The human toll of the fast-food industry has been a hot topic lately, especially with the success of the book "Fast Food Nation" and its cinematic companion. The UT drama department will do its part to inform people about unsavory fast-food practices by putting on Namoi Wallace's "Slaughter City" at the B. Iden Payne Theatre March 2-4 and 6-9.
"Slaughter City" deals with the brutality inflicted upon workers in two settings: the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911 and a modern-day meatpacking plant in "Slaughter City, U.S.A." Laborers Roach (Gina Houston, a St. Edwards University graduate), Maggot (theater and dance senior Molly Evensky) and Brandon (theater and dance junior Philip Olsen) are caught in the middle of the brutal working environment and the hopes for better conditions promised by their union, Local 229. A worker named Cod (theater and dance junior Kim Adams) complicates matters by crossing the picket line - becoming a "scab" - and wanting to join the union.
In contrast to the grim realism of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" - which "Slaughter City" is often compared to - the play incorporates scenes of beautiful snowfalls and Sunday fishing trips, all enslaved behind the walls of the grimy factory. The factory is a bleak place with reinforced iron walls, little lighting and floors stained with blood. As the workers labor and labor, their bodies create an ominous rhythm. There are also many scene changes to emphasize the hectic nature of the plant. Sarah Davidson designed the set, and her interpretations strengthen the grit and magical realism of the play. "Slaughter City" will also intrigue the senses by having a simulated assembly line and a real fire to depict the Shirtwaist Company inferno.
"We sought to create space that could be expanded and contracted and convey a sense of the ongoing labor that sustains this country," Davidson said.
The play was just as intense to the actors as it will be to the audience.
"From the actor's point of view, working on Naomi Wallace can be very challenging, because her language is just as poetic as it is rugged and visceral," Adams said.
The play is directed by Corey Atkins, a third-year student in the MFA directing program. He said he was drawn to "Slaughter City" because he is intrigued by "stories that pit one person against the system." He said much of the play hit him on a personal level.
"I'm really fascinated by how a single individual can make a difference by taking a stand against injustice," Atkins said.
He and Adams said they hope Slaughter City will leave a mark on the audience as well.
"The people on stage are just like you and me - people doing their best to survive," Atkins said. "It's just that you and I are lucky enough to get a chance at higher education, and these people have to slaughter hogs to pay their rent. We want the audience to feel as if they, too, are a part of the slaughterhouse, a part of the union, a part of the cause and a part of the fight.
"Students have to inform themselves about the way the world works - it's the only way to ensure you don't fall prey to it," he said. "Going to the theater lets us experience a story and expand our world view without having to actually go through what we see on stage."
Tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for UT faculty and staff and $10 for UT students. They are available at the PAC box office or www.utpac.org.
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