Conceived and directed by Jess Goldschmidt and James Rutherford
Performed by Ross Cowan, Jessica Myers, Casey Robinson and Jing Xu
Production Design Oona Curley
Design Associate Kimie Nishikawa
Sound Design JT Norton
Stage Manager Valerie Schenkman
Two men batter but don't draw blood. Two women weep but their faces stay dry. What happens when emotions are enacted, not experienced? What makes the fake?
James and Jess are in a relationship. They both cry. She hits things more than he does, but he used to be a well-honed instrument of death. Jess found violence and rage in ballet, keening, orgone therapy. James searched for compassion in martial arts, street fighting, Mongolian wrestling. Apart, they asked four performers what it means to fight as men, to cry as women. Together, they’ve built a two-ring circus of gendered pain welling up with SWEAT & TEARS, two alchemies of salt and water, two body responses to the difficult work of feeling.
Performances: July 22-31
The running time of SWEAT & TEARS is one hour fifteen minutes, without an intermission.
Friday July 22: 8pm
Saturday July 23: 8pm
Sunday July 24: 8pm
Monday July 25: 8pm
Thursday July 28: 8pm
Friday July 29: 8pm
Saturday July 30: 8pm
Sunday July 31: 3pm
Venue: JACK — 505 1/2 Waverly Avenue
The theater is wheelchair accessible.