The Balancing Act. (Original writing)

The Balancing Act, a play based on a late nineteenth century labor dispute in a New England mill town, depicts the struggle of two individuals trying to break the boundaries of race and class. Thrown together by circumstance, fifteen-year-old Chinese immigrant, Lue Gim Gong and his Sunday School teacher, Fanny Burlingame develop a love for each other that eventually leads Fanny to adopt the boy. Despite this initial breakthrough, the pair must constantly struggle, not only against the racist limits set by society, but against those limits still set deep within their hearts. Through the dramatic presentation of this relationship, we see the moments of both courage and compromise that allow Lue and Fanny to maintain their delicate balance of friendship in a racist society.