Interview: Arena Stage's SWEAT Aims to be the Salesman for a New Generation

In 1949, Death of a Salesman explored the disillusionment of the American dream. Later this week, Arena Stage's new play Sweat will expand on that theme and the adversity experienced by one community as rumors of layoffs swirl at a local steel mill.

"This is an important piece to be doing in an election year, because it talks about the struggles of the middle class," says Jack Willis who portrays Stan, the local bartender. "It's speaks to what's going in the country right now, how unions have been destroyed and the changes in the environment of the American workforce."

Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, and co-commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Sweat is making its east coast debut in a month long run at Arena Stage beginning this week. Kimberly Scott portrays Cynthia, a manager at the mill, and says that Sweat's importance lies in the immediacy of the piece.

"I really think that this is the [Death of a] Salesman of our generation. We used to take care of workers in the past and now there is no longer that obligation. That's the conscience of this play and it's tough to talk about, but it goes there," says Scott.

To create that world, Nottage interviewed citizens in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of the poorest cities in America. She used the experience to expand upon the plays themes of deindustrialization and how it effects the American worker. Following a performance during Sweat's west coast run, the cast even met with locked-out steel workers from Albany, Oregon.

"That was a great experience because it was good to hear from them that we were getting it right, and that it was resonating," says Scott. "Lynn [Nottage] is very good about being able to craft a character's reality in which an audience can hear all the complexities and not falling into the trap of just making villains and good guys.

To develop those characters, Nottage worked with the cast throughout the rehearsal process. "She rewrote after working us through that process; she helped us find our voices in the voice of the characters," says Willis. "That's crucial because Sweat is not so much theatrical as it is conversational."

For her portrayal of Cynthia, a mother who's concerned about providing a future for her son, the play hit a personal note having grown up in a union household. It's a background that is not unfamiliar to many, allowing audiences to identify with the story and its characters.

"One of the first things I learned to read was the United Transportation Union newsletter. The thrill and success of this story lives in the perspective of all these characters. Lynn [Nottage] lets you see these people as human beings going through something that is larger than themselves," says Scott.

Scott says that Sweat still is a play in progress, with a few more script tweaks expected before performances begin later this week. This is the first time Scott has returned to Arena since staring in the theatre's 1987 production of Joe Turner's Come and Gone.

"That was my first experience as a professional actor, and now it feels like I'm coming full circle," says Scott. "Working on new plays is my passion, and it's kind of amazing and fulfilling to take this show to Arena."

For Willis, the play marks the first of two, back-to-back productions he'll be doing at Arena. Once Sweat closes, he'll have a week off before rehearsals start for All the Way, where he'll portray President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

"DC is such a great town, and anytime I can do something associated with Molly Smith I jump at it," says Willis. "Both Sweat and All the Way are such important pieces, it is the type of acting you don't get to do too often, and it's really something special."

Sweat begins performances on January 15th and runs thru February 21st at Arena Stage 1101 6th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. For tickets, call (202) 488-3300 or click here.

Photo: Kimberly Scott and Jack Willis in Sweat. Credit: Jenny Graham

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