Abstract
In February 2021, the Northwestern College Theatre Department produced Lynn Nottage's Sweat, directed by Robert Hubbard and in association with NWC's Office of Intercultural Development. Dr. Hubbard chose this production to better reflect and represent the global body of Christ in response to the death of George Floyd in May 2020 and to be performed during Black History Month.
Location, place, and time are essential components of Sweat, and the setting almost serves as a character itself due to its level of importance to the narrative. With this in mind, understanding the historical context of Lynn Nottage's story is vital to understanding its characters, the conflicts they encounter, and how they respond to them. The years 2000 and 2008, when Sweat takes place, were important years for the United States--not only were they election years, but an economic and political roller coaster swept over the nation. And while many NWC students were alive at the time, we were children, so we likely do not actually remember what was happening in the country or what our own parents may have been struggling with. My goal with this project was to make the economic ups and downs of the early 2000s accessible to a college-aged audience and to help the audience at large better contextualize and more deeply understand the action that took place on stage.
Included in
Dramaturgy for Sweat
In February 2021, the Northwestern College Theatre Department produced Lynn Nottage's Sweat, directed by Robert Hubbard and in association with NWC's Office of Intercultural Development. Dr. Hubbard chose this production to better reflect and represent the global body of Christ in response to the death of George Floyd in May 2020 and to be performed during Black History Month.
Location, place, and time are essential components of Sweat, and the setting almost serves as a character itself due to its level of importance to the narrative. With this in mind, understanding the historical context of Lynn Nottage's story is vital to understanding its characters, the conflicts they encounter, and how they respond to them. The years 2000 and 2008, when Sweat takes place, were important years for the United States--not only were they election years, but an economic and political roller coaster swept over the nation. And while many NWC students were alive at the time, we were children, so we likely do not actually remember what was happening in the country or what our own parents may have been struggling with. My goal with this project was to make the economic ups and downs of the early 2000s accessible to a college-aged audience and to help the audience at large better contextualize and more deeply understand the action that took place on stage.