Megan Kim, Dexieng "Dae" Yang, Phasoua Vang, and Pagnia Xiong Photo by Lauren B Photography

Sixpack is the name of Katie Ka Vang's new play now having its world premiere run at Jungle Theater. It is set in the specific world of competitive Hmong volleyball. Vang, who is Hmong, uses this world to depict a set of four women who are deeply close friends, having forged bonds as teammates since their youth, along with two younger women, each the daughter of one of the foursome. The play is an window into that world for those of us who know little about it; I strongly expect that for those who are part of that world, Sixpack is a welcome affirmation of the foundations that support the lives they have built in the United States.

In Sixpack, we come to see the importance to the community of this sport, which travelled with Hmong refugees from the camps in Thailand where they lived after fleeing Laos at the end of the Vietnam War. As it requires little space or equipment, volleyball became an important way to get exercise and release pent-up emotions in the camps, and over time, it became part of the culture. Moreover, we see how, through the game, teammates learn to rely on one another in ways that carry over into their whole lives, becoming the very essence of community.

In the context of this historical, cultural, and social phenomenon, two primary narrative threads run through Vang's play. One is about the fractured friendship between the two young women, Pam (Ashley Horiuchi) and Jou (Dorothy Vang). In high school they are close friends who blossom on their school volleyball team. As they approach senior year, their plans for their futures begin to diverge: Pam wants to remain in the community and Jou wants to go far away and establish an identity apart from her community. Before this is decided, an act of betrayal, one against the other, opens a chasm between them. In volleyball parlance, the betrayer sixpacks the betrayed.

Years later, Jou–who did succeed in getting away–has returned for the first time, drawn by her mother's critical illness. Jou's relationship with her mother, Smiles (Dexieng "Sdae" Yang) are the crux of the second narrative. Their relationship had not been an easy one and early on, it is clear that it was one of the reasons for Jou's desire to move away from her home. Jou has two severely damaged relationships that she hopes can be made right. Both of these plot lines–the estranged parent and child, and the friends who parted badly given a chance to forgive and rebuild–are fairly common and can be set in virtually any cultural context.

Playwright Vang makes the context matter, however, because the game comes to represent the unique connections that exist among the women of this community and their reliance on one another, born of the struggles their families endured and a legacy of survival. Vang has also created six distinctive characters, each of the women having particular strengths and flaw, so that together they are much stronger than the sum of their parts.

This is a function not only of the writing, but of Sara Pillatzki Warzeha's generous direction that gives each character space to blossom, while never losing sight of the web of connections among them, and to excellent performances by all six actors. Ashley Horiuchi as Pam, and Dorothy Vang, as Jou, especially have the opportunity to show depth in depicting the rise and fall of their friendship, while Phasoua Vang as opportunistic Windy, always ready to take anything that is free of charge, delivers a lot of the play's humor.

The four older woman are sisters in spirit, even though their personalities are quite varied. Two of the women, Smiles and Windy (Phasoua Vang), make unhealthy choices, with heavy alcohol use, smoking, and general debauchery. The other two, calm and steadfast Myna (Megan Kim) and kind-hearted, reserved Nancy (Pagnia Xiong), who is Pam's mother, are quite different, but there is a place for all of them in this family based not by blood but shared origins. And in spite of how different they are, it is obvious that they all really like each other.

Pam and Jou were young friends who shared their love for volleyball, but as is often the case with third generation Americans, their shared cultural background, while still important, is no longer sufficient to make their friendship inevitable. They will have to invest and decide that it matters, and there is no forgone conclusion about how this will work out. For Myna, Nancy, Windy and Smiles, there is a certainty that they will always be there for one another. This also gives them the liberty to be more relaxed, tease and joke together–and it is in these interactions that Sixpack delivers a high quotient of its humor, which greatly livens up the play.

As for the volleyball, while we don't get to see a full-out game, we do see some practice moves. More affecting, there are scenes in which the narrative pauses and the women stand in position, without a ball, moving with gestures–forward thrusts, two-handed punches, leaps, twists–that are part of the sport. These scenes are choreographed by Sandy Agustin, who turns this movement into a form of expressive dance, dance in which each dancer must move in synchronization with the others in order to produce the effect of mastery. This is beautifully aided by lighting designed by Claudia Erickson and the sound design by Erin Bednarz.

The importance of the cultural heritage that surrounds these women's lives is beautifully and powerfully expressed through Ursula K. Bowden's set design, with backdrops that incorporate traditional Hmong textile arts, and the entire stage framed by floor to ceiling ribbons that are a feature of traditional Hmong clothing. The bedroom in which grievously ill Nancy awaits her fate is bedecked with flowers and ribbons in a manner that suggests Hmong ceremonial rituals.

There are places in which Sixpack feels less than fully formed. The opening scene between Pam and Jou is confusing and undermines the sense that their first contact after so long time is a significant event. And when it finally seems like they will address the rift between them, Jou's statement seems too little, too late, and Pam's response seems couched in denial. The resolution between Jou and her mother also feels like a quick fix, something that, if it were so easy, should have happened years before. The frequent repetition chatter about being hung over is tiresome, taking up air that might be better used to further develop the characters.

With room for growth and refinement, Sixpack has a lot to offer, particularly its depiction of the power of community that draws strength from past adversity, having made a game that was a source of relief in the worst of times into a point of pride and honor in better times. There are two scenes in which the women are struggling to untangle volleyball nets that seem hopelessly knotted. Not being knowledgeable about these things, it is hard to imagine how it happens, but I give benefit of the doubt that this is a real thing. In the first instance, the four older woman are working on it, and it becomes an occasion for laughter and comradery, finding joy in this frustrating task.

Later, Pam is the one untangling a net, and Jou offers to help. Jou notes how old the net is, that it seems to date back to when the two were schoolmates playing together, and marvels that it is still in use. Pam tells her that they have a new net for their games–that this net is a "project." With nothing more said on the subject, that notion speaks eloquently about the prospects for Pam and Jou's friendship–a project that will require close attention to knots and snags that occurred in the past. This simple metaphor captures the difference between the generation of their mothers, who laugh and regale as they untangle their nets, and the youth for whom figuring out the tangles of their past is a project.

Sixpackruns through June 29, 2025, at the Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Avenue S., Minneapolis MN. For information and tickets, please visit www.jungletheater.com.

Playwright: Katie Ka Vang; Director: Sara Pillatzki-Warzeha; Assistant Director: Faith Barrett; Scenic and Prop Design: Ursula K. Bowden; Assistant Scenic and Prop Designer: Jacelyn Stewart; Costume Design: Khamphian Vang; Lighting Design: Claudia Erickson; Sound Design: Erin Bednarz; Choreographer: Sandy Agustin; Volleyball Consultant: Yvonne Freese; Cultural Consultant: Kathy Mouacheupao; Volleyball/Cultural Era Consultants: Vang Xiong and Sak Koumarn; Manager: Miranda Shunkwiler; Technical Director: John Lutz; Production Manager: Kathy Maxwell.

Cast: Ashley Horiuchi (Pam), Megan Kim (Myna), Dorothy Vang (Jou), Phasoua Vang (Windy), Pagnia Xiong (Nancy), Dexieng "Dae" Yang (Smiles).