How do you prove you’ve worked? How do you measure effort? How do you earn your paycheck?
The grotesque reality of those who are driven to the edge of exhaustion, finding ecstasy in the aphrodisiac of sweat.
Must go in the studio, must produce, must be exhausted. MUST SWEAT.

Must Sweat is a dance-theater performance exploring the artist’s ongoing struggle with labor rules imposed on them. The character confronts the painful reality of stepping into the studio for 40 hours a week, constantly moving and producing. Desperate for motivation, they become obsessed with sweat as proof of labor, a grotesque currency exchange of salty drops for money. It is a satirical portrayal where sweat becomes the absurd measure of an artist’s worth, exposing the hypocrisy of surviving as a working artist under capitalism. Must Sweat is a raw, physical critique of art commodified into productivity, labor, and unending demand.

The piece was created as part of the 4th edition of the FATE program with the help of the ZIDTheater team and was performed on December 12th & 14t 2024 & January 24th 2025 at ZIDTheater in Amsterdam.