Started in 74, walked in straight outta high school. 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 was first performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015 before playing at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. that year. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. Stan tries to stop it but ends up getting hit. 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. This is highlighted by Brucie, who experienced a similar situation at a different mill. Get professional help and free up your time for more important things. After the lockout goes forward, Cynthias friendship with Tracey completely disintegratesand when the play jumps forward from 2000 to 2008, its revealed that theyve never reconciled. Our, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. 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. . They get tax breaks or something. 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. Jason and Chris are Tracey and Cynthias sons respectively. This in-person event will take place in BMCC's Theatre II.. CYNTHIA: More money. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. 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. Instant PDF downloads. 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. Scene 1 of Act 2 shows Jason and Chris returning to visit their mothers. American playwright lynn nottage won the 2017 pulitzer prize for drama for. 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. LitCharts Teacher Editions. 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. The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by American playwright Lynn Nottage focuses on race, class, prejudice and friendship. Unfortunately, that kinetic energy is all on one level, high, so the audience feels distanced from the characters. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. 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. 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. [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". [13] The production closed on June 25, 2017, after 105 performances. Im cool with everyone. In the world of the play, attempting to raise ones status and transcend ones current situation breeds resentment among the very friends who commiserated with that situation. I cant think of any recent play that tells us so much, and so vividly, about the state of the union. Management wants to cut wages, and the union will have to vote to accept the concessions or go on strike. Directory, News As an experienced parole officer, Evan has a strong understanding of the personal struggles Chris and Jason are going through. LitCharts Teacher Editions. 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. Ive absorbed a lotta shit over the years, but I worked hard to get off that floor. JASON: Shit, I just kinda thought wed retire and open a franchise together. Were a team, Jason says of himself and Chris, one of many sentiments that drives home the sacredness of close relationships for the plays struggling working-class laborers. In 2008, Chris and Jason both find themselves back at the bar to find some peace. Link to iframe content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/YcReO9WfWeQ, Lynn Nottage has given us an extraordinary story of a community of individuals whose stories we dont get to hear, never mind embody, very often, said Susanna Rinehart, an associate professor of performance, who is directing the play at Virginia Tech. Last Updated on October 4, 2022, by eNotes Editorial. 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. School of Performing Arts News|Science, Technology, and Society News|Sociology News, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences The bartender is Stan, who used to work at the factory with them until he suffered an injury. Who is the antagonist in the play Sweat by Lynn Nottage? 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. New York, NY 10007 Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site. The kind but stalwart officer (Kevin T. Carroll) hopes a reunion between the two will help heal their wounds. 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. Whether its the discussion that Oscar doesnt deserve a job or him being attacked, they are all just as equally painful and wrong. Tracey and Jessie grow bitter as their job security is threatened and their wages cut, while their friend Cynthia receives a promotion. Centered on the working class of Reading, Pennsylvania, 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. We see how the plant uses ethnicity to divide workers in the case of Oscar, who is Latino. Alumni, Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics, Theatre Department Performance: SWEAT by Lynn Nottage. Sweat is about the private toll of this great decline. But the sense of pride they've had over their work is being stripped away as the company begins to disassemble. The play, however, takes place pre-Trump. They are released in 2008. This leads to a confrontation with Jason, egged on by his mother. "Sweat - Summary" eNotes Publishing Registered About 3 Years Ago. you can use them for inspiration and simplify your student life. PDF downloads of all 1699 LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. samples are real essays written by real students who kindly donate their papers to us so that Already a member? 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. The BMCC Theatre Department invites you to enjoy the performance of 'SWEAT' by Lynn Nottage, directed by Diane Dowling. 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. Complete your free account to request a guide. CYNTHIA: I didnt expect you to understand, babe. eNotes.com, Inc. Cynthia gets the promotion, and Tracey wonders if its just because Cynthia is Black. 30 December 2016. 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. I hope a lot of people come to see it.. The play is centered on the working class of Reading, Pennsylvania. Nov. 912 at 7:30 p.m. [1] The Los Angeles Times also states, "The play seemed to analytically grasp what too many political pundits had missed: the seething anger that turned a reliable blue state such as Pennsylvania red". The collection contains chapters on each of her major works . New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2009. [] I betcha they wanted a minority. 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. Tracey? Superlatively acted Leanne Best, Martha Plimpton and Clare Perkins in Sweat at Donmar Warehouse, London. We are left hoping the characters will attempt to make amends as we see the effects of the conflict. If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contactSusan Sanders prior to the event. Directed by Kate Whoriskey (who also directed the earlier productions), the cast featured Carlo Alban (Oscar), James Colby (Stan), Khris Davis (Chris), Johanna Day (Tracey), John Earl Jelks (Brucie), Will Pullen (Jason), Miriam Shor (Jessie), Lance Coadie Williams (Evan), and Michelle Wilson (Cynthia). 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. He learns that the cost of being hired is to become a scab when the others go out on strike. . The. 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! 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. Lynn Nottage, as she showed in Intimate Apparel, which was about a seamstress in the 1900s, has the capacity to dramatise work. In Lynette Lintons production, Frankie Bradshaws impressive design sets the watering hole against a background of rusting girders. (including. Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered. 5 pages at 400 words per page) Not wanting to give up what theyve worked for, the floor workers vote against the deal and end up getting shut out. 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