A few days later, Chris goes to the bar, where Oscar is now the manager. Chris asks about, more leadership opportunities for minority employees. She says that the U.S. plant has gotten too expensive to operate, and because of NAFTA, Olsteads can easily outsource labor to Mexico. [] I betcha they wanted a minority. You dont know what its been like to walk in my shoes. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of Sweat by Lynn Nottage. Generations dictated by the factory floor and the whims of American capitalism: A scene from Sweat, Lynn Nottages new drama, in a production at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Jason has come to visit, shoulda though Chris doesnt think she has anything to be sorry about. Cynthia: aeb Audition Material, Monologues. 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. Oscar tells Tracey that him working at Olsteads isnt personal, but Tracey counters that to her, it is personal. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Thats all I need to know. urges her friends to meet them halfway unless they want to lose their jobs entirely. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Until the plays penultimate scene, Sweat keeps the nature of its climactic act of violence a secret, and the sense of mystery is underscored by questions posed and unanswered between mothers and sons, and the men and their parole officer, Evan (Lance Coadie Williams) in the 2008 scenes. Its a paradox given beautiful life when Ms. Days Tracey, after angrily lecturing Oscar outside the bar, relents and gives him the cigarette he had asked for earlier; and when Tracey and Cynthia, now at loggerheads, share a memory of an eventful trip to Atlantic City. 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. I dont know why. There is a rich eloquence in his inarticulateness that this well-spoken play could use more of. Want interviews with fellow actors?
Olstead is a prick. Such talk brings out Darwinian survival instincts, especially once Cynthia gets a job in management at the factory. The play examines the intersecting stories of workers on strike, three female friends who work together in a plant, and the generational differences between these workers and their sons, Chris and Jason. Thus, the flier ominously suggests that the factory managers intend to lay-off their existing staff. Well, my familys been here for a long time. Jason is horrified to realize that Tracey is highit seems she developed an addiction to pain medication while Jason was in prison. As bars often are in old-fashioned and socially conscious dramas like Sweat, this one is a microcosm for a larger world. Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage spent two years visiting Reading, Pa., to research her new play. And theyre right. 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. 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. A.E. Filming yourself from a hand-held camera will be fine. Oscar doesnt care, thougheveryone in Reading others him, so he feels no loyalty to them. Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize.
Jason has come to beg Tracey for money, but shes hostile and unwelcoming. However, Tracey is adamant that German immigrants like her own grandparents built the town. 255 0 obj
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Brucie and the other employees refuse to give into concessions on their retirement benefits. -Graham S. The timeline below shows where the character Tracey appears in, is playing on a jukebox as a rowdy celebration winds down. JASON: [] Eleven dollars an hour? However, we pay actors a small stipend for expenses and a portion of performance donations in accordance with AB5. In Reading, Pennsylvania a group of factory workers are living their lives. Stan commiserates with Bruciehe spent 28 years at Olsteads and is glad that his injury got him out of there. These scenes depict Tracey struggling with pill addiction, and Cynthia living in a small, cluttered, low-rent apartment. Tracey and . var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; TRACEY: Yeah? Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. Lynn Nottage explains how a broken city gets a turn onstage in her play Sweat.. At the same time, Chris goes to Cynthias apartment, where hell be staying. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. The plot briefly shifts forward to 2008 with separate scenes of Jason and Chris visiting their mothers. The play was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. JASON: [] But seriously, man, why didnt you tell me? Cynthias ex-husband Brucie warns his son, Chris, about his own struggles with the financial and emotional toll of another ongoing strike. Tracey? When the play reaches its climax, we feel so swept up in the fracturing lives of the people onstage that the distance between that world and the real one it reflects with such searing precision has all but collapsed. Tracey, Jessie, and Jason make racist slurs and comments at Oscar, and Jason stands up threateningly. The play flashes forward to October 2008, a couple of weeks after Jason and Chriss parole meetings. View more posts. Learn more. So were Jasons mother, Tracey (Johanna Day), and Chriss mother, Cynthia (Michelle Wilson). But, a chaotic fight ensues. Cynthia sits alone in the bar, fantasizing about going on a . Well. Teachers and parents! (LogOut/ Scene 3. Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. the tech bubble has recently burst, causing a record 617-point drop in the Dow Jones. Mediation becomes increasingly necessary when Cynthia applies for and, to everyones surprise, wins a promotion to management, causing a painful rift with Tracey, who had also applied and resents being supervised by a former equal. The way the content is organized, Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; shes. The four men uneasily wait for the next moment, together yet divided. Jason panics and goes to leave, but he stops when Stan enters to wipe down tables. ASHLAND, Ore. Sweat, the title of Lynn Nottages scorching new play, refers to the hard labor that its characters have put in for decades, only to find their modest livelihoods threatened by the evaporation of manufacturing jobs in America. Hes an avuncular type who keeps the peace when necessary, with the help of his Dominican bar-back, Oscar (Carlo Albn). Lynn Nottage Monologues Monologues from shows associated with Lynn Nottage Start: There you have it! Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, (Points to the skin on the back of her hand). CYNTHIA: That rumors been flying around for months. College/University, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, Mature Audiences, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre. Forget all that. sweat by lynn nottage dramatists play service inc. sweat.indd 1 1/2/2018 9:40:28 am You could wake up tomorrow and all your jobs are in Mexico, whatever, its this NAFTA bullshit. He thinks Jason and Chris should move on and get out of Reading. It is clear that both men are using Oscar as a scapegoat projection for the fear, failure, and disappointment they feel. Cynthia says she plans to apply, hoping for better opportunities. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. That Cynthia is black and Tracey and Jessie are white becomes an issue in a way it never was before. LitCharts Teacher Editions. CYNTHIA: Fuck her. They also discuss Freddy Brunner, an acquaintance who recently burned his own house down. Cynthia tells Tracey and Stan about how she recently kicked out her estranged husband, Brucie, againhe's been abusing drugs ever since he was locked out of his job at a local textile mill. Online Audition Submissions Checklist, 2) Upload your head shot, resume, and link to your video audition to this audition form: https://forms.gle/uAnVNMz2Q6qMVvsPA. The following month, Oscar tells Stan that hes taken on some temporary hours at Olsteads because it pays so well, but Stan warns him that doing so will anger the floor workers whove been locked out. Guide written by Nemuna Ceesay The soliloquies might just as easily belong to a series of human-interest news features as to a play. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. "Sweat" is by no means a thinly dramatized op-ed piece. Three exemplary charactersTracey, Cynthia, and Jessieare all working class . With its attentively-crafted, compassionate examinations of the displaced working class, Sweat exposes the human costs of late-stage American capitalism. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville
(including. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Ms. Nottageis writing at the peak of her powers NY Times. With its large cast of precisely drawn characters most of whom, when not riled by fear about their dimming futures, are great company Sweat brims with the kind of ripe, richly imagined life associated with the work of the great August Wilson (a comparison I do not make lightly). Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, See more monologues from
The issues this drama raises painfully timely ones, I hardly need add surface organically from the circumstances.
Well, my familys been here a long time. Well loan you a green screen if you need one. The ensemble is exemplary, so uniformly excellent that I cannot point to a single performance as rising above the rest. A week later, Chris, Jason, and other union members protesting on the line get into a physical fight with the Latinx temp workers at Olsteads. In a moment of pain and frustration over their changing lives, Jason confronts Oscar at the bar. We ask that you familiarize yourself with the story to prepare your audition. When Stan attempts to break up the fight, Jason accidentally hits him in the head with a baseball bat, causing a traumatic brain injury. Anyone can read what you share. 3) If you have trouble submitting or are unable to film yourself, dont worry. 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). But Chris has his heart set on following his own pathits just something he has to do. Right? In fact Id hold him down for you to give him a proper beating, but Oscarhes another story. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Keenly observed and often surprisingly funnybut ultimately heartbreakingthe work traces the roots of a tragedy with both forensic psychological detail and embracing compassion. Jason is hurt that Chris didnt tell him until now, and hes adamant that Chris cant leave Olsteads because theyre supposed to be a team. 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). Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. hb```d`~1!Ru|G/Vgk`#k[-85?J.YI{fU4/xu.13bj78a$B3x+J%Rn-p]?ORZf4(sH#6Y. All is well, until economic turmoil hits. 239 0 obj
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It is also striking how abruptly the scenes and action change. There will always be someone wholl step in, unless we say NO! Actors Ensemble of Berkeley is delighted to acknowledge the Berkeley Civic Arts Program and Civic Arts Commission's support in the form of a grant of $8,000.00 awarded in 2017. Now, the company has posted a list of names on the front door, and Chris and Jason are in a hurry to go see it for themselves. Im cool with everyone. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. CYNTHIA: [] let me tell you something, once he started messing with that dope, I dont recognize the man. Instant PDF downloads. New York, NY 10016
ISBN 978-1-55936-532-1 for edition reference. To laud them individually would require another review. Theatre lover and actor. Note: We are restricted by licensing concerns to casting to type. First and only job. The breakup of Jessies marriage has driven her to imbibe more than usual, although Tracey doesnt feel too sympathetic, having weathered her own failed marriage. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. During this conversation, Jessie wakes up and become belligerent when Stan wont serve her another drink. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Anger. This confuses Tracey, as shes adamant that theyre not hiring. 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. 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. 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. hbbd``b`Y
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Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Also, a thank you to Theatre Bay Area for a grant of $2,500.00. MONOLOGUE: Sweat Cliff Rooks 32 subscribers Subscribe 1.6K views 5 years ago This is a monologue from the play "Sweat" by Lynn Nottage We reimagined cable. We encourage both theatre veterans (non-AEA) and newcomers to audition. I believe the arts should be fun and I just want to help my fellow theatre lovers in the neverending quest to find the perfect monologue! For full extended monologue, please refer to clips or the script edition cited here: Nottage, Lynn, Sweat, Theatre Communications Group, 2017, p. 49. Longtime friends Cynthia and, Stan comments on the successful nightlots of people turned out for. 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. Stan is cynical about the disrespectful management at the plant, where generations of his family and he himself worked before he lost part of his leg in a work accident. PERFORMANCE FEE: $130 per performance. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Clearly, Tracey is acting out because she feels jealous of Cynthia and left behind by one of her oldest friends. Then, Cynthia, Tracey, and Jessie enter, and Brucie harasses Cynthia until she agrees to talk to him. 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. All is well, until economic turmoil hits. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1725 titles we cover. passionate and necessarya masterful depiction of the forces that divide and conquer usSWEAT communicates its points with minimal fuss and maximum grit. TRACEY: Stillyou werent born here, Berks. Scene 2 pans back to 2000. Huh? But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. 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. Cynthia and Tracey worry that Jessies problem with alcohol could get her fired. In April, Cynthia has gotten the promotion to Warehouse Supervisor, and she and her friends celebrate at the bar. Jason (Stephen Michael Spencer), with white-supremacist tattoos etched into his face and neck, reacts with sullen anger to questions about his prospects. Girl, hes a loser. [ .. ]
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.
Tracey comes into the bar while Oscar is in the back, and she tells Stan about how lost and humiliated she feels without a job. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; Were a team, you cant leave!! As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. To access the monologues, click the highlighted link. 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). But a little more indirection would be more dramatically satisfying. Stan falls, hits his head on the bar, and lies bleeding on the ground. CHRIS: Cmon. 440 Park Avenue South
Stan enters the room, wiping down tables just as Oscar did in the plays early scenes.
Not us. going to renegotiate the floor workers contracts, and theyre prepared to fight for significant concessions. One selected monologue from SWEAT (See links next to character name for link to monologues). 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. It was a gift. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. Tracey, a middle-aged white woman who works at the local Olstead's Steel Tubing plant, is adamant that German immigrants like her grandparents built Reading from the ground up and made it what it is today. Chris eventually becomes angry as well, and he joins Jason in beating Oscar. He, too, worked in the factory, as did his father and grandfather, until an accident caused by a faulty machine almost cost him a leg. 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. Federal TaxID#946139640, since 04-1967. Everyone complains about the factory, but the work it has provided for generations of Reading residents shapes the rhyme and reason of their shared world. Chris shares that Jason is out too, and Cynthia angrily reflects that Jason is the one who got Chris into trouble. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tracey (Jasons mother), Cynthia (Chriss mother), and their friend Jessie are celebrating Traceys birthday at a local bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. After some urging from Cynthia, Tracey also agrees to apply (albeit with some misgivings). (The Nafta treaty is invoked with four-letter opprobrium.). But I meancmonyou guys coming over here, you can get a job faster than. Ernestine Crump Crumbs from the Table of Joy 0 Start: Because mostly I feel rage. Nottage never tells us whos right or whos wrong, but always shows us whos human. PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Review: Sweat Imagines the Local Bar as a Caldron, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/26/theater/sweat-review-broadway.html, From left, John Earl Jelks, Carlo Albn, Johanna Day, Michelle Wilson and Allison Wright in the play Sweat., From left, Johanna Day, Khris Davis, Carlo Albn and Will Pullen in Sweat.. They also discuss Freddy Brunner, an acquaintance who recently burned his own house down. However, Brucie tells him its pointlessChris should follow his dreams and get an education instead. Though Cynthia and Tracey make light of such rumors, Stan is adamant that because of NAFTA, steel workers jobs could easily be outsourced to Mexico. Im not prejudice, but thats how things are going these days. 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. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights. He went through hell when his plant locked him out, I understand, but I cant have it. You dont want to go down that road, weve got too much history between us. Theyll work us down to nothing if we let em. You got a problem, you tell me to my face. Meanwhile, Oscar goes to work at Olsteads as a scab employee, eager to make more money than he does at the bar. Lynn Nottage explains how a broken city gets a turn onstage in her play "Sweat.". Nobodys going anywhere. Thus, the play foreshadows the human toll of the factorys forthcoming lay-offs. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. If this is your first time, let us know and well help you through the process. Forget all that. Well. 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.
[email protected]. Stan and Chris try to intervene, but Tracey and Jessie egg the fight on. Oscar plays a handheld video game behind the bar. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. 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. This poignant play takes a look at the de-industrial revolution through the lens of a history play, but also delves into the issues of today: the economy, immigration, race-relations in America, and politics. Actors Ensemble of Berkeley - P.O. It was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting, and three 2017 Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. %PDF-1.4
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At this. Cynthia (Kimberly Scott), the mother of Chris, has more pressing man trouble. Click on the name of the character in that box. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. So did Stan (James Colby), the bartender, but he lost his job after a leg-maiming accident. A month after this, Olsteads workers have rejected the deal they were offered, and the lockout goes forward.
Tracey Sweat 1 All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. Brucie admits that he feels lost, and he recounts an incident of racism he recently experienced at the labor union. A couple of weeks later, Jessie waits alone at the barTracey, Cynthia, Jason, and Chris are all late to her birthday celebration. Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; she's Jason 's mother and Hank 's widow. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Its a tragic story of everyday people struggling to pick up the pieces when their lives fall apart. Jessie tells Stan that, Jessie says shes sick of being stuck in the middle between, motorcycle. For rehearsals and performances youll need a computer, a stable internet connection (at least 3 MBS upload speed), and a quiet performance space, preferably without windows. CYNTHIA: [] I dont deserve the things youve been saying. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. to save jobs, and Olsteads will lock them out if they dont accept. She attributes Cynthias selection to tokenism. Since the twenties, okay? Stan comments that this does sound like, The conversation then turns to the promotion to Warehouse Supervisor that Cynthia and. Cynthia shares Chriss news about Albright, and Brucie disapproves of the tuition cost and of Chris leaving Olsteads. Anyone can read what you share. Fucking Wall Street. The play was produced Off-Broadway in 2016 and on Broadway in 2017. Jason and Chris meet one another at the local bar, where Oscar is now the manager. We ask that you provide your own costumes (contemporary tee shirts, baseball caps, bandannas), makeup, and props (beer and shot glasses, cigarettes, keys). LitCharts Teacher Editions.
Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Lynn Nottage's Sweat gives us characters filled with the good and the bad and asks us to reflect on our own views and the views of . CYNTHIA: [] You know after everything. Sweat is the first, properly muscular play of the Trump era, directly addressing the political and cultural bedrock of his presidency: Nottage has already won the 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Upgrade to PRO
Lynn Nottage explains how a broken city gets a turn onstage in her play Sweat., There are rumors of imminent layoffs, though, which grow louder during the scenes set in 2000, along with speculation that the entire plant might relocate to Mexico. Mothers, sons and Jessie work for the towns venerable steel tubing factory. before June 20 (sooner the better) and well set up a Zoom appointment or work to find other accommodations. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. End: You go into the building, the walls are covered over with sheetrock, the wood painted gray, or some ungodly color, and it just makes me sad.