The Federal Theatre Project
A Case Study

This 2003 book provides a detailed examination of the operations of the US Federal Theatre Project in the decade of the 1930s.

Barry B. Witham (Author)

9780521100120, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 January 2009

212 pages, 11 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.2 cm, 0.31 kg

Review of the hardback: '… inspiring study … Whitham's passionate archaeology uncovers a breathless political ambition that American theatre still struggles to emulate.' Plays International

Drawing upon archival resources, official correspondence and personal interviews, this 2003 book provides a detailed examination of the operations of the US Federal Theatre Project in the decade of the 1930s. From the colourful bus tours through the Civilian Conservation Corps camps to the turbulent productions of the Living Newspapers, this book recreates the often chaotic but frequently exhilarating story of Uncle Sam as producer. Special attention is given to the controversial Negro unit, the prize-winning production of See How They Run and the mass spectacles that attempted to incorporate Hallie Flanagan's vision of a truly national project rooted in local culture. The Federal Theatre Project: A Case Study illuminates both the ambitions of the programme and the day-to-day details of making art from a new mode - a subsidised national theatre.

Acknowledgement
List of illustrations
Introduction
1. A showboat for the people
2. Glenn's plan
3. Hoofers, mystics and a singing bird
4. Typists and models
5. A Negro theatre
6. Power and control
7. Dunbar and the children
8. Slums and syphilis
9. See How They Run
10. Flotilla of Faith
Conclusion
Appendix A. Production calendar
Appendix B. Glossary of names
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: History of the Americas [HBJK], Theatre studies [AN]