Carlyle Brown is one of three playwrights developing new work this summer as part of Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink series. /Courtney Perry

Family ties connect a trio of plays debuting this summer in Illusion Theater's annual Fresh Ink series, and all three come from regular Illusion collaborators.

Jeffrey Hatcher kicks things off June 13-16 with "Netherlands," in which Sandra Struthers will play sisters. One lives in Amsterdam. The other makes a monthly trip from the U.S. to Amsterdam to make sure her sister is still alive.

"A Play by Carlyle and Barb" comes from husband-and-wife duo Carlyle Brown and Barbara Joyce Rose-Brown. It was written as a response to Barbara's stroke, which left her a dramaturg who was unable to speak and him a playwright who had lost his regular dramaturg. It'll be performed June 20-23.

There's more autobiography in "Before You Were Alive," written and performed by Beth Gilleland. To be performed June 27-30, it's about Gilleland's experiences as a single person, mothering a boy who had lost his birth mother.

The trio of plays will be performed at Illusion, 528 Hennepin Av, Mpls. Tickets, which are $10, are available at illusiontheater.org.