Export Quality: A Theatrical Exploration Based on True Stories of Mail-Order Brides From the Philippines

When survival means self-sacrifice, the only option for some women is to become a mail-order bride and marry a stranger from a foreign land. Inspired by true stories, Export Quality traces the harrowing journeys of four mail-order brides from the Philippines, as they experience hope and despair, love and loss, death and renewal. The play explores the complex phenomenon of the international mail-order bride industry. Does the business benefit or harm women? How do gender inequality and stereotypes feed the business? For a country like the Philippines, how does colonialism play a role? What are the power dynamics at play? Export Quality also bears witness to women’s courage, their resilience in the face of violence, and the healing power of being in community and of storytelling.