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Formed in 1993, the Sweat Girls had been performing around town, content to stage their shows in venues where they could simply collect admissions at the door and let the bar keep the drink receipts. In 1996, aided by local video artist Joe Winston (This Week in Joe’s Basement), each of the players taped an interview with another’s mom, with the idea of incorporating the footage into a collection of comedic monologues about mother-daughter relationships. The subject matter proved so touchy that the project was shelved for three years. But despite its long gestation, The Motherlode was a hit when it debuted last summer at the small Lifeline Theatre. After friends and audience members repeatedly urged the group to move the show to a bigger, more prominent venue, the Sweat Girls began to think about breaking out of the underground.
Big Guns Take Aim
