| Between 1935 and 1939, the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) flourished as the first and only government-sponsored and subsidized theater program in our nation’s history. Headed by Hallie Flanagan, the FTP was created to provide meaningful employment for theatrical professionals who, as Flanagan wrote, “could no longer live in America except on charity.” In a mere four years, 150 FTP groups in 22 states employed 1,200 people and staged more than 2,700 productions viewed by audiences totaling over 25 million. Even a partial roll call of the talents nurtured by the FTP—Joseph Cotten, Jules Dassin, John Huston, Burt Lancaster, Joseph Losey, Sidney Lumet, Arthur Miller, |
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Nicholas Ray, Virgil Thomson—speaks eloquently of its lasting contribution.
Beyond its successful ventures in such urban theatrical centers as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston, the FTP brought performances to communities throughout the country that had never witnessed live theatrical presentations. Its repertoire was as varied as its audience—from revivals of dramatic classics (Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and Shaw’s Androcles and the Lion), to experimental new works such as the Living Newspaper.
© 2008 THE WHEATLEY PRESS |
