About the Project
The Pyrex
A Play by Eric Lin Hsu
The Pyrex is a black box dramatic comedy about three sisters; eldest Yin- Zhen, middle child Ying-Ai and the youngest Yin-Ling. Ying-Ai and Yin-Ling fought all through their lives, but when Ying-Ai is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Yin- Ling shows up for this moment. The disorder leads up to Ying-Ai’s family gathering around her before she takes prescribed medication that will allow her to die with dignity.
The show is based on an oral history project with my family. I interviewed my relatives and did hours of research and travel so I could write this true story. There’s little to no embellishment.
The name of the show is The Pyrex because when my mom said she was ready to pass on, me, my sister, and my aunt all knew what to do from reviewing the instructions that came with the medication several times. My older sister being a doctor asked me to fetch the measuring cup from the kitchen and she mixed the solution for my mom to ingest. After she did that and passed away I was back at my sisters place a week later. I was making a snack for myself in the kitchen when I found the same measuring cup back in the cupboard! So, I picked up a new Pyrex at Target. Now whenever I see it, this is what think of.
This all came up when last spring I was sharing this story with my coworker because his best friend is the same age my mother was, 73, when she was diagnosed with colon cancer and his best friend, Georgette, was diagnosed with the same cancer and is being offered the same compassionate care. So I was telling my coworker friend about my experience. That night I had a dream my mom had visited. I don’t remember what we shared in the dream, I didn’t write it down, but it was like she came down and then we wrote this play.
As of this writing (March 14, 2025) Georgette is still with us.
Production Team
