus on the varied stories of the four women. Angela, the youngest of the four at 28, is desperately trying to find ways to protect her daughter from her father, who is scheduled to be released early from prison.
The play focuses on the stories of these four women in distinct scenarios. When one is the subject, the others may play subsidiary characters, as in game-show segments, where three of the cast members become contestants and one plays the host.
Jesusa Espiritu speaks into the camera held by Lillibeth.
The stories don’t flinch from horror. Jesusa is desperately trying to find ways to protect her daughter from her father, who is scheduled to be released early from prison. Lillibeth, 31,
lives with her unemployed husband in San Jose, California, where she has carved out a life. She is financially stable and supports the entire household, but her deadbeat husband, formerly a computer technician, has become comfortable being maintained by her, and he is even physically abusive.
Ellen, 45, lives in Hawaii with her husband and his elderly, wheelchair-bound father. She provides medical care as well as household services for the family. Her marriage is purely “transactional.” Her husband helps her family, as promised, and she feels indebted to him for that. And she, in turn, helps with her husband’s father. Although she feels indebted to her husband, he becomes suspicious of her whereabouts and begins tracing her phone.
The oldest of the group at 60, and the one with the most tragic story, is Josephine. After being abandoned by her mother at a young age, she must fend for herself in the Philippines. She steals and hustles to survive until she finds the opportunity to be a mail-order bride. She considers it a perfect solution to get her out of the poverty-stricken life she led, but her husband turns out to be a sociopath who held women captive in his basement. She survives torture and rape.
The cast, under the direction of Sonoko Kawahara, deliver bold and heartfelt performances. Kawahara melds the varying tonal shifts of the different women’s into a cohesive piece: Although the overall tone is somber, there are more lighthearted segments that involve a game show that display high energy and happiness but don’t feel organic. They seem to satirize people’s opinions of Filipinos as well as a desire for American products:
Announcer: Before we start, we have giveaways for five lucky audience members. Mystery, unclaimed balikbayan boxes, with random imported goods straight from the States.
The simple yet symbolic set of large crates, designed by Joey Mendoza, works well to suggest the women are cargo—objects that can be discarded at any moment. In addition, the play does a nice job of using videos and projections by Stefania Bulbarella. One of the highlights is when the videos streamed what appeared to be real-time footage of themselves as they are performing the show on stage.
Export Quality brings awareness to the mail-order bride industry, which has historically hurt women and still doesn’t have many laws to protect their well-being.
Export Quality runs through Dec. 17 at HERE Arts Center (145 Sixth Ave.). For tickets, visit here.org. Evening performances are at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; matinees are at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Playwright: Dorotea Mendoza, Carolyn Antonio, and Erica Miguel
Director: Sonoko Kawahara
Set: Joey Mendoza
Costumes: Siena Zoë Allen
Lighting: Reza Behjat
Sound Design: Chai Tamayo
