After a long work shift at Olsteads mill, three middle-aged female friendsan African American woman named Tracey, an Italian American woman named Jessie, and a German American woman named Cynthiahang out at Stans bar. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. The issues this drama raises painfully timely ones, I hardly need add surface organically from the circumstances. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Subscribe! Sure, it looks awfully cozy and welcoming, and you can see why its denizens regard it as a second home. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. It makes mewhatever. Sharp and threatening as a box cutter bladeferociously engrossingSWEAT never feels less than authenticand crucial. Deadline.com. Finally, Jason breaks and admits that he recently ran into Chris, whom Jason tried to forget while he was in prison. Though it is steeped in social combustibility, Sweat often feels too conscientiously assembled, a point-counterpoint presentation in which every disaffected voice is allowed its how-I-got-this-way monologue. Cynthia says she plans to apply, hoping for better opportunities. Oscar, the often-ignored Colombian American busboy, escorts her to the bathroom. 239 0 obj <> endobj Brucie, whose union has been locked out of the citys other plant for two months after the union balked at draconian pay cuts, has been hitting something harder than the bottle. Jason panics and goes to leave, but he stops when Stan enters to wipe down tables. In February, at the same bar, Jason, Chris, and Stan have a playful conversation about the motorcycle Jason wants to buy and about Chriss new girlfriend while Oscar listens in. Actors Ensemble is an all-volunteer company. Struggling with distance learning? I wanna say that. Its searing and human. Jessie (K. T. Vogt), passed out at a table in the corner, isnt exactly doing her part to celebrate the birthday of Tracey (Terri McMahon), who we eventually learn is Jasons mother. PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Cynthia tells Tracey and Stan about how she recently kicked out her estranged husband, Brucie, againhes been abusing drugs ever since he was locked out of his job at a local textile mill. Your computer should open a new tab with the monologue. the tech bubble has recently burst, causing a record 617-point drop in the Dow Jones. The shriveled, drug-addled figure of Cynthias estranged husband, Brucie (John Earl Jelks), looms as a possible prophecy of everyone elses fate. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Brucie admits that he feels lost, and he recounts an incident of racism he recently experienced at the labor union. Mary Mara, left, as Tracey, and Portia as Cynthia in "Sweat," Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama at the Mark Taper Forum about a factory town in Pennsylvania. You hear from the old gang? If you would like to give a public performance of this monologue, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor. Tracey brings up an overseer job opportunity at Olsteads and the rumor that management intends to promote someone off the factory floor. Three exemplary charactersTracey, Cynthia, and Jessieare all working class . Click on the name of the character in that box. Cynthia sits alone in the bar, fantasizing about going on a . Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Federal TaxID#946139640, since 04-1967. As bars often are in old-fashioned and socially conscious dramas like Sweat, this one is a microcosm for a larger world. Complete your free account to request a guide. Sweat is best at its muddiest, when love and hate, and the urges to strike out and to comfort, teeter in precipitous balance. And theyre right. That the people onstage are middle-class or lower-middle-class folks too rarely given ample time on American stages makes the play all the more vital a contribution to contemporary drama. Chris eventually becomes angry as well, and he joins Jason in beating Oscar. Ms. Nottages colloquial dialogue doesnt approach or even attempt his singing lyricism, but Jessie delivers a beautiful monologue about the life she might have led had she not, when still a teenager, started working in a factory. More trouble comes when rumors of layoffs begin swirling, and Cynthia finds herself caught between her duties as a manager and her sympathy with her friends in the union. Aspirations to another life may be common among these people, but such hopes are widely resented when they show signs of becoming reality. Youve always been cool. Chris remembers his fingernails digging into his palms. Theatre lover and actor. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville Girl, hes a loser. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama THE STORY: Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. The full script is available in print and e-book at multiple area libraries. But a little more indirection would be more dramatically satisfying. There is little doubt that when the rage festering among them fully erupts, no one will emerge unscarred. Posted in Auditions. L ynn Nottage's Sweat is a play set in 2000 and 2008 that explores the tension in a group of friends in the midst of layoffs at a factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. They built this town. [] I betcha they wanted a minority. 308 qualified specialists online. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). You can also copy the link and paste it in your browser. He advises them to take any concessions that are offered to prevent a lockout from happening. CYNTHIA: [] You know after everything. Let it be enough to say that each actor locates the rich humanity in his or her character, and transmits it to the audience with deceptive ease. As the strike progresses, the workers grow increasingly desperate. The play flashes back to July 2000. Besides, Oscar would need to be in the union and to know someone at the plant to get a job there. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. He apparently did so due to the stress of his failed marriage, debt, and rumors of cutbacks at Olsteads Steel Tubing (the mill where Tracey, Cynthia, and Jessie also work). Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! tailored to your instructions. (including. Hes an avuncular type who keeps the peace when necessary, with the help of his Dominican bar-back, Oscar (Carlo Albn). It makes meWhatever. A few days later, Chris goes to the bar, where Oscar is now the manager. First and only job. Forget all that. She asks Chris to tell her what happened back then, because she still doesnt understand. And while its trajectory is dark, even devastating, Sweat is damn funny, too: Ms. Nottage knows well that the natural reactions to the assaults of life faced by these particular people are a savage sense of humor, and, more damagingly, a swan dive into the comforts of alcohol and drugs. Couldnt handle the stress. John Earl Jelks SWEAT was originally produced on Broadway at Studio 54 by Stuart Thompson and Louise L. Gund, premiering on March 26, 2017. In fact Id hold him down for you to give him a proper beating, but Oscarhes another story. Cynthias ex-husband Brucie warns his son, Chris, about his own struggles with the financial and emotional toll of another ongoing strike. But now, theres nothing on Penn. Jason asks where his mom is, but Jessie doesnt know; Jason reassures her that, Berks County, Pennsylvania, experiences a 111-percent rise in power shutoffs. %%EOF Well. Theyll work us down to nothing if we let em. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Jason grabs the baseball bat and hits Oscar in the stomach, and as he swings back to hit him again, he accidentally strikes Stan in the head. We encourage both theatre veterans (non-AEA) and newcomers to audition. The bar that is the principal location for Sweat, Lynn Nottages bracingly topical portrait of American dreams deferred in working-class Pennsylvania, is a place where friendships go to die. Chris agreeshe doesnt want to end up like Brucie. Make sure to leave suggestions for other plays youd like to see on the blog and Ill see you at the next post! On July 4, Chris and Jason run into Brucie at the bar, and they tell him that Olsteads moved three mills out of the factory over the holiday weekend. Ms. Nottage, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Ruined, her terrific drama about the human cost of a civil war in Africa, has surpassed even that achievement with Sweat, which is making its premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival here in a blazingly well-acted production directed by Kate Whoriskey, who also directed the premiere production of Ruined. (Sweat, co-commissioned by Arena Stage in Washington, opens there in January.). Ernestine Crump Crumbs from the Table of Joy 0 Start: Because mostly I feel rage. It was a gift. Cynthia: aeb Audition Material, Monologues. One selected monologue from SWEAT (See links next to character name for link to monologues). Tracey and the others are outraged. Box 663 - Berkeley - California - 94701 Our Answering Service: (510) 649-5999 . Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Teachers and parents! In the foreground of these scenes, set in a bar favored by workers at the local metal tubing plant, are three middle-aged women, fast friends who together have put in more than 60 years working machines on the factory floor. Chris shares that Jason is out too, and Cynthia angrily reflects that Jason is the one who got Chris into trouble. Thats when Ms. Nottages characters, and the cast members who embody them, emerge in their full tragic humanity. Stan slams a baseball bat down on the bar and orders Jason to sit, but Jason blocks Oscar from leaving and begins to beat him. Brucie ends up begging Cynthia for another chance, but she stays strong with Tracey and Jessies support. CYNTHIA: Fuck her. We dont really. Cynthia spends her birthday alone in the bar, where she confides in Stan how stressed and guilty she feels about locking her friends (and her own son) out of the plant. Thats all I need to know. There will always be someone wholl step in, unless we say NO! This email address is being protected from spambots. Its a tragic story of everyday people struggling to pick up the pieces when their lives fall apart. Writing that cuts this close to the bone draws out the best in actors. In Reading, Pennsylvania a group of factory workers are living their lives. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The play also examines the ways working class Americans are often pitted against one another in their struggles for a better life. TRACEY: Stillyou werent born here, Berks. It begins in 2008 in scenes that switch between a parole officers interrogations of two young men recently released from prison and flashes back to 2000, to follow the road to the crime for which they were incarcerated. document.getElementById('cloak8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e').innerHTML = ''; Online Audition Submissions Checklist, 2) Upload your head shot, resume, and link to your video audition to this audition form: https://forms.gle/uAnVNMz2Q6qMVvsPA. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. She had unwisely let her ex-husband, Brucie (Kevin Kenerly), move back in for a few days around the Christmas holidays, only to wake up on the morning itself and find half the presents under the tree gone as well as her fish tank. She tells him that she and Tracey no longer speak after everything that happened. The play returns to Jason and Chriss separate parole meetings with Evan in October 2008. Most of the plays action takes place in a local bar run by Stana former factory worker who was chronically disabled when he injured his leg in a machineand Oscar, a young Colombian American man who helps with stocking and cleaning. Eventually, everyone but Tracey shows up, and Cynthia and Jessie reminisce about their early days at the factory. You could wake up tomorrow and all your jobs are in Mexico, whatever, its this NAFTA bullshit. From first moments to last, this . Though Chris initially attempts to calm Jason and prevent an eruption of violent anger, he joins Jason as he beats Oscar. Soon they are out of work and replaced by those who will work for less. Anyone can read what you share. Waking up, going to the factory, working all day, and coming home. Jason comments that Oscar is kind to take care of him, and Oscar replies that this is how things should be. Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black.She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for her play Ruined, and in 2017 for her play Sweat.She was the first (and remains the only) woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times. A month after this, Olsteads workers have rejected the deal they were offered, and the lockout goes forward. The play is set both on the eve and in the twilight of George W. Bushs presidency. Not us. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. Jacking aint for softies! But they know they can always find somebody willing to get their hands sweaty. I dont know why. There is a rich eloquence in his inarticulateness that this well-spoken play could use more of. Tracey goes outside to smoke a cigarette, and Oscar comes out to ask her about working at Olsteadshe recently saw a job posting at the local Latino Community Center. Suddenly, they hear a drunken commotion from the bathroom, and Cynthia and, him out after his 21st birthday last October. Stan falls, hits his head on the bar, and lies bleeding on the ground. It is also striking how abruptly the scenes and action change. A couple of weeks later, Jessie waits alone at the barTracey, Cynthia, Jason, and Chris are all late to her birthday celebration. Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs More vacation. Chris tries to break it up, but Oscar headbutts him, and, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Cynthia understands, but she asks Tracey not to make things about race, and she promises to let everyone know if she hears anything about the rumored layoffs. So were Jasons mother, Tracey (Johanna Day), and Chriss mother, Cynthia (Michelle Wilson). Sweat moves fluidly between these passages (and others set elsewhere but at the same time) and scenes from eight years before, when the bulk of the action takes place. From first moments to last, this compassionate but cleareyed play throbs with heartfelt life, with characters as complicated as any youll encounter at the theater today, and with a nifty ticking time bomb of a plot. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; Tell me about whats been going on. PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Then, Chris reveals that hes been accepted to Albright Colleges teaching program, which shocks Jasonthey both work on the floor at Olsteads, and Jason always assumed they would retire and open a business together. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. Presiding over Traceys informal birthday party and the subsequent, less festive birthdays of Jessie and Cynthia is Stan (Jack Willis), the bartender, though not the owner of the bar. Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is now accepting video auditions for an online workshop reading of SWEAT by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, directed by Tracy Baxter. Sweat Summary. They built the house that I live in. var addy8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e = 'auditions' + '@'; Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; she's Jason 's mother and Hank 's widow. She attributes Cynthias selection to tokenism. With the hard-drinking Jessie (Alison Wright), these women form a triumvirate that gathers regularly at their hangout to celebrate one anothers birthdays and swap workplace gossip and grievances. He tells Evan about how he recently saw Jason: the two men had hugged on the street despite their heightened emotions and Jasons offensive tattoos. You appreciate Ms. Nottages insistence that we be able to trace exactly the sources of her characters unhappiness. Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is now accepting video auditions for an online workshop reading of SWEAT by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, directed by Tracy Baxter. The play is also set at a pivotal transitional time in American industry, when many longstanding factory jobs were outsourced to other countries (as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA). Tracey bitterly wonders if Cynthia received the promotion because she is Black. Tracey (Jasons mother), Cynthia (Chriss mother), and their friend Jessie are celebrating Traceys birthday at a local bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. Nobodys going anywhere. All is well, until economic turmoil hits. Cynthia receives the promotion, and her change in status generates tension between her and Tracey. I hope I was able to introduce you to more monologue material! Stan is now severely disabled with a traumatic brain injury; he struggles to hear or speak. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. CYNTHIA: Why the hell not? Upgrade to PRO Start: Yeah? All is well, until economic turmoil hits. Stan warns Oscar that he is putting himself in a dangerous position and stirring animosity among longtime employees. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Certainly I found myself squirming in my seat as I watched the forces of fate, or, to be more specific, the mechanics of 21st-century American capitalism, bear down on these characters with the brutal power of a jackhammer smashing through concrete. Jason has come to beg Tracey for money, but shes hostile and unwelcoming. Note: We are restricted by licensing concerns to casting to type. A drunken Jessie is passed out at a table while Tracey and Cynthia dance; theyre clearly close with each other and with Stan, the bartender with whom they engage in flirtatious banter. Ive absorbed a lotta shit over the years, but I worked hard to get off that floor. Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. At the same time, all the characters in Sweat are given to elaborate passages of exposition, laying out the histories of their families, their employers, their city. The play flashes back to January 2000. Jason is horrified to realize that Tracey is highit seems she developed an addiction to pain medication while Jason was in prison. Video submission deadline: Sunday, June 20, 11:59 p.m. Time commitment: Up to 15 hours directed rehearsing (max 5 rehearsals), 4-8 hours independent rehearsing, and two online readings, One contemporary monologue (90 seconds maximum). Management is trying to cut wages and benefits, and despite Cynthias protestations and pleas on her friends behalf, she feels her concerns are being ignored. The flier advertises a much lower wage than Tracey makes, and it does not mention union requirements or benefits. SWEAT is a blistering ensemble drama about lives and friendships devastated by the ongoing deindustrialization of working-class America. In September 2008, Jason, a man with white supremacist facial tattoos, meets with Evan, his African American parole officer. Mothers, sons and Jessie work for the towns venerable steel tubing factory. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, See more monologues from My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Through their barroom conversation, the women reveal that Jason has no future plans beyond factory work, and Chris has been accepted to college. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. They get tax breaks or something. Jason shows up too, which initially alarms Oscar. Changing the subject, Tracey tells Oscar that Cynthia only got the promotion because shes black and then makes an offhand comment about Latinx people like Oscar coming to Reading to get jobsbut Oscar says that he was born in Berks County just like Tracey was. Though it takes place in 2000 and 2008, and one of its characters swears he will never vote again, Sweat is the first work from a major American playwright to summon, with empathy and without judgment, the nationwide anxiety that helped put Donald J. Trump in the White House. Then, Cynthia, Tracey, and Jessie enter, and Brucie harasses Cynthia until she agrees to talk to him. Now, the plant is bringing in Mexican immigrants as temporary laborers. But I stood on line, patiently waiting for a break. Just as Oscar goes to take some beer crates to the back, Oscar walks back in, looking uncomfortably at, Olsteads isnt Oscars faulthes only trying to make a living just like they are. CHRIS: Cmon. TRACEY: Well, I got you beat by two. Forget all that. warns that peoples jobs could be outsourced to Mexico at any moment because of NAFTA. The plot of Sweat shifts between the present year of 2008 and an extended flashback to the year 2000. Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage spent two years visiting Reading, Pa., to research her new play. Talk to Olstead, his cronies. Shakespeare in the Woods 2023 Season Less work. He thinks Jason and Chris should move on and get out of Reading. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Fucking Wall Street. In Sweat, which opened on Sunday night at Studio 54, the feeling of familiarity that pervades the plays central setting gradually shades into contempt among those who drink there for themselves, for one another and for the life they cannot escape. The mood becomes tense, and Tracey and Cynthia get into a spat: Tracey clearly resents Cynthia for getting the promotion over her. Well. Join the StageAgent community CYNTHIA: That rumors been flying around for months. START: Well. The parolees are Jason (Will Pullen) and Chris (Khris Davis), and they were once the closest of friends. Weve just come Start: Every since her father hung himse Start: It was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting, and three 2017 Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. However, Cynthia is adamant that she cant give up the opportunity shes been given; Tracey and Jessie dont understand what its like to walk in her shoes. Tracey? But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. CYNTHIA: More money. The play was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. In 2000, Tracey and her best friends, Cynthia and Jessie, have worked at Olstead's Steel Tubing in Reading, Pennsylvania, for over 20 years.