Negro Units Of The Federal Theatre Project example essay topic

Rachael Rice Humanities What Was The Federal Theatre Project? Throughout the late 1920's an important theatrical movement developed: The Workers' Theatre Movement. In the end, it diminished around the middle of the 1930's, and one of the developments aiding the decline of the Workers' Theatre Movement, was the creation of the Federal Theatre Project. The Federal Theatre Project was the largest and most motivated effort mounted by the Federal Government to organize and produce theater events. Once the government took on the duty of putting people to work, it was able to consider the movement. The Federal Theatre Project's purpose was "to provide relief work for theatrical artists that utilized their talents and to make their work widely available to ordinary Americans, thus democratizing high culture". (web) Furthermore the FTP tried to present theatre that was relevant socially, politically, and had popular prices, such as free shows.

The majority of its famous productions, although not all of them, came out of New York City. New York had many units, such as, a classical unit, Negro unit, units performing vaudeville, children's plays, puppet shows, caravan productions, and the new plays unit. The Federal Theatre Project was "the only fully government-sponsored theatre ever in the United States". (Witham 16) During the late 1920's, in October 1929, the stock market crashed which led to the Great Depression. By winter 1930 through 1931, four million people were unemployed; by March 1931, eight million. By the year 1932, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected, the national income was half that of 1929; there were twelve million unemployed, moreover, there were one of four.

Within two weeks of his inauguration, in the year 1933, FDR reopened three-fourths of the Federal Reserve Banks and tried to save the economy. Many called Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration 'the Alphabetical Administration; it was often ridiculed because it seemed to have so many different organizations designated by different groups of letters". (Witham 48) For example, the C.C.C., the Civilian Conservation Corps, started in the year 1933 and found jobs for over 250,000 men. The Federal Emergency Relief Act, or F.E.R.A., started in the year 1933, led by Harry Hopkins put $500 million back into circulation.

By the year 1933 the economy had recovered a little, but reforms quickened the recovery even faster. One of those reforms was an organization called the W.P.A. The W.P.A., or Works Progress Administration, was started in the year 1935 to provide jobs for unemployed people in their areas of skill. Harry Hopkins headed this reform as well. There were four art projects developed for white-collar workers: Music, Writers, and Theatre and Art. The four art projects spent less than 3/4 of 1 percent of the total WPA budget, but were blamed and accused for being un-democratic and inefficient.

The FTP was "the most controversial and short-lived of the Works Progress Administration art projects". (web) With its first production in the year 1936, The Federal Theatre Project remained in existence until the year 1939. It employed nearly 10,000 people per year on average; up to 12,000 people at it's highest. The Federal Theatre Project provided 1200 productions as a minimum of 850 main works and of 309 innovative plays (29 new musicals) to an audience estimated at 25 million people in 40 states. It also "employed actors, playwrights, directors, producers, composers, and technicians, including notables as Orson Welles, Arthur Miller, John Huston, e.g. Marshall, and John Houseman".

(Manning) The FTP gave many Americans their first opportunity to attend live theater performances. It sent companies on tour to smaller cities and also gave shows for younger audiences. Harry Hopkins did not want just a relief development, though it was important. He then turned to Hallie Flanagan who was well educated in the study of Art. Hopkins hired Flanagan to be the head of the Federal Theatre Project, which was separated into five different areas: New York City, the East, the South, the Midwest, and the West. Flanagan was well influenced by European theatre, German Theatre and, American workers' theatre.

The Federal Theatre Project soon had units in Florida, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, and many others all around the United States, and eventually grossed over two million. In spite of all of its benefits, the FTP was "plagued by censorship, political problems, and inefficiency The trouble began to appear roughly immediately: "the FTP experimented with a theatre form that Flanagan had used at Vassar, called The Living Newspaper montage documentaries, carefully researched, with clear points of view, using the Epic theatre techniques of Piscator and Meyerhold's constructivist techniques" (Bordman p 35). The 'Negro Units' of the Federal Theatre Project were managed by Rose McClendon, a distinguished African American actress, and John Houseman, a theatre producer. The two soon managed to get actor and director, Orson Welles, to assist with the unit.

Non-relief workers were compensated with ten percent of the Federal Theatre Project budget. Negro units expanded into many cities, but the most notorious was New York's: it produced Swing Mikado. Furthermore, it was a swing edition of the popular Gilbert and Sullivan show. Sing for your Supper, a recognized production, became visibly and publicly condemned by Congress, moreover led to the end of the Federal Theatre Project. The show premiered in the spring of 1939 after eighteen months of preparation. The long rehearsal phase was caused by numerous factors and led to even additional criticism by a Congress determined to close the FTP down.

Actors were being visited by agents and getting employments for other shows. The FTP would then find other performers and rehearse with them, but during the duration of the practices, other performers would find other jobs. Sing for your Supper finale was held on the last day of the Federal Theatre Project existence, which was June 30, 1939. Fairly because of long held doubts that the FTP was fraught with Communists and fellow travelers and the 18-month-long rehearsal time, Congress shut it down.

The remaining three Arts Projects, Music, Art, and Writing, survived and were financed by Congress until the year of 1941. Concluding the Federal Theatre Project, it has accomplished the goal of introducing theatre to millions who had never seen theatre before. It employed thousands of people, initiated European epic theatre and Living Newspaper theatre techniques to the United States, and for this reason could be seen as a vast achievement. Work Cited 1, Bordman, Gerald.

American Theatre: Chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1930-1989. Chicago: Oxford University Press, 1996.2. Manning, Susan H. Modern Dance, Negro Dance: Race in Motion. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 20043.

Witham, Barry. The Federal Theatre Project: A Case Study. Nevada: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 2003.4. web web.