Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis, The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions. 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. A month after this, Olsteads workers have rejected the deal they were offered, and the lockout goes forward. Stan comments that this does sound like, The conversation then turns to the promotion to Warehouse Supervisor that Cynthia and. Jessie tells Stan that, Jessie says shes sick of being stuck in the middle between, motorcycle. addy8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e = addy8a2f2e70f3ae0d82a8dceea5de10147e + 'aeofberkeley' + '.' + 'org'; 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. Since the twenties, okay? (including. STAN: Says he got wind that they were gonna cut back his line at the plant. But Chris has his heart set on following his own pathits just something he has to do. Theatre lover and actor. Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage spent two years visiting Reading, Pa., to research her new play. Not us. TRACEY: [] I know the floor as good as Cynthia. 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. Aspirations to another life may be common among these people, but such hopes are widely resented when they show signs of becoming reality. You dont want to go down that road, weve got too much history between us. Ive got twenty-four years on the floor. But, a chaotic fight ensues. Shakespeare in the Woods 2023 Season (LogOut/ Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists, See more monologues from It is August 4, 2000. Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; she's Jason 's mother and Hank 's widow. In Reading, Pennsylvania a group of factory workers are living their lives. Their steel mill, Olsteads, is making some changes and the blood, sweat and tears, not to mention the generations of loyalty these workers have shown, dont seem to amount to much. Lynn Nottage explains how a broken city gets a turn onstage in her play Sweat.. 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. 239 0 obj <> endobj Cynthia: aeb Audition Material, Monologues. Ernestine Crump Crumbs from the Table of Joy 0 Start: Because mostly I feel rage. First and only job. Through their barroom conversation, the women reveal that Jason has no future plans beyond factory work, and Chris has been accepted to college. Jason (Stephen Michael Spencer), with white-supremacist tattoos etched into his face and neck, reacts with sullen anger to questions about his prospects. (The unobtrusively on-target set is by John Lee Beatty, with costumes in the same vein by Jennifer Moeller.). CYNTHIA: I didnt expect you to understand, babe. In September, Jason and Chris run into Brucie (whos clearly high) at the bar, and Chris shares how his childhood memories of Brucie leading other men in a walkout at the mill inspire him to stay strong and keep protesting. PDF downloads of all 1725 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! We encourage both theatre veterans (non-AEA) and newcomers to audition. The way the content is organized, Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Time commitment: Up to 15 hours directed rehearsing (max 5 rehearsals), 4-8 . The way the content is organized, Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; shes. Sweat is by no means a thinly dramatized op-ed piece. Tracey and the others are outraged. Besides, Oscar would need to be in the union and to know someone at the plant to get a job there. 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. You go into buildings, the walls are covered over with sheetrock, the wood painted gray, or some ungodly color, and it just makes me sad. Writing that cuts this close to the bone draws out the best in actors. When Oscar returns, she hurls racial slurs and goes to lunge at him, but Stan holds her back. Cynthia receives the promotion, and her change in status generates tension between her and Tracey. TRACEY: You want us to feel sorry for you? It is also striking how abruptly the scenes and action change. Those traits are definitely on display in Sweat, which is directed by Kate Whoriskey and features a sturdy nine-member ensemble. Hes an avuncular type who keeps the peace when necessary, with the help of his Dominican bar-back, Oscar (Carlo Albn). Video submission deadline: Sunday, June 20, 11:59 p.m. Small stipend. Cynthia says she plans to apply, hoping for better opportunities. 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. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; 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. Meanwhile, Oscar goes to work at Olsteads as a scab employee, eager to make more money than he does at the bar. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Design a site like this with WordPress.com, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), The Assembled Parties by RichardGreenberg, Follow The Monologue Blog on WordPress.com. New York, NY, Escape To Margaritaville From first moments to last, this . I do. Try it free. 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. 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. To laud them individually would require another review. Well, my familys been here for a long time. 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. "They white,". TRACEY: Listen, that piece of paper youre holding is an insult, it dont mean anything, Olsteads isnt for you. LitCharts Teacher Editions. This email address is being protected from spambots. (The Nafta treaty is invoked with four-letter opprobrium.). Stan commiserates with Bruciehe spent 28 years at Olsteads and is glad that his injury got him out of there. STAN: Look. Hugging. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." Stan falls, hits his head on the bar, and lies bleeding on the ground. Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. As the tension of the moment is described here, you expect the men to hit each other. Jason is horrified to realize that Tracey is highit seems she developed an addiction to pain medication while Jason was in prison. When Stan attempts to break up the fight, Jason accidentally hits him in the head with a baseball bat, causing a traumatic brain injury. 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. Ms. Nottage did intensive research for this play, and it shows, perhaps more than it should. But this much-trafficked watering hole also exerts a dangerous gravitational force, the kind that holds people in place when they should be moving on. 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. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Sweat, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Lynn Nottage, gives stellar examples of successful characterization. Stan is now severely disabled with a traumatic brain injury; he struggles to hear or speak. New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks Tell me about whats been going on. Forget all that. The scene switches to Evans parole meeting with Chris, a black man whos struggling to integrate back into society since his release because hes ashamed of being a felon and consumed with remorse over what he did. More vacation. But I stood on line, patiently waiting for a break. Waking up, going to the factory, working all day, and coming home. Actors Ensemble is an all-volunteer company. Teachers and parents! His former friend, the African-American Chris (Tramell Tillman), by contrast, has discovered the sustaining solace of religion, and hopes to get his life back on track by taking up the college studies he was forced to abandon. They get tax breaks or something. Jason comments that Oscar is kind to take care of him, and Oscar replies that this is how things should be. The plot briefly shifts forward to 2008 with separate scenes of Jason and Chris visiting their mothers. The soliloquies might just as easily belong to a series of human-interest news features as to a play. Well loan you a green screen if you need one. Ms. Whoriskey and Ms. Nottage drew on interviews with residents of Reading, Pa., ranked among the poorest cities in America, as part of their research for the play. Also, a thank you to Theatre Bay Area for a grant of $2,500.00. 255 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<4E7A45B1E121404A9924C6C88D9A82A6>]/Index[239 26]/Info 238 0 R/Length 81/Prev 701207/Root 240 0 R/Size 265/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream With its attentively-crafted, compassionate examinations of the displaced working class, Sweat exposes the human costs of late-stage American capitalism. 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. You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes. 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). There is little doubt that when the rage festering among them fully erupts, no one will emerge unscarred. In September 2008, Jason, a man with white supremacist facial tattoos, meets with Evan, his African American parole officer. 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. Brucie and the other employees refuse to give into concessions on their retirement benefits. CYNTHIA: [] let me tell you something, once he started messing with that dope, I dont recognize the man. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. 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. No thank you. PERFORMANCE FEE: $130 per performance. But now, theres nothing on Penn. Struggling with distance learning? Instant downloads of all 1725 LitChart PDFs He went through hell when his plant locked him out, I understand, but I cant have it. the tech bubble has recently burst, causing a record 617-point drop in the Dow Jones. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Guide written by Nemuna Ceesay She tells Oscar that Olsteads isnt for you.. Oscar, the often-ignored Colombian American busboy, escorts her to the bathroom. TRACEY: Yeah? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. 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). The full script is available in print and e-book at multiple area libraries. Sweat is a two-act play written by Lynn Nottage. Some of these, such as Traceys speech about the devaluing of manual labor, have a poignant lyricism. Lynn Nottage, Tracey is outside the bar smoking. 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. 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. 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. In the bar, Stan and Oscar stand by as Tracey, Chris, Jason, and Jessie angrily demand Cynthia to tell them whats going on. Nottage's characters were based on personal research and interviews she conducted in Reading throughout 2011. I know its tough out there, I understand. 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. Scene 3. Their conversations with Evan suggest, however, that they participated in the same crime. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Stan warns Oscar that he is putting himself in a dangerous position and stirring animosity among longtime employees. Tracey? Ms. Nottageis writing at the peak of her powers NY Times. He thinks Jason and Chris should move on and get out of Reading. Ive taken orders from idiots who were dangerous, or even worse, racist. In the bar, Stan and Oscar look on as. But members of the audience may find themselves getting a little moist with anxiety as this extraordinarily moving drama hurtles toward its conclusion with the awful inevitability of Greek tragedy. Eventually, everyone but Tracey shows up, and Cynthia and Jessie reminisce about their early days at the factory. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. 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 . Want interviews with fellow actors? Sweat examines the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between the years of 2000 and 2008. The ensemble is exemplary, so uniformly excellent that I cannot point to a single performance as rising above the rest. 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. There will always be someone wholl step in, unless we say NO! We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. CYNTHIA: More money. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Oscar plays a handheld video game behind the bar. Chris remembers his fingernails digging into his palms. 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. You dont know what its been like to walk in my shoes. I got eyes. 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. Refine any search. Brucie admits that he feels lost, and he recounts an incident of racism he recently experienced at the labor union. All is well, until economic turmoil hits. CYNTHIA: Why the hell not? Jason has come to visit, shoulda though Chris doesnt think she has anything to be sorry about. In a moment of pain and frustration over their changing lives, Jason confronts Oscar at the bar. Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account. Anger. 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. 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. 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! 4) New to auditioning? Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. The shriveled, drug-addled figure of Cynthias estranged husband, Brucie (John Earl Jelks), looms as a possible prophecy of everyone elses fate. (LogOut/ A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The play instantly becomes a grim social drama about factory operators in the NAFTA era who may . 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. On the national news, George Bush, the Republican presidential candidate, is traveling in the Midwest. CYNTHIA: Ive stood on that line, same line since I was nineteen. This confuses Tracey, as shes adamant that theyre not hiring. 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. CHRIS: Cmon. College/University, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, Mature Audiences, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre. After what went down. He advises them to take any concessions that are offered to prevent a lockout from happening. Oscar aint getting rich off your misery. 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.
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