Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. And this thoughtful, careful play only seldom acquires the distance-erasing passion of Ms. Nottages Ruined, the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner about female casualties of the Congolese civil war.
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Youve always been cool. Jason shows up too, which initially alarms Oscar. Changing the subject, Oscar notes the loud party in the bar, and, the counter. Jessie tells Stan that, Jessie says shes sick of being stuck in the middle between, motorcycle. Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. To laud them individually would require another review. 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. The way the content is organized, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Afterward, they go to the barwhere Jessie is once again passed out at a tableand excitedly tell Stan about it, but Stan isnt impressed. 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. 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. Not us. Its a tragic story of everyday people struggling to pick up the pieces when their lives fall apart. Try it free. Sweat Character Tracey Gender Female Age Range Adult, Mature Adult Style Dramatic Act/Scene Act One, Scene Five Time & Place April 2000, Outside a bar Length Long Time Period Contemporary Show Type Play Tags worker working class memory nostalgia family legacy emotional Context Tracey is outside the bar smoking. Tracey (Jasons mother), Cynthia (Chriss mother), and their friend Jessie are celebrating Traceys birthday at a local bar in Reading, Pennsylvania. I dont think you get it, but if I walk away, Im giving up more than a job, Im giving up all that time I spent standing on line waiting for one damn opportunity. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. A few days later, Chris goes to the bar, where Oscar is now the manager. She tells Oscar that Olsteads isnt for you.. They built this town. In April, Cynthia has gotten the promotion to Warehouse Supervisor, and she and her friends celebrate at the bar. He encourages both men to let go of their shame and self-blame and to meet up with each other to talk. PDF SWEAT - Cold Reads/International Jason comments that Oscar is kind to take care of him, and Oscar replies that this is how things should be. There will always be someone wholl step in, unless we say NO! 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. Lynn Nottage, Tracey is outside the bar smoking. It is clear that both men are using Oscar as a scapegoat projection for the fear, failure, and disappointment they feel. 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. 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. Brucie warns them that no machines means no jobshe thinks theyre about to be in the same situation hes in. CYNTHIA: Why the hell not? It is also striking how abruptly the scenes and action change. Instead, to Chriss obvious amazement: Were hugging. 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. Start: Yeah? Sweat is best at its muddiest, when love and hate, and the urges to strike out and to comfort, teeter in precipitous balance. He struggles even with this basic task, and it is clear that Oscar employs him out of empathy, the desire to give Stan a sense of purpose. First and only job. He tells her that hes in a rehab program, which doesnt impress Cynthia. It is foolish to underestimate the anger in places like these, as the most recent presidential election confirmed. Well loan you a green screen if you need one. In the plays opening scene, Chris tells his parole officer about his first encounter with Jason after theyve been released from prison. Box 663 - Berkeley - California - 94701 Our Answering Service: (510) 649-5999 . No thank you. Ms. Nottageis writing at the peak of her powers NY Times. The parolees are Jason (Will Pullen) and Chris (Khris Davis), and they were once the closest of friends. 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. 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. Ms. Nottages sympathies clearly lie with the workers facing virtual if not literal extinction (there are swipes taken at the North American Free Trade Agreement), but the politics are embedded so deeply in the drama that we never feel the playwright is distorting the plays trajectory to score sociopolitical points. Lynn Nottage - Wikipedia 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. Some of these, such as Traceys speech about the devaluing of manual labor, have a poignant lyricism. Keenly observed and often surprisingly funnybut ultimately heartbreakingthe work traces the roots of a tragedy with both forensic psychological detail and embracing compassion. Sweat (Play) Plot & Characters | StageAgent Both Tracey and Jessie feel betrayed by Cynthia. Sure, it looks awfully cozy and welcoming, and you can see why its denizens regard it as a second home. No one saw that coming. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville
Oscar doesnt care, thougheveryone in Reading others him, so he feels no loyalty to them. [] I betcha they wanted a minority. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! More heat. Sweat Act 1, Scene 6 Summary & Analysis | LitCharts Cynthia shares Chriss news about Albright, and Brucie disapproves of the tuition cost and of Chris leaving Olsteads. TRACEY: Yeah? (The unobtrusively on-target set is by John Lee Beatty, with costumes in the same vein by Jennifer Moeller.). Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Now, the plant is bringing in Mexican immigrants as temporary laborers. Brucie ends up begging Cynthia for another chance, but she stays strong with Tracey and Jessies support. Couldnt handle the stress. They also discuss Freddy Brunner, an acquaintance who recently burned his own house down. Then, Cynthia, Tracey, and Jessie enter, and Brucie harasses Cynthia until she agrees to talk to him. Im cool with everyone. She asks Chris to tell her what happened back then, because she still doesnt understand. 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. Chris shares that Jason is out too, and Cynthia angrily reflects that Jason is the one who got Chris into trouble. So does the fact that it marks the belated Broadway debut of Ms. Nottage, a justly acclaimed dramatist of ambitious scope and fierce focus. urges her friends to meet them halfway unless they want to lose their jobs entirely. 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. Since the twenties, okay? They also discuss Freddy Brunner, an acquaintance who recently burned his own house down. 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. Lynn Nottages Sweat gives us characters filled with the good and the bad and asks us to reflect on our own views and the views of others. You can also copy the link and paste it in your browser. Clearly, Tracey is acting out because she feels jealous of Cynthia and left behind by one of her oldest friends. 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. Jason is uncooperative when Evan asks him simple questions about his living situation and employment, and their tense interactions culminate in an argument wherein Jason yells racial slurs at Evan. Longtime friends Cynthia and, Stan comments on the successful nightlots of people turned out for. But they are passages that turn those delivering these monologues into social case studies, a status that the bluntly drawn performances do not always combat. Brucie and the other employees refuse to give into concessions on their retirement benefits. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Actors Ensemble is an all-volunteer company. CYNTHIA: Fuck her. Instant PDF downloads. Undine Barnes Calles Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine 2 I come here from North Carolina at seven. Monologue - Tracey from Sweat - YouTube Tracey's monologue to Cynthia from Lynn Nottage's Sweat Tracey's monologue to Cynthia from Lynn Nottage's Sweat. Well.
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. In Reading, Pennsylvania a group of factory workers are living their lives. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, See more monologues from
Struggling with distance learning? As the strike progresses, the workers grow increasingly desperate. The play is set both on the eve and in the twilight of George W. Bushs presidency. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Nottages characters were based on personal research and interviews she conducted in Reading throughout 2011. Those traits are definitely on display in Sweat, which is directed by Kate Whoriskey and features a sturdy nine-member ensemble. Mothers, sons and Jessie work for the towns venerable steel tubing factory. Nottage never tells us whos right or whos wrong, but always shows us whos human. Tracey and . With the use of distinct dialog, actions, and belief structures for each of the characters, the characters (on paper and on stage) stand out as unique individuals that the audience can identify with. Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs Theyll work us down to nothing if we let em. Filming yourself from a hand-held camera will be fine. In Reading, Pennsylvania a group of factory workers are living their lives. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. The plot of Sweat shifts between the present year of 2008 and an extended flashback to the year 2000. I hope I was able to introduce you to more monologue material! Want interviews with fellow actors? Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Sweat' - Lynn Nottage scene: Daniel Oakley (JASON) and Aaron Moore (CHRIS) Daniel 'Joey' Isaac-Meir Oakley 125 views 8 months ago Another Round with SWEAT: Creating a Community On Stage. Waking up, going to the factory, working all day, and coming home. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. CYNTHIA: Ive stood on that line, same line since I was nineteen. Dramatists Play Service, Inc. (LogOut/ TRACEY: [] It was back when if you worked with your hands people respected you for it. 4) New to auditioning? The play flashes back to January 2000. MONOLOGUE: Sweat - YouTube It was a gift. Review: Lynn Nottages Sweat Examines Lives Unraveling by Industrys Demise, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/17/theater/review-lynn-nottages-sweat-examines-lives-unraveling-by-industrys-demise.html. The characters in this play dont have money or options and the walls are closing in fast, so for the SWEAT monologues were looking for raw yet vulnerable portrayals. Since the twenties, okay? Esther Intimate Apparel 3 Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage spent two years visiting Reading, Pa., to research her new play. 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. We can suggest monologues, just ask. Soon they are out of work and replaced by those who will work for less. If he was here I wouldnt stop you. The plays final scene returns to 2008. "They white,". This is particularly hypocritical given that Tracey went for the same job and likely would have taken the promotion if she had been offered it. Sweat is located in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of Americas poorest cities with a poverty rate of over 40%. John Earl Jelks SWEAT was originally produced on Broadway at Studio 54 by Stuart Thompson and Louise L. Gund, premiering on March 26, 2017. %%EOF
After what went down. Such talk brings out Darwinian survival instincts, especially once Cynthia gets a job in management at the factory. Its the year 2000 in Reading, Pennsylvania and a group of friends go to work at the steel mill and then decompress at the bar like theyve been doing for over 20 years. (The Nafta treaty is invoked with four-letter opprobrium.). Eventually, everyone but Tracey shows up, and Cynthia and Jessie reminisce about their early days at the factory. A month after this, Olsteads workers have rejected the deal they were offered, and the lockout goes forward. Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Review: 'Sweat' Imagines the Local Bar as a Caldron The issues this drama raises painfully timely ones, I hardly need add surface organically from the circumstances. 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. Nobodys going anywhere. TRACEY: Stillyou werent born here, Berks. Meanwhile, Oscar goes to work at Olsteads as a scab employee, eager to make more money than he does at the bar. Besides, Oscar would need to be in the union and to know someone at the plant to get a job there. Complete your free account to request a guide. PDF SWEAT - Dramatists Play Service Started in 74, walked in straight outta high school. Stan warns Oscar that he is putting himself in a dangerous position and stirring animosity among longtime employees. The mood becomes tense, and Tracey and Cynthia get into a spat: Tracey clearly resents Cynthia for getting the promotion over her. SWEAT is a blistering ensemble drama about lives and friendships devastated by the ongoing deindustrialization of working-class America. TRACEY: Listen, that piece of paper youre holding is an insult, it dont mean anything, Olsteads isnt for you. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. to learn more about this monologue from Sweat and unlock other amazing theatre resources! TRACEY: You want us to feel sorry for you? going to renegotiate the floor workers contracts, and theyre prepared to fight for significant concessions. 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.. Lynn Nottage Monologues | StageAgent "Sweat" is by no means a thinly dramatized op-ed piece. Federal TaxID#946139640, since 04-1967. It is August 4, 2000. The production team was the same as the Public Theater's, with the following change made to the cast: JESSIE .. Alison Wright 5 Waking up, going to the factory, working all day, and coming home. A new box will appear. document.getElementById('cloak8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e').innerHTML = ''; The shriveled, drug-addled figure of Cynthias estranged husband, Brucie (John Earl Jelks), looms as a possible prophecy of everyone elses fate. 264 0 obj
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Lynn Nottage's "Sweat" Play Production | Free Essay Example Tracey Sweat 1 All monologues are property and copyright of their owners. CYNTHIA: [] let me tell you something, once he started messing with that dope, I dont recognize the man. Tracey, Jessie, and Jason make racist slurs and comments at Oscar, and Jason stands up threateningly.
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.). Teachers and parents! warns that peoples jobs could be outsourced to Mexico at any moment because of NAFTA. The four men uneasily wait for the next moment, together yet divided. Stan falls, hits his head on the bar, and lies bleeding on the ground. endstream
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Video submission deadline: Sunday, June 20, 11:59 p.m. Small stipend. Girl, hes a loser. The way the content is organized, Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; shes. 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. Well. Sweat by Lynn Nottage - The Monologue Blog 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. Buy new (amazon), new (dramatists play service) or used. 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. Tracey's rude behavior toward Cynthia is driving a wedge in their decades-long friendship. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. (LogOut/ It makes mewhatever. The two women begin talking about recent changes at Olsteads: theres an open position for Warehouse Supervisor, and to Traceys surprise, Cynthia is thinking of going for the job. Oscar plays a handheld video game behind the bar. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. The play returns to Jason and Chriss separate parole meetings with Evan in October 2008. This confuses Tracey, as shes adamant that theyre not hiring. I know its tough out there, I understand. From first moments to last, this . Thank you for checking out my post! 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. When Oscar returns, she hurls racial slurs and goes to lunge at him, but Stan holds her back. 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. A couple of weeks later, Jessie waits alone at the barTracey, Cynthia, Jason, and Chris are all late to her birthday celebration.
Jason has come to beg Tracey for money, but shes hostile and unwelcoming. 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. 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. 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. 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! addy8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e = addy8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e + 'aeofberkeley' + '.' + 'org'; 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. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. The flier advertises a much lower wage than Tracey makes, and it does not mention union requirements or benefits. Struggling with distance learning? Along with the rage, despair and violence, theres humor and abundant humanitya cautionary tale of what happens when you dont know how to resist. Time Out NY. 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. And to describe the play as a trenchant and insightful analysis of the consequences of the sharp decline in factory work in the country, and the gutting of once-mighty unions, may make it sound like a hortatory tract aimed at raising awareness of the human blight these trends have caused. And theyre right. In 2000, Tracey and her best friends, Cynthia and Jessie, have worked at Olstead's Steel Tubing in Reading, Pennsylvania, for over 20 years. Brucie admits that he feels lost, and he recounts an incident of racism he recently experienced at the labor union. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. Sweat explores how industrial decline affected workers in the former steel and textile town. He thinks Jason and Chris should move on and get out of Reading. Character building in 'Sweat' - aesantana Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Oscar responds that he doesnt owe anything to people like Cynthia, Tracey, and Jessie because they never acknowledge his humanity: If they dont see me, I dont need to see them" (92). Cmon. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While they talk, Oscar comes into the bar to get his things from the back and say goodbye to Stan just as Tracey comes out of the bathroom. Posted in Auditions. Jason (Stephen Michael Spencer), with white-supremacist tattoos etched into his face and neck, reacts with sullen anger to questions about his prospects. These middle class, unionized, steelworkers have made plans to save money, go on vacations and then retire with a nice, healthy pension, but when rumors start flying that the company is considering layoffs, and flyers are hung to recruit non-union Latino workers for less money, the war between community and capitalism begins, and tensions start destroying not only jobs, but also relationships. She is upset that her friend. CHRIS: Cmon. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. [2] The play premiered at the Oregon As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. Tracey? But Chris has his heart set on following his own pathits just something he has to do. -Graham S. The timeline below shows where the character Tracey appears in, is playing on a jukebox as a rowdy celebration winds down. CYNTHIA: More money. You could wake up tomorrow and all your jobs are in Mexico, whatever, its this NAFTA bullshit.