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Sweat (TCG Edition)
Sweat (TCG Edition)
Sweat (TCG Edition)
Ebook133 pages1 hour

Sweat (TCG Edition)

By Lynn Nottage

4.5/5

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About this ebook

Written by Scribd Editors

From award-winning playwright Lyn Nottage comes one of the most heartfelt and devastating tragedies ever written. Sweat TCG Edition won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Play. This is Nottage’s second Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the first being for Ruined. She is the first woman playwright to be honored twice.

Set in Reading, Pennsylvania, a group of down-and-out factory workers struggles to make ends meet as is. They live in one of the poorest cities in America. So when financial devastation comes their way, the people of Reading must attempt to stretch an already tight budget even further.

Sweat TCG Edition is culturally relevant to periods of serious economic decline in America, like the 2008 financial crisis. Nottage based this play on research and interviews with actual residents of Reading, sharing their perspective of the effects of nation-wide financial struggles on America’s poorest.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherTheatre Communications Group
Release dateMay 22, 2017
ISBN9781559368544
Sweat (TCG Edition)
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Author

Lynn Nottage

Lynn Nottage's plays include 'Crumbs from the Table of Joy,' 'Fabulation' and 'Intimate Apparel,' for which she was awarded the Francesca Primus Prize and the American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award in 2004. Her plays have been produced at theaters throughout the country. 'Ruined' is the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 'Sweat' is winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Read more from Lynn Nottage

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Reviews for Sweat (TCG Edition)

4.5/5

42 ratings4 reviews

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  • 5/5
    Loved it! Very insightful story, and everyday characters we can understand!
  • 3/5
    Not sure about the beginning and ending structure, but a solid story about the working class.
  • 5/5
    This is a captivating play that deftly handles many issues of current day American struggles including race, loss of jobs, the plight of the middle class and immigration . The play takes place in Reading, Pa. which serves as a symbol for every town USA. The core characters are regulars at a local bar where they share both the good and bad times. The play is wonderfully realistic in its portrayal of human behavior and I can see why it received all the acclaim that it did.

    1 person found this helpful

  • 5/5
    Lynn Nottage is a skillful playwright. Her characters are rich and complex. Sweat is a fine play and rightfully draws comparisons to August Wilson's work. Definitely a play for our times.

Book preview

Sweat (TCG Edition) - Lynn Nottage

ACT ONE

SCENE 1

September 29, 2008

Outside it’s 72°F.

In the news: The 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly convenes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 778.68 points, marking the largest single-day decline in stock market history. Reading residents sample fresh apple cider at the Annual Fall Festival on Old Dry Road Farm.

Music. Lights up.

Parole office. Spare. Institutional.

Jason (white American, twenty-nine), hair closely shorn. He has a black eye and white supremacist tattoos inked across his face. Evan (African-American, forties), comfortably puffy.

EVAN: So, you got a job?

JASON: Yeah.

EVAN: I’m not gonna run down everything. You know the drill.

JASON: Yeah.

EVAN: So, you’re making pretzels?

JASON: Yeah.

(A moment.)

EVAN: Soft?

JASON: Yeah.

EVAN: Living at the same address?

JASON: Yeah.

EVAN: The mission?

JASON: Yeah, finally got a bed downstairs.

EVAN: That’s real good. I hear that shelter’s pretty clean.

JASON: Yeah, but fucking guys steal. Can’t have nice stuff. But, um, Father Hunt lets me keep my turtles.

(Jason fidgets. Evan assesses.)

EVAN: So. You gonna tell me what happened?

JASON: What?

EVAN: I know you don’t wanna be here. I don’t wanna be here either.

JASON: Yeah, whatever.

EVAN: Don’t whatever me. I’m not one of your stupid friends, let’s be clear about that.

JASON: Whatever.

EVAN: Try me! I’m not playing fucking games. I’ll knock you clear into tomorrow, understood? But, fortunately for you, I don’t have to, you know why? Because I got this pen, and you know what this pen does?

JASON: Yeah—

EVAN: It writes. And, you know what it’s gonna write if you don’t give me more than one- or two-syllable answers? It’s gonna write that you’re belligerent, defiant, reluctant to observe protocol. You understand those words, Jason?

JASON: Yeah.

EVAN (Voice slowly crescendos): It’s gonna write that you have issues with authority that may prove too challenging. This pen could make things very difficult for you, young man. And you know what happens to young men that don’t cooperate? . . . Huh? . . . Huh?

JASON: You asking me?

EVAN: Whatcha think I’m asking—myself? Of course I’m asking you, moron! You want me to ask again?

JASON: No. I don’t need you to ask again.

EVAN: Very good. A sentence. We’re making some progress here. So, what happened?

JASON: I mean . . . I didn’t do shit.

EVAN: So you didn’t do shit, but someone did . . . do shit.

JASON: Uh—

EVAN: And, you gave yourself a black eye and busted lip?

(A moment.)

What happened?

JASON: I got sucker-punched.

EVAN: Cuz—?

JASON: I dunno.

EVAN: Some guy just comes up and hits ya. And you, you didn’t do nothing?

JASON: Nah. Not really. I was in the bathroom at Loco’s.

EVAN: Loco’s?

JASON: Yeah, Loco’s.

EVAN: I’m sorry? Loco’s?

JASON: I can’t go to Loco’s?

EVAN: We’ve talked about Loco’s. Go on.

JASON: This big fucking biker dude, I don’t know ’em, like steps up behind me. He’s like you were looking at my girl. I am so, like, dude, I don’t even know who the fuck your girl is. And he’s wearing these huge rings, both fucking hands, like medieval biker knight.

EVAN: Hmm.

JASON: And . . . then he hits me hard, so hard that I swear to God I see stars. Like Bam! My whole face goes numb. Sparky had to pull ’em off of me.

EVAN: Just because you looked at his girl.

JASON: I didn’t look at his girl, that’s why it’s so fucked up.

EVAN: And if I ask you to piss in this cup, what’s it gonna tell me?

JASON: You don’t gotta believe me, but I’m telling ya the // truth.

EVAN: Okay. There’s the cup.

JASON: What?

EVAN: What do you mean, what?

JASON: C’mon.

EVAN: The cup, pick it up.

JASON: I just got a job. What do you want?

EVAN: I don’t want anything from you, but the state does and it’s my unfortunate job to ensure that you comply.

JASON: Are we gonna do this?

EVAN: Pick it up.

JASON: You are a fucking asshole. Fuck you, nigga!

(A moment. Evan, stone, stares long and hard at Jason.)

(Less committed) Fuck you!

EVAN: Pick it up!

JASON: I got a job. I mean, c’mon, give me a fucking break.

EVAN: Pick . . . it . . . up!

(Jason makes a show of picking up the cup.)

Okay. What do you wanna tell me?

(A moment.)

JASON: I dunno.

EVAN: I dunno, either.

JASON: Look—

EVAN: What?

JASON: I dunno.

EVAN: Yeah, we covered that fertile territory. What’s going on Jason?

JASON: Yo, ease up. I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing.

EVAN: You think so? You looking to get back inside?

JASON: . . . !

EVAN: Might wanna get rid of those tats. We’ve talked about it. They’re gonna cause you trouble out here. Might make you a tough guy inside, out here . . . guess what? Every time I look at them I wanna punch you out. That’s me being honest. But, lucky for you I’m here to help.

(Jason fidgets.)

What’s going on Jason? I shouldn’t have to track you down.

(A moment. Jason rolls his eyes.)

JASON: Can I go?

EVAN: We don’t have to talk. It’s no sweat off my back. I’m gonna leave this page blank. How about that? Blank page. You wanna blank page?

JASON: . . .

EVAN: You in trouble?

JASON: No.

EVAN: I could fish all day. I am a fisherman.

(Jason runs a story through his head, deciding whether to share it.)

JASON:

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