March 2, 2006

By M.C. SIMMEL
Contributing Writer

Veteran director Elena Hartwell is producing “Nickel and Dimed,” a play that brings gritty humor and unforgiving reality to one theme: how low-skilled workers survive in America. The characters are centered around the true-life experiences of author Barbara Ehrenreich, who took low-wage jobs to find out how the uneducated and unlucky fared doing multiple, menial, often back-breaking work.

Assembled for a group interview during one rehearsal, the cast of students from Seattle Central Community College shared their own insights from playing their characters.

“ I’ve had minimum-wage jobs since I was 15,” said Ariana Basile, “and it’s an eye-opener to realize how horridly people can treat you. I’m thankful that I’m learning this at age 18 and not 48, when it becomes so much harder do these jobs.”

“ Not having some college education really restricts access to decent jobs,” said Lorrie Ann Sherman, one of two actors who plays the central role of “Barbara.” “It makes you see how people settle for less than they deserve and lower their quality of life, for the sake of a paycheck, and from the fear of homelessness.”

The cast started discussing how they’ve come to see the middle class as “quite privileged after all,” when Martin Dinn piped up. “I’m seeing some really subtle strengths in how a community helps someone struggling.” The other actors nodded and chimed in: “Like when a church helps a pregnant housekeeper who loses her job;” or “there was the cook whose Latino community helped him when he got fired.”

And without community: “It’s like you’re naked out there!” sputtered Dinn, shaking his head and glaring at the floor.

“ There are people working full-time, who live in a van or are homeless because they can’t make an apartment deposit,” said Sherman. Sarah Kleehammer, Sherman’s counterpart in the “Barbara” role, pointed out how her boyfriend in the play callously says: “Some people don’t like to work,” intimating the low-paid don’t try hard enough. “Nobody I know,” she snaps back at him, thinking of the resilience of those holding down two and three jobs to keep their families together.

In the role of a waitress, Elizabeth Sparenberg feels her boss “ripping off her aspirations,” taking advantage of her need of the job and working her hard. Acting these roles has caused co-actor Samuel Kyles to vow never again to ask a waiter to “hurry up.”

Not even social workers are of help, according to Basile, who plays one: do they really think having one menial job is going to solve homelessness?

“ It takes a strong personality to not have anything, and still keep giving it a new shot each day,” said Simon Yokoyama, deeply impressed that the poor still found reasons to smile and push through the drudgery. Fellow actors agreed, wondering how the real Barbara Ehrenreich could lose herself in the masquerade, even being afraid of the boss, when she knew she could go home any time. “You don’t want to let down the people you’re working with,” explained Ehrenreich in a 2001 NPR interview.

From all she’s learned in the play, Sophia Federighi no longer questions why there are people begging. “How can we do more?” she wonders. Noel Scherrard says he’s far more thankful of what people in minimum-wage jobs do — and cognizant that they deserve the same respect as any other working person.

“ These hard workers need acknowledgement too, or we just compromise our humanity,” said Natascha Meyer Perez, voicing disgust with abusive employers and an unresponsive society.

Though the subject matter is serious, “there are plenty of funny moments,” said Ariana. “Still, it makes you think twice that people have to be sarcastic or laugh at their situation just to get through it.” n