Humanity Theatre Project Stages Pulitzer Prize-Winning SWEAT March 8-16 at Darkhorse Theater

Some two years after its presence in the theater community was made know during One Night of Empathy, which brought together 14 separate theater companies, Nashville-based Humanity Theatre Project debuts its first full production March 8-16 with Lynn Nottage's Sweat at Darkhorse Theater.

Ang Madaline-Johnson and Chandra Walton will be featured in the roles of Tracey and Cynthia, respectively. Other cast members include: Gabe Atchley, Preston Crowder, Diego Gomez, Clark Harris, Leonard Ledford, Jenny Norris and Scott Stewart.

"I'm humbled to have this level of talent gathered for the Humanity Theatre Project's first fully-staged production, and I can't wait to explore this story with them," says the show's director Daniel DeVault, who is the founding artistic director of the Humanity Theatre Project.

On February 28, 2017, the Humanity Theatre Project announced its presence in the Nashville theatre community by hosting One Night of Empathy, which involved 14 Nashville theatre companies-ranging from professional to high school. The event included short scenes, staged readings, and musical numbers that embraced social issues and spurred conversations about empathy.

According to company spokesperson Pat Patrick, One Night of Empathy "was the first step in achieving the organization's primary goal: creating conversations that matter. Employing the arts as a catalyst, the Humanity Theatre Project aims to celebrate differences, celebrate similarities, and celebrate our shared humanity while creating discussions about and raising awareness of empathy in Nashville and across the country.

HTP's production of Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama runs March 8-16 at the iconic Darkhorse Theatre.

Hailed as "the first theatrical landmark of the Trump era," in Sweat, Lynn Nottage gives a voice to those who often feel they have none. Having grown up side-by-side in small-town working class America, best friends Tracey and Cynthia went from fun-loving schoolchildren to saloon-loving adults who work together on a steel manufacturing line. In a tight-knit community like this one, however, it takes but one fracture in its core for the breaking point of friendship to be seismically tested. Inspired by field research and first-person testimonials collected in Reading, Pennsylvania, Nottage's unflinching slice-of-life drama captures the pressure cooker of trying times-where a lethal combination of layoffs, lockout, and picket lines sends the Rust Belt way of life into crisis.

Sweat is described as "a tough, yet empathetic, portrait of the America that came undone."

A discussion featuring panelists from the community will follow each performance, which is the aim for all productions by the new company.

Quite simply, Sweat offers everything that the Humanity Theatre Project wants to explore," DeVault explains. "Lynn Nottage has crafted a vital contribution to contemporary drama that, at its heart, reminds us what it is to be human. I am excited to be the first to share this story with the Nashville community and am hopeful that our presentation will incite meaningful discussions after each performance."

Performances of Sweat, by Lynn Nottage, are at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, March 8 and 9, and Thursday-Saturday, March 14-16, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 10. Tickets are $20 and are available at www.humanitytheatreproject.com.

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