Maya Brattkus
Work discussed while I was abroad
The Federal Theatre Project
The WPA Federal Theatre
Project was the largest attempt created by the Federal Government to create and
produce theatre during the Great Depression. It was headed by President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and meant to provide work in the theatre for unemployed
artists and to produce entertainment for the general public in an era of panic
and economic turmoil. From 1935 until 1939 when its funding was terminated, the
FTP companies covered performed in areas that normally wouldn’t host theatre,
and in those five years some of the most innovative and explorative theatre of
its time was birthed. The Federal
Theatre Project was cited as the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935,
and on April 8th of 1935 it became law.
Hallie Flanagan, the
national director of the FTP, envisioned “a rich, regional, accessible theatre
scene across the nation, with local theatres responsive to local issues” (http://depts.washington.edu/depress/theater_arts_ftp.shtml).
As Flanagan said, Neither should the theater in
our country be regarded as a luxury. It is a necessity because in order to make
democracy work the people must increasingly participate; they can't participate
unless they understand; and the theater is one of the great mediums of
understanding.” Flanagan created a national new play competition, which invited
new playwrights to submit their scripts for a chance at a two week run on
Broadway and 250$. The National Service Bureau, a component of the FTP, provided
technical equipment, services, scripts, and on hand personnel to every state in
the union.
The Federal Theatre Project was shut down by congress,
partly because of its long rehearsal period and partly over suspicions that it
was composed of Communists. However in its short lived period, the FTP brought theatre
to millions who had never seen theatre before, and gave artists a platform to
create new works.
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