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Sean Coady
Mrs. Pennington
English 324
17 May 2008
The Federal Theater Project: A Part Of The New Deal
The Federal Theater Project, an innovation created by the administration of Franklin
Roosevelt, designed to possibly alleviate the catastrophic events of the Great Depression by
employing struggling actors, and providing some simple entertainment for American Families.
The WPA (Work Projects Administration) took matters into their own hands, creating 5 new
organizations in an attempt to salvage what was left of the American economy. As many of the
WPA’s acts went unsung, the Federal Theater Project has received various worldwide
recognition. The WPA was attempting to give the American public some sort of optimism, and
to believe in the our elected officials, and trust them to get us out of the Depression.
One Author, George McJimsey writes that the WPA was invented in 1935 by Franklin
D. Roosevelt, in attempt to combat the Great Depression. The WPA included the Federal
Theater Project, hoping to employ some out of work actors, and provided “free,
uncensored adult entertainment”. Over 1,000 plays and musicals took place in 22 states,
many of them being performed for free at schools and community centers. In 1934, Orson
Welles directed Shakespeare's "Macbeth" for the Negro People's Theater. Welles also
directed "The Cradle Will Rock", a musical by Marc Blitzstein. During the FTP's 4 year
campaign, it established many renowned artists such as, Orson Welles, John Houseman,
Will Geer, Arthur Miller, Paul Green, along with many more. (McJimsey 1)
Originally, the main goal of the Federal Theater Project, was to establish some
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type of employment for out of work artists. ("Federal Theater Project" 1) The WPA was
very pleased with their results from the project, "it was also hoped that the project would result
in the establishment of theater so vital to community life that it would continue to function after
the FTP program was completed". ("Federal Theater Project" 1)
Many people do not know that the Federal Theater Project did not just only involve
theatrical work. The Federal Theater Project Radio Division (FTPRD), was also a major
part of the organizations success. The radio division mainly dealt with spreading
education and culture through various radio series across the United States. The FTPRD's
first broadcast was on March 15, 1936. The radio division had planned to do a weekly
radio series type of thing, but the government stopped funding the project because of
alleged "left-wing" statements. The radio series had a mixture of WPA selected musical
artists, modern literature, and other types of culture selected by the WPA. Air time was
purely donated by contributors, and was an estimated $5,000,000 net worth. ("Federal
Theater Project Radio Scripts" 1)
The Federal Theatre Project was certainly a new experience for everyone who was
involved, be it the actors, crew members, and even the audience. No one really knew what to
expect because it was such an experimental project, and there were many skeptics. Many people
were unsure of the primary motive of the FTP. Some thought that the FTP would be a great
source of contemporary theatre and arts, while a good number of others saw it only as a
desperate attempt by the United States to distract the public from the "real world", and to better
the lives of the unemployed. The person who would be basically running the FTP, would be
Hallie Flannigan, similar to Harry Hopkins (founder of the WPA). Hopkins selected Flannigan
because, "I want someone who knows and cares about other parts of the country. This is just
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down your alley. (Ponce 1)
By 1939, the skepticism of the New Deal put Congress in a particularly hard place,
because they knew they needed to re-evaluate the laws that had been passed. Although the
Federal Theatre Project had a wide variety of shows, whether it be a children's puppet show, or a
large production musical, were called upon to be investigated for alleged New Deal, or
Communist propaganda. One journalist (muckraker) from the New York Times claimed that,
"Mother Goose is no longer a rhymed escapist. She's been studying Marx; Jack and Jill lead the
class revolution." Flannigan was outraged by this statement, and responded, "I will not have the
FTP (Federal Theatre Project) used politically. I will not have it used to further the ends of the
Democrat, Republican, or Communist parties." ( "The Great Depression and the Arts" 1)
The tension that was mounting because of these suspected left-wing allegations was
unbelievable. The upcoming musical The Cradle Will Rock was definitely being considered as
one of the most scandalous cases of censorship to be administered by the United States
government. 6 days before opening night of The Cradle Will Rock, Flannigan got word from
Washington, D.C. that the play would not be allowed to open because of the extremist remarks in
the musical. Flannigan was outraged and demanded for a chance to speak in Congress. Sadly, the
downfall of the Federal Theatre Project lied in the hands of the Congressmen leading the
country. When Flannigan went up to justify herself, Congress roared in laughter. This was
marked as the end of the Federal Theatre Project, thanks to a wide range or scandalous
censorship, anti-United States propaganda, and the decisions made by Congress on what shall be
allowed to be performed. ("Don Farren on the Federal Theatre" 1)
The Federal Theatre Project was in one sense, a terrific idea, in that it would provide
plenty of reliable employment for struggling artists, actors, etc., and that it would also give a
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sense of comfort to some of the public. Having some sort of entertainment would be a great
benefit to a large portion of the country, mainly because the feeling of optimism would still be
abroad. The downfall of the Federal Theatre Project was that the directors had too strong of an
opinion, that was clearly conveyed during the course of the projects life. Although it is
unfortunate that the Federal Theatre Project had to be discontinued, in many ways it still had its
toll on the American public. The actions of the people involved were sometimes severe, and
childish, but the main purpose was to supply jobs for unemployed actors, and indeed the project
did do that, which makes the project a complete success.