The Department of Theatre and Performance Studies successfully concluded its most recent production, “Sweat,” with sold-out tickets for every showing in the Onyx Theater.
“Sweat” is a fully immersive, witty play, directed by Jacqueline Springfield, about a group of friends who work for a small-town factory in Reading, Pennsylvania. The story follows the struggles of lower-working-class citizens in the early 2000s when employers such as factories were facing layoffs.
The first act of the show opens with two characters speaking with a parole officer about a crime they committed, which left the audience wondering what this horrible thing was until the last scene of the play. Through both acts of the play, the audience is taken on a roller coaster of events faced by the factory workers that puts many friendships to the test.
“The main message of “Sweat” is that sometimes the world will screw you over and you can’t fight it,” cast member Garrett Shedd, who plays Stan the bartender, said. “There are times when you need to admit defeat and grow from it rather than trying to hold on to what can’t really work anymore. Every character wants their life to stay the way it is, but holding onto that ends up ruining their worlds.”
Throughout the play, significant and common beliefs of the time regarding race and social injustices are portrayed. The cast of eight students created an immersive performance that set the scene for the serious issues that people in America faced during this time period while still maintaining a humorous mood throughout.
The main setting of the play is Howard’s End, the local bar, where various conflicts arise between the main characters surrounding workplace issues intertwined with friendship troubles. The bar symbolizes the main characters’ escape from reality and the hardships they face.
Having the play set in a bar led to many of the characters having drinking issues throughout the production. One specific character who was notorious for her alcoholism was Jessie, who was impeccably played by Anna Wooley. Jessie was seen in various scenes passed out at a table from indulging too much alcohol at Howard’s End.
“By playing a character like Jessie, I learned to truly feel sympathy for her. She is known to be the comedic relief in the play. She comes off as a funny drunk who can’t keep it together, but if you look, you realize why she is the way she is,” Wooley said. “She talks about the plans that she had when she was younger that she never achieved. Regret is one of the saddest feelings, in my opinion, and it humanizes her in many ways. She has way more to her than meets the eye.”
The show was held in the Onyx Theater on campus, which seats about 70-75 audience members. This facility is a black box theater that has a more intimate atmosphere that places the audience in the center of the action.
The student-led production team and the cast began rehearsing extensively on Aug. 16 for their grand reveal of “Sweat” on Oct. 3 for the opening day of the play.
“Being in a show with the kind of content like Sweat can be difficult, but thankfully we had an amazing director who truly cared about us and our mental health,” Wooley said. “Jackie was always in our corner and made us feel incredibly protected and appreciated.”
If students did not get the opportunity to see “Sweat” while it was showing, the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies will debut the musical “Once on This Island” this November.
“Sweat was an amazing experience, one that I would gladly do again in a heartbeat,” Shedd said. “It was such a great performance, and I’d encourage every student to come out to the TPS Department’s performances! They’re all great and always worth the time!”
