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 is set in Reading, Pennsylvania and takes place in 2000 and 2008.

Character Breakdown
CONTENT WARNING: This play includes mature themes of poverty, addiction, racism and xenophobia. It contains lots of very strong language including swearing, race and gender-based slurs and some sexual references. Extreme physical violence is acted out on-stage. Please pay careful attention to character information as some characters have specific race requirements as per the playwright.

Evan, 40s
Evan is an African American man in his forties; he’s Chris and Jason’s parole officer. Evan serves an important role as a confidant and voice of reason for Chris and Jason. However, he also has no patience for nonsense.

Jason, 21 yrs & 29 yrs
Jason is a young white man of German descent; he’s Tracey’s son and Chris’s best friend. At 21 years old, he is involved in a crime that leads to a prison sentence. We also see him at 29, and how his time in prison has affected him. He's hot-headed and passionate, yet troubled and disaffected.

Chris, 21 yrs & 29 yrs
Chris is a young African American man; he’s Cynthia and Brucie’s son and Jason’s best friend. At 21 years old, he is involved in a crime that leads to a prison sentence. We also see him at 29, after being released from prison and struggling to reintegrate into society. He is introspective, hard-working, and riddled with conflicting emotions.

Stan, 50s
Stan is a white man of German descent in his fifties. He’s the bartender at the bar where most of the play takes place. He serves as a beloved friend, confidant, and wise sage for his regular customers.

Oscar, 22 yrs & 30 yrs
Oscar is a young Colombian American man; he’s the busboy at the bar where most of the play takes place. As tensions rise in town, people become increasingly hostile toward Oscar and he faces racism from the customers at the bar.

Tracey, 45 yrs & 53 yrs
Tracey is a middle-aged white woman of German descent; she’s Jason’s mother.  She uses humor as a means of escape and loves to drink, gossip, and dance. She’s also a hardworking, traditional woman who dislikes the ways her town has changed over the years.

Cynthia, 45 yrs & 53 yrs
Cynthia is a middle-aged African American woman; she’s Chris’s mother and Brucie’s wife. She is headstrong and principled, but feels shame and guilt about her position at the factory she works at and how it impacts her friends around her.

Jessie, 40s
Jessie is an Italian American woman in her forties, and close friend of Tracey and Cynthia.  Jessie is divorced and dissatisfied with her life. As a result, she’s seemingly developed a problem with alcohol abuse.

Brucie, 40s
Brucie is an African American man in his forties; he’s Chris’s father and Cynthia’s estranged husband. Brucie has become addicted to drugs and feels hopeless & purposeless, all the while facing racism from white union members.