Union College Theater & Dance Department welcomes guest director, Jean Remy Monnay of Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY, to direct the regional premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning play that delves into themes of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and labor relations.
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. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.
This play contains strong language and on-stage depictions of violence.
Show Times:
May 17 – May 19 at 7:30PM
May 20 at 2:30PM
May 21 at 1pm
Location:
Yulman Theater, Terrace Ln, Schenectady, NY 12308
Tickets:
Available through our box office (hours 1-2pm Monday-Friday) or online. Tickets are general seating. $15 for general admission and $5 for those with a Union ID (students, faculty, alumni), and senior citizens.
Sweat takes place in Reading, Pennsylvania between 2000 and 2008. The characters in Sweat work at one of the only industries in Reading, a steel mill that has a parallel story with Schenectady’s General Electric Company. GE’s investment into Schenectady between 1882 and 1945 built the city that we know today. Schenectady’s Golden Era boasted a full trolley system, many large theaters, and a thriving community. During this time the population grew from 13,000 to 90,000. By World War II, General Electric employed around 45,000 workers. By the year 2000, General Electric had outsourced most of its operations and Schenectady’s GE employed about 4,700 employees. Sweat explores the lives of blue-collar workers who are affected by unions, immigration, and outsourcing during one of the worst economic times in modern United States History. Reading, PA and Schenectady share very similar stories of small cities that were built around industry, then abandoned when companies started outsourcing to cheaper labor markets.
The diverse cast includes students from every year, with a broad range of majors and minors from the following departments: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, English, Neuroscience, Physics, Psychology, Philosophy, Mathematics, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Spanish, Music, and Theater. The eclectic ensemble represents the wide range of academic offerings at Union College.
SWEAT is the third Lynn Nottage play I get to direct, and It has been an honor and great pleasure working with Union College to bring this story to life. This production is so important to me because I get to work with the students and crew who are such a pleasure to work with(I love them), and experience together the issue of race, struggling family, love, forgiveness, relationship, survival, immigrants and the working class in America. As Lynn Nottage says: “Sweat’ I really feel is the American story. It tells the story of Reading, Pennsylvania, but it could be any place, it could be any post-industrial city across the landscape.”- Jean-Remy Monnay (Remy), Director and the Producing Artistic Director of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY (BTTUNY).
Quotes from Students
Maggie Kelley ‘24, Theatre & English double major with a minor in Computer Science, She/Her, Playing the role of Tracey. –
“It is such a complicated, interesting story and it feels important to tell. I was excited to audition, and I’m thrilled to help bring these stories to life. The world and the characters. This play is a beautiful window into the lives of these people who Nottage wrote to be so incredibly real. The relationships between each character are so nuanced and interesting and it feels like an important story to tell. It’s a cool story that’ll make you think, laugh, and maybe cry. Everyone involved is working their butts off and the art we are working on deserves to be seen! Come experience it.
Melanie De La Cruz (Mel) ‘26, Political Science and Theatre with a minor in Dance, She/Her, Co-Assistant Director. –
“When I read the play for the first time, I saw how real these stories are, and yet they haven’t been told. It was different, brutally honest, and it partook in what I believe is why we do theater- to tell stories others haven’t seen, and others have lived. I’m excited for this beautiful community of actors to demonstrate their hard-work on stage and share their love for theater to the audience. It’s exciting to see so many people of color come together and emphasize the belief that theater belongs to those who love it. In addition to this play being written by an amazing playwright, the story revolves around an era of Americans facing all sorts of uncertainty, and it would be a great work of art to provoke thought as to how the America then mirrors the America of today. We relate more to each other than you may think.”
Sarah Wright ‘23, Major: Biomedical Engineering; Minor: Electrical Engineering, she/her/hers Assistant Stage Manager. – “I love working with the theater department at Union, especially when we get the chance to work with guest directors and stage managers. It gives us a different perspective of the theater world outside of Union. I also fell in love with this story as soon as I read it. There’s something so real and hard-hitting about the story being told. As someone who has lived in a small town for their entire life, I know people just like Tracey, Stan, Jason, and Oscar. It’s super exciting to see everyone growing into their roles, whether they’re an experienced actor at Union, someone who is acting in a theater production for the first time, or someone who is learning how to be part of the stage management team. I love going to rehearsal every week and seeing just how much work everyone has put into their role since the last rehearsal. There is no excuse for someone to miss this show. It sends an important message about how friends become foes in the face of adversity, the financial struggle of small-town America, and the impact of prejudiced thoughts and behaviors on a tight-knit community.”