Ideal Federal Theatre Project: Uncensored Theater

In the article "Why the Audience Mattered in Chicago in 1907” there was an element in the population that was left out of the mainstream focus of the entertainment business. Their cry out for attention created enough noise in the industry that caused laws to be put into place to protect the youth from the hypnotic effect of the big screen.

The 1930s brought a economical challenge to the broadway industry, as theater professionals tried to lure audiences into their theaters. As the theater industry continued to suffer from financial difficulty, the Great Depression left to many thespians out of work which lead to the first ever government involvement of the producing of theater. These social issues of the time influenced what shows were produced, and the life of Broadway actors. The Great depression heavily affected how and who produced broadway shows, governmental financial aid and involvement in theater, and the life of the actor.

I’ve adored theatre for as long as I can remember. From writing plays throughout elementary school, to being involved in Drama Club in middle school, to performing in community theatre in high school, and to visiting the theatre as often as I could from the very beginning, theatre has always been a part of my life. Every aspect of it engages me: the directors working to bring their vision of the show’s scenes, choreography, or music to life, the actors transforming into different characters through their expression of dialogue, song, or dance, the costumers and set-builders transporting the audience into the setting and time period with their artistry, the backstage tech and crew working quickly and precisely to keep the show flowing to curtain call, and the orchestra bringing the show to life through music. There is nothing like the experience of live theatre, both as a member of the audience and as a member of the cast and crew.

Above all, I wouldn’t be where I am today without theatre. Without the chance to perform throughout my life, I would be disconnected from the wide array of communities and histories that’s been imbedded in my daily routine. Unfortunately, it’s speculated that the theatre is a dying art form, because of the expanding popularities of movies (“Is”), but I think that it’ll remain a well renowned part of expressing imagination and interpreting history as years pass; it only takes cooperation with school faculty and young students that go above and beyond to change their

Theatre has evolved over the many years. As it has grown, it moved to include more diverse performers, crew, producers, and audiences. This is an exploration of the expansion of diverse theatre.

Considering the major financial crisis many American’s were faced with they turned to entertainment to escape their daily struggles. Americans began watching movies and other theatre shows that depicted the hard times in a comical entertaining manner. Many Americans who lived in rural areas would listen to shows on the radio for their entertainment. They were able to listen to music, soap operas and the

The “Big Four” policy agendas of President Johnson’s Great Society initiatives tend to garner the most attention: federal aid to elementary and secondary education, Medicare and Medicaid, Immigration Reform, and Civil Rights Act. An often-overlooked policy agenda is the creation of what is now the National Endowment for the Arts (“NEA”). The NEA is often compared to two Works Progress Association (“WPA”) programs, the Federal Arts Project and the Federal Writers Project. Both were intended to create jobs as part of a larger economic stimulus package (Bauerlin and Grantham, p. 1). Although parallels are

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

Ever since I can remember I have loved theatre. It’s been a constant presence, and an important touchstone, in my life. However, for as long as I’ve loved theatre, I have also been ridiculed for my enjoyment of it. As a child, my interest was tolerated as something precious, something I was bound to grow out of. My parents and teachers would sit in the audience, clapping and cheering me on, all the while thinking to themselves “I bet she’ll make a great lawyer one day.” They thought, like most of society, theatre was an unnecessary luxury; a pastime for the rich and powerful, for those who didn’t have to worry about putting food on the table, or clothes on their children’s backs. Certainly not

Nevertheless, during the 1860’s and before, “variety” shows were strictly for-men-only and were performed in boats, concert saloons (also known as honky-tonks and dive bars), tents, churches, and just about anywhere a troupe could set up a stage and proscenium (Gilbert 10-15). The Second Great Awakening, a time in America when fundamentalism was being played out on a political scale that would shape America’s future, made its mark on theatre (D. 46). An early theatre owner, actor, and promoter Tony Pastor is considered to have transitioned variety shows in the 1860’s from what were considered to be “dirty” shows to “clean” ones. Moreover, this also brought in both male and female patrons which essentially doubled the income (Stein 3). Whether

Although vaudeville seemed to be a long standing staple in our society, like all good things, it must come to an end. the decline and death of vaudeville appears certain, clear and inevitable. From the performers point of view, there was no perspective other than the "here and now" of their lives. Each day seemed to differ little from the previous, and speculation about the future was, as ever, informed by hear say and past experience. As an array of specialty acts, vaudeville was an enterprise without name that, over many years, could be found in the marketplaces of Asia and Europe. It eventually spread around the world to the farthest corners of Australia and Africa. Performers worked when and where they could, quite often in undesired locations. A certain cliché attached to performing in bed and breakfast's, saloons and public houses after their owners added stages and audience pits set apart from the tavern. It soon became quite taxing for performers to not only live the same shows everyday, but to move on and find other work after they were no longer needed in vaudeville shows. Still, this was not the only reason for the demise of vaudeville, although it played a large part. The largest contributing factor was the invention of the motion picture in the 1930's. There was no longer a need for people to be entertained by a comical, musical, circus style side show. Now they found a more intimate and fascinating way of enjoying a performance. The first

The 1920s is remembered as one of the most culturally significant decades of our culture, and our research project is focused on examining the reasons this decade was important for entertainment. Many new mediums of entertainment arose in the form of movies, radios, and sports. Nearly four billion dollars a year was spent on entertainment between 1919 and 1929. Movies became integrated into everyday American society, and radio became a popular platform for voices and music. Spectator sports also gained popularity. These breakthroughs in entertainment coincided with the social changes swept the nation, such as the rise of consumerism. These mediums grew to define the American culture of the 1920s.

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.

1920’s Broadway was booming! Due to the changes in song formatting, the modernization of plot line, and with a variety of dance style, The Jazz Age catapulted Broadway to a higher dimension than ever before. Like most hits, the Jazz Age fizzled out due to unforeseen circumstances. The Jazz Age ended with the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression. The country suffered, investments dropped, banks failed, and crashing companies caused massive unemployment rates. Along with the rest of the country, Broadway was negatively impacted by The Great Depression. However, despite the loss of jobs and struggling venues, the decade of the thirties proved to be an enlightening and rich experience for Broadway. Through research, we will open the curtain with the negative effects that The Great Depression had on Broadway during the 1930’s, then venture into the rising action where we will be begin to see the turning point, and finally end the show in the final act with the light at the end of the tunnel.

On reading Christopher B. Balme’s The theatrical public sphere, the concept of theatre’s role in the Public Sphere is explored. Balme traces the origins