SWEAT is a 2015 play by American playwright Lynn Nottage. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sweat [TCG Edition] Good Book 0 paperback at the best online prices at eBay! He learns that the cost of being hired is to become a scab when the others go out on strike. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Sweat switches between 2000 and 2008 as Lynn Nottage tells the story of a group of friends who work together on the factory floor. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. As such, the play shows how economic, Sweats cast of characters reads as distinctly human: none are wholly good nor wholly bad, and nearly all make mistakes that hurt themselves or their loved ones. Accessibility She has now become one of people working to undermine the union by hiring cheaper labor. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. [5] Nottage herself even spoke at the strike, which is what made her realize she had to do more. At the beginning of 2000, every character is either part of the working class or experiencing the repercussions of union strikes. The second is the date of When layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a fight to stay afloat. Log in here. Nottage addresses the theme of social status, specifically in how the characters lives and relationships are shaped based on job position, socio-economic class, and education. Already a member? Tracey, who comes from a family of German craftsmen, is a militant unionist but bereft without employment. His best friend is Chris, Cynthias son. Lynn Nottages 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. You can order a custom paper by our expert writers. Complete your free account to request a guide. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. [15] A five-star review of the production by Peter Mason in the Morning Star newspaper described Sweat as "a tension-filled drama with a turbulent, consuming plot and a cast of highly engaging characters who demand attention from the off," adding of the Donmar cast that "it would be difficult to imagine a better set of players to take on the difficult task of portraying such complex individuals". Give to BMCC . No matter if it was during Jessies birthday celebration, Traceys birthday celebration, or just a casual hangout at Stans bar. Oscar, the busboy at a bar, is viewed as a traitor when he begins working at the factory the friends and their union are protesting. Text-only Version, Information for: The New Yorker said the play was "the first theatrical landmark of the Trump era". Nottage chose the Rust Belt town of Reading, Pennsylvania, because at the time of the plays composition, Reading was the poorest town of its size in the United States. At Donmar Warehouse, London, until 26 January. As an experienced parole officer, Evan has a strong understanding of the personal struggles Chris and Jason are going through. 199 Chambers Street Registered About 3 Years Ago. Tickets, which are $12 for general admission and $10 for seniors and students, may be purchased through the Moss Arts Center ticket office in person or online. She . Ruined. With the opening focused on Chris and Jason, but the bulk of the play resting on their mothers, the audience investment from one set of characters to another feels destabilizing. Lastly, although my point of interest related to the issue of diversity through the play, the violent hate crime towards Oscar was influential in the sense it led to a lot of reflection for the audience. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. When backed up against the wall and left with neither income nor hope, people sink into racism almost by reflex. The play portrays a meeting between a parole officer and two ex-convicts, and three women who were childhood friends and had worked in the same factory. Word Count: 524. Already a member? Background. Event Calendar 2023 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Lynn Nottage. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. The bar itself is symbolic of the friendships that play out within it, as both the place and the relationships it facilitates are safe havens away from the stress of the outside world. Variety described Nottage as going into "the heart of working-class America". New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2009. Try it today! you can use them for inspiration and simplify your student life. Martha Plimpton as Tracey and Clare Perkins as Cynthia suggest a lifetime of friendship, tragically sundered; Patrick Gibson and Osy Ikhile show the heavy prices paid by their respective offspring; and Stuart McQuarrie as the pacifying bartender and Leanne Best as a boozy dreamer reveal how everyone is blighted by a company towns decline. Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered. eNotes.com Variety quotes the bartender, Stan, as warning the other characters that "You could wake up tomorrow and all your jobs are in Mexico", to which the characters respond with lethargy and disbelief. Giving:540-231-8014,[email protected]. Cynthia gets the promotion, and Tracey wonders if its just because Cynthia is Black. We're friends! Both Cynthia and her loved ones feel hurt and misunderstood, further demonstrating the tendency for inequality in status to break apart relationships. Ive got twenty-four years on the floor. Tracey and Jessie grow bitter as their job security is threatened and their wages cut, while their friend Cynthia receives a promotion. Carroll, in his few scenes as the parole officer, conveys the father figure both boys need to rehabilitate. We see how the plant uses ethnicity to divide workers in the case of Oscar, who is Latino. As a community already steeped in tradition and resistant to outsiders, this downturn causes Readings white working class to become downright hostile toward black and Latinx peopleeven individuals they once called friendsbecause they believe minorities are stealing their jobs away. Set in the decaying industrial city of . She believes that their city was founded by her German ancestors and that Olsteads was not for people like them. grounds " Sweat " , emphasizing it 's the everyday - nature of the plays themes . CYNTHIA: Ive stood on that line, same line since I was nineteen. The sheer amount of time that characters spend together in the lived-in and comfortable bar after work emphasizes just how important a similar sense of familiarity and comfort is in their relationships with one another. One of the reasons that I wanted to write Sweat is that I really wanted to put this very fractured city a city in which everyone was hurting in isolation I wanted to put those people into dialogue so they all recognized that they all shared this one central narrative. eNotes.com, Inc. You dont know what its been like to walk in my shoes. [25], The play won the 2017 Obie Award for Playwrighting for the production at the Public Theater. Oscar asks Tracey about job openings on the floor, and Tracey says he must have heard wrong because Olsteads is not hiring and you have to know someone to get in anyway. View our Privacy Policy. Themes and Colors LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Sweat, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. All [4] The play was produced off-Broadway in 2016, and on-Broadway in 2017. Started in 74, walked in straight outta high school. "[9], The play's political context has also been noted. Sweat was a meaningful production as there are many important themes to take away from the story. You got a problem, you tell me to my face. This Study Guide consists of approximately 52 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Sweat. When the plant threatens to cut wages and lay off workers, the friends turn against each other as they struggle to stay afloat. To get a high-quality original essay, click here. Sweat I really feel is the American story. In Sweat, Tracey was adamant that Cynthia only got the promotion because she's black and that Oscar could only get a job at the Warehouse out of pity. I wanna say that. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by American playwright Lynn Nottage focuses on race, class, prejudice and friendship. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. date the date you are citing the material. This is shown in many of the bar scenes. The playwright shows how owners manipulate individual efforts to advance in order to destroy solidarity and instead foster suspicions, mistrust, and rifts between friends. Call me selfish, I dont care, call me whatever you need to call me, but remember, one of us has to be left standing to fight. He finds out through his Latino network that the plant is hiring, which the owners have hidden from the other workers. Dor Arena Theatre at CSUB. The bartender in the play is Stan. The play, however, takes place pre-Trump. There are other minor characters in the plot of the play. Jason is a white man who is Tracey's son. After what went down. That 2 year divide is important, because between its first production and its rise to mega-acclaim, Donald Trump won the presidency. For example, after Cynthia was promoted to Warehouse Supervisor, Tracey was very upset which led her to drink and smoke. Lynn Nottage, as she showed in Intimate Apparel, which was about a seamstress in the 1900s, has the capacity to dramatise work. Sweat was first performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 before playing at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. that year. Refine any search. 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. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves at the best online prices at eBay! [9] The Wall Street Journal review suggested the play "explained" Trump's win. Find additional parking information here. CHRIS: Cmon. Nottage researched her work in Reading and while there, gathered material for her play Clyde's, now extended through March 12 at Arden Theatre Co. "Sweat," Lynn Nottage's 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama set in a faltering factory town in Pennsylvania, magnificently answers the call for more far-ranging American playwriting. They built the house that I live in. Complete your free account to request a guide. Nottage said her dream is that audience members, after seeing the play, will be inspired to sit down and talk to someone with whom theyve never had a conversation. You dont want to go down that road, weve got too much history between us. I got eyes. [26], Sweat received three 2017 Tony Award nominations: Best Play and Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for both Johanna Day and Michelle Wilson. Seeing the effects of job loss and the economic struggle these people were facing first hand is what truly inspired her work for the play Sweat. Club members can see a different show every night of the week. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. Scene 1 of Act 2 shows Jason and Chris returning to visit their mothers. For a thoughtful portrait, turn to playwright Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat', "The First Theatrical Landmark of the Trump Era", "Lynn Nottage: 'Nostalgia is a disease many white Americans have', "Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat' Examines Lives Unraveling by Industry's Demise", "Off Broadway Review: Lynn Nottage's 'Sweat', "Lynn Nottage's SWEAT Headed to The Public Next Year; Broadway on the Horizon? Nottage shifts in time, switching scenes and showing events of eight years earlier. As coming from a Hispanic background and having family members come from Costa Rica to America, scenes centered around Oscar were important to me. They are getting out of jail after a conflict they were both involved in. (including. They all work together and love to hang out at the local bar. Lynn Nottage began working on the play in 2011 by interviewing numerous residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, which at the time was, according to the United States Census Bureau, officially one of the poorest cities in America,[3] with a poverty rate of over 40%. TRACEY: Yeah? To combat this constant strain and underappreciation, the members of Readings working-class community depend upon tight-knit relationships with one another as a means of stress relief, support, and fulfillment. Of the performances, Coleman and Hochman remarkably deviate from sullen and washed-out in their 2008 scenes, to rambunctious, youthful, and optimistic in 2000. The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts will present Lynn Nottages award-winning Sweat for eight performances, opening on Nov. 9 in Squires Studio Theatre. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. The discrimination towards Oscar and others throughout the play stuck out to me because it is hard to see people who work so hard get torn down due to their heritage. date the date you are citing the material. I don't want this to be a big deal. The latter character gets the position, but soon the company moves jobs to Mexico. Lynn Nottage, originally born and raised in Brooklyn, New York produced the award-winning play, Sweat. However, several close relationships are challenged as characters try to pursue new opportunities and escape the very circumstance over which they bond with others. Race was never the main theme in, Sweat by Lynn Nottage, but it helped move the story along and added greatly to some of the characters development. Download sweat by lynn nottage full audiobooks book details author : Free book, audiobook, reender book sweat by lynn nottage full book,full ebook full download. In the Character list, Nottage describes him as "African-American, forties" (vii). Alumni Stories|Faculty Stories|Student Stories|Philanthropy News|Academic News|Bookshelf|Media Mentions Lead the Pack", How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sweat_(play)&oldid=1127802853, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia introduction cleanup from May 2022, Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify from May 2022, All articles covered by WikiProject Wikify, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 December 2022, at 19:00. [] Im not prejudice, I say, you are who you are, you know? If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contactSusan Sanders prior to the event. Sweat. Though they used to be best friends, Jason (Will Hochman) now has a face covered with white-supremacy tattoos, while Chris (Grantham Coleman) has returned from prison emotionally broken. You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Sweat. [3], The play also examines the disintegration of a friendship, after two of the women one white, one black apply for the same management job. Instant PDF downloads. Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat, now playing at the Mark Taper Forum, exposes the collapse of the American working class in the new millennium. Pietz portrays Jessie as a lonely woman hiding in a glass of alcohol. The sense of personal betrayal is exacerbated when it is left to Cynthia to reveal that the firm plans to ask everyone to take a 60% pay cut to save the plant. Similarly, when Cynthia earns a promotion from floor worker to Warehouse Supervisor at Olsteads, Tracey becomes spiteful and downright crueleven though she, too, applied for the job. Though the play is brimming with these rich themes, the execution does not always succeed. The second date is today's [4] The characters portrayed were associated with Trump's election campaign phrase of "the forgotten people". Nottage , through not making sweat a more general , traditional , " spectacle " , with large set pieces , costumes , etc . The ramifications of humanity's anger hangs over the play, yet Nottage hints at the power of forgiveness and redemption. There are a group of friends that work for the steel factory. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Stan seems to be the link between Oscar and the others, as the others treat Oscar like an outsider. In 2000, we meet best friends Tracey, Cynthia, and Jessie. The volume covers Nottage's plays, productions, activism, and artistic collaborations to display the extraordinary breadth and depth of her work. Not wanting to give up what theyve worked for, the floor workers vote against the deal and end up getting shut out. Media Inquiries: 540-232-8574,[email protected], Alumni Relations:540-231-8364,[email protected] online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. Library Eventually in 2017, winning the Pulitzer prize award for drama. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, "Pulitzer Prize winner on 'Sweat,' her Broadway play about Trump's America: 'Being poor is one of the hardest jobs in the world', "Who are these Trump voters? If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Directions CYNTHIA: Fuck her. John Earl Jelks is heartbreaking as Chris's father, a maddened drug addict who has lost the respect of his family. She loves to hang out at the bar with her friends and she has a gruff kind of humor. Sweat challenged my thinking and led me to analyze serious problems that still have not been solved. The play opens in 2008, and we meet Jason and Chris as they individually speak to their parole officer, Evan. CHRIS: Dude, its just something I gotta do. This revealed that the play was not just about economic stress and angry intoxicated individuals, instead, it was about the extreme violence there is towards people of color. We are left hoping the characters will attempt to make amends as we see the effects of the conflict. Since the twenties, okay? publication online or last modification online. Jason finds that Tracey has a significant pill addiction. 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