Sweat was first performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 before playing at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. that year. Complete your free account to access notes and highlights, close friends whove shared many adventures, (Points to the skin on the back of her hand). In 2008, Chris and Jason both find themselves back at the bar to find some peace. For example, after Cynthia was promoted to Warehouse Supervisor, Tracey was very upset which led her to drink and smoke. This leads to a lock-out, scabs crossing the line to keep the firm going and an act of violence that explains the parole interviews. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Not us. Oscar is a Colombian American busboy at the bar. Donmar Warehouse, LondonBased on interviews with residents of small-town Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottages play vividly describes the betrayal and resentments of striking female factory workers in an era of industrial decline. Try it today! Sweat dissects the insidiousness of privilege and entitlement, reminding audiences that there's always someone on a lower plane to blame for your troubles, and there will always be someone who stands to profit from your loss. Event Calendar Overall, I believe that this production was truly eye-opening and although many problems are discussed, the awareness raised about racial tension was the most significant. Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. Oscar now works there as the manager, and he takes care of Stan, who we find out has suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the fight. Sweat, Lynn Nottage's play about discrimination at the workplace and the effect of economic downturns, returns to Philadelphia, courtesy of the Old Academy Players. 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. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Alumni, Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics, Theatre Department Performance: SWEAT by Lynn Nottage. The bartender is Stan, who used to work at the factory with them until he suffered an injury. It will unconditionally squander the time. You're making the same sorry excuses that they do. Ultimately, Sweat shows the interpersonal costs of raising ones station: when desperate people strive for more out of life, fellow desperate peopleeven, and especially, dear friendswill often respond with resentment rather than support. Management is for them. Well, my familys been here a long time. date the date you are citing the material. "Sweat - Summary" eNotes Publishing CHRIS: Cmon. Characters such as Jessie use alcohol to cope with their problems to the point of being out of control, which was an important symbol specifically used by Jessica Hightower, Scenic and Properties designer of Sweat. CYNTHIA: Ive stood on that line, same line since I was nineteen. The volume covers Nottage's plays, productions, activism, and artistic collaborations to display the extraordinary breadth and depth of her work. Sweat. Thursday-Saturday February 23-25 at 7:30pm. 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%. eNotes.com, Inc. They are best friends and joke around together. 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. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child, Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine. As an experienced parole officer, Evan has a strong understanding of the personal struggles Chris and Jason are going through. All university community members and visitors will need to display a parking permit, use theParkMobile app,pay a fee, or pay using an hourly meter to park on the Blacksburg campus unless otherwise noted by signage. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2009. The characters in Sweat have spent decades of their lives thanklessly laboring in Reading Pennsylvanias local steel and textile mills amid poor working conditions, disrespectful management, and union disputes. 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. We dont really. Accessibility Jessie, another worker at the factory, is not so happy with how her life has turned out and has some problems with alcohol abuse. Their decades-long friendship ends in a seemingly insurmountable grudge, a heartbreaking reality that drives home the pain, jealousy, and hostility that can come about when one friend feels left behind by another. 5 pages at 400 words per page) 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. She bitterly tells Oscar, the busboy at the bar, that she know[s] the floor as good as Cynthia does, and Jessie confirms that Cynthias promotion has pissed off a lot of people even though she earned it fairly. Nov. 912 at 7:30 p.m. [4] The play was produced off-Broadway in 2016, and on-Broadway in 2017. eNotes Editorial. The trade union goes on strike, and company management locks out the workers. The creative elements of the production fare better, with Christopher Barreca's set taking audiences to the neighborhood bar so one can almost smell the stale beer on the floor. Sweat is preceded by an excerpt from Langston Hughes's "Let America Be America Again," a poem that critiques the false promise of the American Dream and encourages poor and working-class Americans (among other marginalized groups) to rise up and "make America again"essentially to "redeem" the oppression they've faced and the opportunities JASON: [] But seriously, man, why didnt you tell me? Human Resources CYNTHIA: More money. Act 2, Scene 1 Summary. Complete your free account to request a guide. Synopsis for SWEAT: SWEAT is a 2015 play by American playwright Lynn Nottage. 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.When backed up against the wall and . 2023 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. publication online or last modification online. Award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage often shines a spotlight on Black women under great duress, as in "Ruined," a Pulitzer Prize winner, or in the workplace like the evocative turn of the . He finds out through his Latino network that the plant is hiring, which the owners have hidden from the other workers. Tracey and Jessie grow bitter as their job security is threatened and their wages cut, while their friend Cynthia receives a promotion. [7], The play has been described as "a powerful and emotional look at identity, race, economy, and humanity. Some characters use racial slurs towards Latinos and show him that he isn't welcome in the Olstead factory. Background. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Sweat by Lynn Nottage Directed by Matt J. Bannister TICKETS: www.ssstage.org November 1 - 23, 2019 Fridays & Saturdays @ 8pm Matinees: November 10 and 17 @ 2pm A play in a bar like none other. 199 Chambers Street Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered. Stan, a middle-aged white man with a limp, bartends, and when the two women invite him to dance with them, he refuses. Tracey and Cynthia, in particular, are close friends whove shared many adventuresthey console each other, cheer each other on, and encourage each other to stay positive and have fun rather than dwell on the stress of work. -Graham S. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Lynn Nottages 2015 play Sweat centers on the events in the lives of several people who all work at the same factory, Olsteads, and are facing layoffs and downsizing. But the sense of pride they've had over their work is being stripped away as the company begins to disassemble. Giving:540-231-8014,hkobia@vt.edu. But I stood on line, patiently waiting for a break. More heat. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Give to BMCC He used to work at the plant but he was injured from a factory accident. Oscar and his coworker Stan (the bartender at the bar where the characters all hang out) are attacked in a demonstration. Lynn Nottage. This specific scene supports how the usage of alcohol as a prop was continually utilized as a coping mechanism for many characters. She explored the effects on residents of the loss of heavy industry and the changing ethnic composition of the city. Be angry, but dont make it about this(Points to the skin on the back of her hand) Look at me, Tracey. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance (including. In a world deemed as free, there are still so many disparities within that statement. The play opens in 2008, and we meet Jason and Chris as they individually speak to their parole officer, Evan. The themes in Sweat are timeless, and the play is a microcosm of today's issues relating to poverty, race, and discrimination. Registered About 3 Years Ago. To cover up how hurt he is, Jason mocks Chris and tells him hell never succeed in such a low-paying career before asking, But seriously, man, why didn't you tell me? Despite Jasons tough exterior, its clear that hes genuinely upset by Chriss attempts to leave their shared lot in life behind and pursue higher education. Ive absorbed a lotta shit over the years, but I worked hard to get off that floor. There are other minor characters in the plot of the play. It closed on December 18, 2016 to transfer to Broadway. When backed up against the wall and left with neither income nor hope, people sink into racism almost by reflex. Tensions between friends come to a head when Olsteads begins making changes and floor workers face the threat (and, eventually, the reality) of a lockoutand the newly promoted Cynthia comes to be seen as a traitor. American playwright lynn nottage won the 2017 pulitzer prize for drama for. Less work. The union, there to protect the workers, has become overwhelmed and impotent. New York, NY 10007 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." [9] The Wall Street Journal review suggested the play "explained" Trump's win. 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. 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. There are many scenarios that lead to this violent event, but I believe they are all significant in showing that, big or small, these racial attacks need to end. [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". CYNTHIA: [] You know after everything. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. An immediate divide is created between Cynthia and her friends. 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. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Nottage began to write the play in 2011 and set its events during two notable economic downturns: the 2000 to 2001 recession following the dot com bubble and the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009. Complete your free account to request a guide. Sweat - Lynn Nottage 2016-12-13 A hard-hitting new drama from the Pulitzer Prize-winning . Jason 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. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Log in here. 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. 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? Download the entire Sweat study guide as a printable PDF! [5] Nottage herself even spoke at the strike, which is what made her realize she had to do more. It highlights serious problems in society such as racism, economic strain, drug abuse, and toxic relationships. By using it, you accept our. I feel that its a common problem in our society to portray immigrants as needy and that they get special treatment for their race. Ive got twenty-four years on the floor. Cynthia gets the promotion, and Tracey wonders if its just because Cynthia is Black. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. It highlights serious problems in society such as racism, economic strain, drug abuse, and toxic relationships. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Word Count: 508. PDFs of modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. [4] The characters portrayed were associated with Trump's election campaign phrase of "the forgotten people". The 2017 pulitzer prize for drama for welcome in the Olstead factory wall and left with income! Having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely the best teacher resource I have ever purchased is. 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