SWEAT
by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Elina de Santos
Produced by Niko Montelibano and Kristie Mattsson
SYNOPSIS
It's 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 they've been doing for over 20 years. But, unbeknownst to them, their lives are about to be uprooted. Their steel mill, Olstead's, is making some changes and the blood, sweat and tears, not to mention the generations of loyalty these workers have shown, don't seem to amount to much. 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. This poignant play takes a look at the de-industrial revolution through the lens of a history play, but also delves into the issues of today: the economy, immigration, race relations in America, and politics.
Lynn Nottage's Sweat gives us characters filled with the good and the bad. Nottage never tells us who's right or who's wrong, but always shows us who's human. And while its trajectory is dark, even devastating, Sweat is damn funny, too: Nottage knows well that the natural reactions to the assaults of life faced by these particular people are a savage sense of humor, and, more damagingly, a swan dive into the comforts of alcohol and drugs. 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. In the foreground of these scenes, set in a bar favored by workers at the local metal tubing plant, are three middle-aged women, fast friends who together have put in more than 60 years working machines on the factory floor.
AUDITION DATES
Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m
Sunday, February 23, 2020, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
No appointment needed. Actors only need to attend one day of initial auditions. Non-equity only. Some pay for all actors.
CALLBACKS on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm
You will be notified by email if you will be needed for callbacks.
PREPARE
Please prepare a CONTEMPORARY (within the last 25 years) dramatic monologue, showing range and character.
BRING
Headshot, resume, and list of all conflicts for the rehearsal period (March 14 - May 24). All conflicts MUST be submitted prior to callbacks. If additional conflicts arise after casting, it may result in an actor being replaced.
LOCATION
Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405. Street parking available. Venice Family Clinic’s parking lot is available on weekends and on weekdays after 6 p.m. Do not park at our neighbors AAMCO/Viking Motors or SGI or you will be towed.
PERFORMANCE DATES
May 2 through May 24, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Please note that actors MUST be available for all performances.
REHEARSAL DATES/TIMES
Rehearsals will begin mid-March and are held Monday through Thursday evenings from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, Saturdays from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Sundays from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. Actors are not called for all rehearsals - only rehearsals when they are used for a scene.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
In reference to the character descriptions that follow: most characters we encounter currently are on the binary and are written with he/him or she/her pronouns and you will see that in the following descriptions. But, however limiting the descriptions are, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible and we invite gender non-conforming, gender fluid, transgender and non-binary actors to submit for the roles they most identify with.
We will also list race/ethnicity when specific to the character but are otherwise seeking all races and ethnicities; we encourage Arab, Asian, Black, Caucasian, Latino, Native, and Multiracial actors to audition for all roles. In addition, we will list disability when specific to a character, but are otherwise seeking actors with disabilities as well as non-disabled actors for all roles. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns, or if there are any accommodations we can provide.
We are actively committed to casting an inclusive show that reflects the community. For this show, due to the plot and the racially driven content, we are aligning the casting call with the race/ethnicity specifically dictated by the playwright herself.
Jason
(lead) 22-28, White
Blue collar. He is Chris's best friend in the 2000 scenes. In the 2008 scenes they have taken very different paths. Jason, with white-supremacist tattoos etched into his face and neck, is sullen and angry about his prospects as he faces his life after prison. In the flashback scenes he expects to follow in his parents' footsteps as generations of Reading residents have--to work in the factory and retire with a comfortable pension. Facing the loss of this life promise, he makes choices that take him down a path of nearly non-redemptive action.
Chris
(lead) 22-28, African-American
Blue collar. He is Jason's best friend in the 2000 scenes. He has higher plans than his friend, Jason. He's enrolled in the local college and doesn't want to continue to work in the factory. After prison he 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.
Tracey
(lead) 40-50, White
Blue collar, widow. She is Jason's mother, loud, a partier, racist though her best friend, Cynthia, is African American. She has strong feelings and finds it difficult to be empathetic. However, the circumstances and heighted emotions of the story make her sympathetic.
Cynthia
(lead) African American, 40-50
Blue collar. She is Chris's mother. Cynthia applies for and, to everyone's surprise, wins a promotion to management, causing a painful rift with Tracey, who had also applied and resents being supervised by a former equal. She attributes Cynthia's selection to tokenism. More trouble comes when rumors of layoffs begin swirling, and Cynthia finds herself caught between her duties as a manager and her sympathy with her friends in the union.
Stan
(lead) White, 40-55
Blue collar. He is the bartender, though not the owner of the bar that is the center of most of the action. He, too, worked in the factory, as did his father and grandfather, until an accident caused by a faulty machine almost cost him a leg. He's an avuncular type who keeps the peace when necessary, with the help of his Dominican bar-back, Oscar.
Jessie
(supporting) White, 40-50
Recently separated from her husband, she usually drinks herself to passing out in mourning for her life. She wishes she had made different choices.
Evan
(supporting) African-American, 30-40
Parole officer, deals with both Jason and Chris in the 2008 scenes after their release from prison. He's tough and compassionate.
Brucie
(supporting) African-American, 45-55
He is Cynthia's estranged husband and Chris's father. He works at the city's other plant whose union's workers have been locked out for two months after the union balked at draconian pay cuts. He has been hitting something harder than the bottle.
Oscar
(supporting) Dominican-American, early 20's
Bar-back. He is a quiet, proud, hard-working, outcast who has ambitions to work in the factory but the union won't allow him in.
NON UNION, There is some pay.
Email:
kristie.mattsson@morgan-wixson.org for more info.
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