Federal Theater Project Essay

The season of the 1930’s sparked the strike of the Great Depression. To the surprise of many, theaters everywhere began to shut down. People around the nation lost jobs and struggled to provide for themselves. However, there was a breakthrough: Franklin Roosevelt created the New Deal. Funded by the government, the New Deal created jobs in a variety areas. Even with these changes the theaters and arts still had difficulties. Thus, the Federal Theater Project was established. The projected presented over 1,000 performances each month and life was pumped back into theaters.

The Union enjoyed overall success in the Western Theater in 1862, but the year also brought defeat and setbacks between the times of Grant’s River War and the Battle at Stones River during the Civil War. These events contradicted the Unions success with strategic embarrassments that demonstrated the Union’s youth in military strategy in handling two separate theaters and management of men and goods.

After the golden years known as, The Roaring Twenties,the U.S experienced the greatest economic crisis in human history known as the Great Depression.People struggled just to get by,actors especially .The Federal Theater Project (FTP), was a government funded program to help struggling performers find work.Though the idea of such a program was revolutionary,it failed, and ended a few years after its creation. The FTP ultimately didn’t establish what it set out to do.

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

Initiating in the 1930’s, the Great Depression took a huge toll on the lives of the American society. New York City was really affected, along with all of the education provided. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who won the election of 1932, was a figure the public counted on to drag them out of the miserable state. Not only did he see businesses struggling, he saw that the arts were too. He created the New Deal which helped organizations like WPA [Works Progress Administration], build roads and bridges.

arts theatre that had a Board of Directors more concerned about artistic values than how they would

During the midst of the Great Depression, Americans were struggling in a fight to live. Factories all around the country were shutting down, causing people to be jobless, even homeless, unable to provide for their families. But the Factories were not the only ones affected. The theatre industry struggled to live on just as much, causing any enjoyment in life to be rare; which brought brilliant idea to the table, the Federal Theatre Project (FTP). This would not only bring jobs to those who are jobless, but bring back a scarce source of life, enjoyment. An Ideal Government funded theatre program the provided “free, adult, uncensored theatre,” as stated by the secretary of commerce, Harry Hopkins. And for 4 years, the FTP was actively trying to provide what it promised, but had a tragic downfall.

The theater is the attempt to bring together various human experiences and to project onto ourselves and others. Theater can range be dark, funny, and thought-provoking. It emphasizes human interaction, which in turn helps people can express themselves. Furthermore, it encourages public speaking and brings people together. I enjoy theater because it influences the way we think and feel about our own lives. In addition, it encourages us to take a look at our values and behavior. Participating in the Open Doors Theater Scholarship gives me the excellent opportunity to explore theater arts, learning more about communications, human relation skills, and the world around us. I am passionate about extending my experiences and taking advantage of

The early 1930s was home to one of the most devastating times in American history. Many Americans were unemployed, making little money, and struggled getting by everyday. One thing that brought people together were the theatrical arts. The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) helped to bring jobs and entertainment to people during the Great Depression. The FTP did many things to bring theatrical works across the country, but the short span of four years questions its effectiveness.

attention to theater, whether the purpose is to distract or entertain. During the 1940s, theater was

The Great Depression in the 1930s was a devastating blow to the American economy and peoples. In fact, it left 15 million people, more than twenty percent of the population, unemployed and without a source of income. Jobs were few and far between for everyone, but some of those whom the unemployment hit hardest were those involved in theater and the arts. That was where the Federal Theater Project (FTP) was intended to come into the picture; however, it did not do so successfully.

Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were

Many veteran producers and writers, such as A .L. Erlanger, E. F. Albee, Frederick Proctor, and David Belasco, all died in the early 1930’s, and with them “the creators of Broadway as it existed were passing” (Talkin broadway). As new artists took their place, new shows and ideas about social issues began to take center stage, causing groups like Actor’s Equity to speak out and cause argument over public censorship. Commercial Theaters also didn’t want to produce controversial pieces, so many theater professionals ended up creating their own groups or companies so they could produce the pieces they wanted to. This also allowed them to gain more profit, since they didn’t lose money to a big company. Theater still provided “relief from the world,” but it was more acceptable to discuss what was going on in the world, and musicals were able to discuss even more that dramas “because the appeal was to a far wider spectrum of theater going public”(Musicals101).

The theater that Cuthbert Burbage built for the Chamberlain's Men had a total capacity of between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators. Because there was no lighting, all performances at the Globe were conducted, weather permitting, during the day (probably most often in the mid-afternoon span between 2 P.M. and 5 P.M.). Because most of the Globe and all of its stage was open air, acoustics were poor and the actors were compelled by circumstances to shout their lines, stress their enunciation, and engage in exaggerated theatrical gestures. What would seem most striking to a modern (Broadway) theatergoer about the productions staged at the Globe is that they were completely devoid of background scenery. Although costumes

     "The arts of the western world have been largely dominated by the artistic standards established by the Greeks of the classical period" (Spreloosel 86). It is from the Greek word theatron, meaning a place for sitting, that we get our word theater. According to James Butler, "The Greeks were the first people to erect special structures to bring audiences and theatrical performers together" (27). "The theaters were normally located near a populated area at the bottom of or cut out of a carefully selected, sloping hillside overlooking a seascape, a plain, or a city" (Butler 30). "They eventually with few exceptions consisted of three distinct parts: theatron