Director’s Note 

We in the Theatre Department at Northwestern often lament the lack of cultural diversity in our productions. We firmly believe that theatre should represent the global body of Christ. All too often, however, our productions singularly portray Christ’s body as white, European, and dominantly male. We understand these portrayals as limited and inadequate depictions of Christ’s authentic body. Unfortunately, a similar lack of diversity plagues many small theatre programs at liberal arts colleges, especially in rural areas.

In May of last year, the world watched George Floyd pressed to the ground with a knee on his neck, pleading for his life, for his voice to be heard. During these historic times of division and strife, the Theatre Department resolved to find ways to better reflect the multicultural identity of Christ’s body within our theatre season.

Tonight’s production hopefully takes a small and humble step towards better representation. What a privilege it has been to work on a great play by one of our most talented and decorated playwrights working today, Lynn Nottage (please visit our lobby display to learn more about this two-time Pulitzer Prize winner). Likewise, our collaboration with Northwestern’s Office of Intercultural Development has helped encourage and recruit a multicultural cast for this production. Our prayer is that the gifted performers you see tonight will continue to define Northwestern’s Ensemble for years to come.

We have decided to produce SWEAT using a traditional “Reader’s Theatre” format. We made this choice for two reasons: it shortened our rehearsal time (three of our actors are active varsity athletes with incredibly busy schedules outside of theatre) and Reader’s Theatre better allows us to keep everyone safe during COVID times. While less kinetic than our usual approach, this unique theatrical style stimulates imagination and encourages audience members to focus on language. We further enhanced this show with a full costume design and dazzling projections. If you are like me, you will revel at the authentic and beautiful rhythms of this funny, complex, and powerful play.

Scenic Designer: Ethan Koerner

Lighting/Sound Designer: Drew Schmidt

Projections Designer: Jett Skrien