From Seattle Opera: Inspired by a true story, eleventh grade honor roll student Diane Tran is the child of two Vietnamese immigrants who are now divorced. With her father rarely around and her mother gone, Diane feels bound to help provide financially for her family, be both sister and parent to her siblings, and also keep up her honor roll studies. Despite her heroic efforts, a judge sends her to jail for truancy.

Through the lens of an exhausted dream, we follow Diane as she struggles with familial duties, her mother’s abandonment, and the injustices of a system lacking compassion or understanding. As Diane’s mother shares her own reasons for leaving family behind, Diane must make an impossible decision in this “land of laws.”

The piece was composed by GIA’s board treasurer Bao-Long Chu and runs at the Seattle Opera June 9-18. Learn more here.