Theatrefolk Featured Play – Sweep Under Rug by Lindsay Price
Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Sweep Under Rugby Lindsay Price is a great conversation starter for both actors and audience. A great piece for actors who want to tackle something outside their comfort zone.
Sweep Under Rug envisions a future where struggling families are placed in the “Bobby Sue” program. A “Bobby Sue” is a guardian of sorts, someone who warns against missteps and guides its owners along the “appropriate” path in life.
But what happens when people want to think for themselves?
Why did we publish this play?
Sweep Under Rug is a futuristic “what if” issue play. There’s a lot to unpack and a lot for students to explore onstage and off. There’s costume design, and character specific language. There’s a very specific set and script analysis. It has a small cast, so it doesn’t get done as often as other plays, but it’s important to have plays that present a challenge, a question to answer, and provide a lot to discuss.
Let’s hear from the author!
1. Why did you write this play?
I love looking at issues and exploring them in a theatrical manner. Issue plays must be theatrical. I also love “what if” ideas. “What if” in the future the poor were segregated and monitored by an in-house robot? What does that look like? The play was inspired by some friends who work with refugees and those below the poverty line who want to get out from under their situation but stigma and government red tape hold them back time and time again.
2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences.
What if a group of people were told what to do every step of their lives and what if they didn’t want to be told what to do anymore?
3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play?
The Bobby-Sue is a characterization of the red-tape holding back those below the poverty line. She is a government placed robot and represents the control and the lack of individual choices of the other characters. She must be a huge presence!
4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?
Each character speaks in a specific manner. Spend time analyzing their language. How does the language represent who the character is and what they’re going through in this situation?
5. Why is this play great for student performers?
This play takes place in the future, the characters are affected by a specific situation, and that situation also affects character language. There’s a lot here for students! A great character study, a great analysis piece, and a great “what if” discussion starter.
Get your copy of Sweep Under Rug right here, right now!
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