User:Chrismccreary/sandbox

????all my work from Sandbox I transferred was not saved here? Same for my additional reference added to original article? When I tried to publish full page it said there was an error, so i had to publish section incrementally. final version didn't include my update additional reference

the article itself is preserved, but all the work I did in my Sandbox is gone.

I copied and edited all my copy here then transferred to official page to publish, and all "scratchwork" is gone?

Federal Theatre, 1935-1939: Plays, Relief, and Politics. Princeton University Press, 2015.

Dewberry, Jonathan. “Black Actors Unite: The Negro Actors' Guild.” The Black Scholar, vol. 21, no. 2, 1990, pp. 2–11., doi:10.1080/00064246.1990.11412962.

Goldstein, Malcolm. The Political Stage: American Drama and Theater of the Great Depression. Oxford University Press, 1974.

Jefferson, Miles M. “The Negro on Broadway, 1947-1948.” Phylon (1940-1956), vol. 9, no. 2, 1948, p. 99., doi:10.2307/272176.

Norflett, Linda Kerr. “Rosetta LeNoire: The Lady and Her Theatre.” Black American Literature Forum, vol. 17, no. 2, 1983, p. 69., doi:10.2307/2904582.

Pool, Rosey E. “The Negro Actor in Europe.” Phylon (1940-1956), vol. 14, no. 3, 1 Sept. 1953, pp. 258–267. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/271466?refreqid=search-gateway:0a4e4b9a53d893b23f2ee26ce846367f.

Roses, Lorraine Elena. Black Bostonians and the Politics of Culture, 1920-1940. University of Massachusetts Press, 2017.

Ross, Ronald. “The Role of Blacks in the Federal Theatre, 1935-1939.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 59, no. 1, 1974, pp. 38–50., doi:10.2307/2717139.

Shandell, Jonathan. The American Negro Theatre and the Long Civil Rights Era. University of Iowa Press, 2018.

Sheridan, F., and L. Leslie. “A User's Guide to the Federal Theater Project.” OAH Magazine of History, vol. 11, no. 2, 1997, pp. 50–52., doi:10.1093/maghis/11.2.50.

= Federal Theatre Project = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to searchHallie Flanagan, national director of the Federal Theatre Project, on CBS Radio for the Federal Theatre of the Air (1936)

The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–39) was a theatre program established during the the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. Sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects created not only as a cultural activity but as a relief measure to employ artists, writers, directors, and theater workers. It was shaped by national director Hallie Flanagan into a federation of regional theaters that created relevant art, encouraged experimentation in new forms and techniques, and made it possible for millions of Americans to see live theatre for the first time. [1] Although The Federal Theatre project consumed only one half of 1% of the allocated budget from the WPA and was widely considered a commercial and critical success, the project became a source of heated political contention.[2] The House Un-American Activities Committee, directed by Martin Dies Jr. a Conservative Democrat from Texas, claimed the content of the FTP's productions were supporting racial integration between black and white Americans while also perpetuating an anti-capitalist communist agenda and cancelled funding for the project on June 30th, 1939.

We let out these works on the vote of the people.

—  Part of the Works Progress Administration, the Federal Theatre Project was a New Deal program established August 27, 1935,[1]:29 funded under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. Of the $4.88 billion allocated to the WPA,[2] $27 million was approved for the employment of artists, musicians, writers and actors under the WPA's Federal Project Number One.[1]:44

Government relief efforts through the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and Civil Works Administration in the two preceding years were amateur experiments regarded as charity, not a theatre program. The Federal Theatre Project was a new approach to unemployment in the theatre profession. Only those certified as employable could be offered work, and that work was to be within the individual's defined skills and trades.[1]:15–16

"For the first time in the relief experiments of this country the preservation of the skill of the worker, and hence the preservation of his self-respect, became important," wrote Hallie Flanagan, director of the Federal Theatre Project.[1]:17 A theater professor at Vassar College who had studied the operation of government-sponsored theatre abroad for the Guggenheim Foundation,[1]:9 Flanagan was chosen to head the Federal Theatre Project by WPA head Harry Hopkins,[1]:20 a former classmate at Grinnell College.[1]:7 Roosevelt and Hopkins selected her despite considerable pressure to choose someone from the commercial theatre; they believed the project should be led by someone with academic credentials and a national perspective.[3]:39

Flanagan was given the daunting task of building a nationwide theater program to employ thousands of unemployed artists in as little time as possible. The problems of the theatre preceded the financial collapse of 1929. By that time it was already threatened with extinction due to the growing popularity of films and radio, but the commercial theatre was reluctant to adapt its practices.[3]:38 Many actors, technicians and stagehands had suffered since 1914, when movies began to replace stock, vaudeville and other live stage performances nationwide. Sound motion pictures displaced 30,000 musicians. In the Great Depression, people who had no money for entertainment found an entire evening of entertainment at the movies for 25 cents, while commercial theatre charged $1.10 to $2.20 admission to cover the cost of theater rental, advertising and fees to performers and union technicians. Unemployed directors, actors, designers, musicians and stagecrew took any kind of work they were able to find, whatever it paid, and charity was often their only recourse.[1]:13–14

"This is a tough job we're asking you to do," Hopkins told Flanagan at their first meeting in May 1935. "I don't know why I still hang on to the idea that unemployed actors get just as hungry as anybody else."[1]:7–9

Hopkins promised "a free, adult, uncensored theatre"[1]:28 — something Flanagan spent the next four years trying to build.[1]:29 She emphasized the development of local and regional theatre, "to lay the foundation for the development of a truly creative theatre in the United States with outstanding producing centers in each of those regions which have common interests as a result of geography, language origins, history, tradition, custom, occupations of the people."[1]:22–23

On October 24, 1935, Flanagan prefaced her instructions on the Federal Theatre's operation with a statement of purpose:"The primary aim of the Federal Theatre Project is the reemployment of theatre workers now on public relief rolls: actors, directors, playwrights, designers, vaudeville artists, stage technicians, and other workers in the theatre field. The far reaching purpose is the establishment of theatres so vital to community life that they will continue to function after the program of this Federal Project is completed.[5]"Within a year the Federal Theatre Project employed 15,000 men and women,[5]:174 paying them $23.86 a week.[6] During its nearly four years of existence it played to 30 million people in more than 200 theaters nationwide[5]:174 — renting parks, schools, churches, clubs, factories, hospitals and closed-off streets.[3]:40 Its productions totalled approximately 1,200, not including its radio programs.[1]:432

The Federal Theatre Project established five regional centers in New York, New York, Boston (Northeast), Chicago (Midwest), Los Angeles (West), and New Orleans (South).[7]

Many of the notable artists of the time participated in the Federal Theatre Project, including Susan Glaspell who served as Midwest bureau director.[1]:266 The legacy of the Federal Theatre Project can also be found in beginning the careers of a new generation of theater artists. Arthur Miller, Orson Welles, John Houseman, Martin Ritt, Elia Kazan, Joseph Losey, Marc Blitzstein and Abe Feder are among those who became established, in part, through their work in the Federal Theatre. Blitzstein, Houseman, Welles and Feder collaborated on the controversial production, The Cradle Will Rock.

The Federal Theatre Project was the most costly of the Federal One projects at $46 million, consuming 29.1 percent of Federal One's budget, which was itself less than three-fourths of one percent of the total WPA budget. [3]:40 Because the Federal Theatre was created to employ and train people, not to generate revenue, no provision was made for the receipt of money when the project began. At its conclusion, 65 percent of its productions were still presented free of charge.[1]:434

"In any consideration of the cost of the Federal Theatre," Flanagan wrote, "it should be borne in mind that the funds were allotted, according to the terms of the Relief Act of 1935, to pay wages to unemployed people. Therefore, when Federal Theatre was criticized for spending money, it was criticized for doing what it was set up to do."[1]:34–35

The FTP did not operate in every state, since many lacked a sufficient number of unemployed people in the theatre profession.[1]:434 The project in Alabama was closed in January 1937 when its personnel were transferred to a new unit in Georgia. Only one event was presented in Arkansas. Units created in Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin were closed in 1936; projects in Indiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Texas were discontinued in 1937; and the Iowa project was closed in 1938.[1]:434–43 On June 30, 1939, the Federal Theatre Project ended when its funding was canceled, largely due to strong Congressional objections to the overtly left-wing political tones of less than 10 percent of the Federal Theatre Project productions.[1]:361–363

Living Newspaper[edit]
Main article: Living Newspaper

Living Newspapers were plays written by teams of researchers-turned-playwrights. These men and women clipped articles from newspapers about current events, often hot button issues like farm policy, syphilis testing, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and housing inequity. These newspaper clippings were adapted into plays intended to inform audiences, often with progressive or left-wing themes. Triple-A Plowed Under, for instance, attacked the U.S. Supreme Court for killing an aid agency for farmers. These politically themed plays quickly drew criticism from members of Congress.

Although the undisguised political invective in the Living Newspapers sparked controversy, they also proved popular with audiences. As an art form, the Living Newspaper is perhaps the Federal Theatre's most well-known work.

Problems with the Federal Theatre Project and Congress intensified when the State Department objected to the first Living Newspaper, Ethiopia, about Haile Selassie and his nation's struggles against Benito Mussolini's invading Italian forces. The U.S. government soon mandated that the Federal Theatre Project, a government agency, could not depict foreign heads of state on the stage for fear of diplomatic backlash. Playwright and director Elmer Rice, head of the New York office of the FTP, resigned in protest and was succeeded by his assistant, Philip W. Barber.

New productions[edit]
Numbers following the city of origin indicate the number of additional cities where the play was presented.

The Negro Theatre Unit was part of the Federal Theatre Project and had units that were set up in cities throughout the United States. Capitalizing on the FTP's national network and inherent diversity of artists, the Federal Theater established specific chapters dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the work of previously under represented artists. Including the French Theater in Los Angeles, the German Theater in New York City, and the Negro Theatre Unit which had several chapters across the country, with its largest office in New York City. [6] The NTU had additional offices in Hartford, Boston, Salem, Newark, and Philadelphia in the East; Seattle Portland, and Los Angeles in the West; Cleveland, Detroit, Peoria, and Chicago in the Midwest; and Raleigh, Atlanta, Birmingham, and New Orleans in the South; There were additional units in San Francisco Oklahoma, Durham, Camden, and Buffalo. By the project's conclusion 22 American cities had served as headquarters for black theater units [7]

The New York office of the NTU was the most well known, with two of the four federal theaters in New York City dedicated to the Harlem Community Lafayette Theatre and the Negro Youth Theater with the intention of overseeing the artistic development of unknown theatre artists. [6] Both theatre projects were headquartered at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, where some 30 plays were presented. The first was Frank H. Wilson's folk drama, Walk Together Chillun (1936), about the deportation of 100 African-Americans from the South to the North to work for low wages. The second was Conjur' Man Dies (1936), a comedy-mystery adapted by Arna Bontemps and Countee Cullen from Rudolph Fisher's novel. The most popular production was the third, which came to be called the Voodoo Macbeth (1936), director Orson Welles's adaptation of Shakespeare's play set on a mythical island suggesting the Haitian court of King Henri Christophe.[8]:179–180 The New York chapter of the NTU also oversaw projects from the African American Dance Unit featuring Nigerian artists displaced by the Ethiopian Crisis. These New York federal theater projects employed over 1,000 black actors and directors. [6]

One of the striking differences of The Federal Theater Project from the other WPA projects was its focus on racial injustice. Director Flanagan expressly ordered her subordinate to follow the WPA policy against racial prejudice. In fact when it came to making decisions on a national level for the project is was mandated that "there may be racial representation in all national planning". [6] A specific example of the FTP's adherence to an anti-prejudicial environment came when a white project manager in Dallas was fired for attempted to segregate black and white theater technicians on a railroad car. Additionally, the white assistant director of the project was pulled because "he was unable to work amicably" with the black artists.[6]

The FTP overtly sought out relationships with the African American community including Carter Woodson of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, as well as Walter White of the NAACP. One of the existing stipulations from the Works Progress Administration for employment in the FTP was prior professional theater experience. However when encountered with 40 young jobless black playwrights national director Hallie Flanagan waived the WPA requirement in the interest of providing a platform and training ground for new young playwrights. During a national conference Director Flanagan purported a proposal that the leadership of the Harlem chapter of the FTP be led by an African American artist. Rose McLendon, an established actor at the time, publicly argued against this proposal and instead suggested that initially an established white theater artist take the mantle with the understanding and intention of satisfying the WPA's prior professional theater experience clause and giving way to black artists to lead the chapter.[8] This argument from McLendon, received support from Edna Thomas, Harry Edwards, Carlton Moss, Abraham Hale Jr. Augusta Smith, Dick Campbell. [8]

This crusade for equality eventually became a sticking point for the Dies Committee pulling funding for the Federal Theater Project citing "racial equality forms a vital part of the Communist dictatorship and practices". [6] Despite the plans laid out for the transference of representative leadership the project's funding was pulled in 1939.

In May of 1938, Martin Dies Jr., director of The House Committee on Un-American Activities specifically targeted the WPA's Federal Theatre Project. Assailing Director Flanagan's professional character and political affiliations the committee heard testimony from former Federal Theater Project members who were unhappy with their tenure with the project. Flanagan pushed back claiming that the FTP was in fact pro-American in so far as the work celebrated the constitutional freedoms of speech and expression to address the relevant and pressing concerns of its citizens.

Citing the Federal Theatre's call for racial equality, impending war, and further perpetuating the rumor that the FTP was a front for radical and communist activities federal funding was abruptly pulled on June 30th, 1939 immediately putting 8,000 people out of work across the country. Despite the claims of subversive and anti-American sentiment, in the eyes of Congress it was the American theatre-goer that led to the demise of the FTP. Although the overall financial impact of the FTP was minuscule in the grand scheme of the WPA's budget, congress determined that the average American didn't consider theater as a viable recipient of their tax dollars. Following the decision, Flanagan's stepdaughter, Joanne Bentley quoted an unnamed congressmen speaking about the necessity of theatre and the arts for the American people saying "Culture! What the Hell - Let 'em have a pick and shovel!". [11]

A total of 81 of the Federal Theatre Project's 830 major titles were criticized by members of Congress for their content in public statements, committee hearings, on the floor of the Senate or House, or in testimony before Congressional committees. Only 29 were original productions of the Federal Theatre Project. The others included 32 revivals or stock productions; seven plays that were initiated by community groups; five that were never produced by the project; two works of Americana; two classics; one children's play; one Italian translation; and one Yiddish play.[4]:432–433

The Living Newspapers that drew criticism were Injunction Granted, a history of American labor relations; One-Third of a Nation, about housing conditions in New York; Power,[4]:433 about energy from the consumer's point of view;[4]:184–185 and Triple A Plowed Under, on farming problems in America.[4]:433 Another that was criticized, on the history of medicine, was not completed.[4]:434

Dramas criticized by Congress were American Holiday, about a small-town murder trial; Around the Corner, a Depression-era comedy; Chalk Dust, about an urban high school; Class of '29, the Depression years as seen through young college graduates; Created Equal, a review of American life since colonial times; It Can't Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis's parable of democracy and dictatorship; No More Peace, Ernst Toller's satire on dictatorships; Professor Mamlock, about Nazi persecution of Jews; Prologue to Glory, about the early life of Abraham Lincoln; The Sun and I, about Joseph in Egypt; and Woman of Destiny, about a female President who works for peace.[4]:433

Negro Theatre Unit productions that drew criticism were The Case of Philip Lawrence, a portrait of life in Harlem; Did Adam Sin?, a review of black folklore with music; and Haiti, a play about Toussaint Louverture.[4]:433

Also criticized for their content were the dance dramas Candide, from Voltaire; How Long Brethren, featuring songs by future Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Lawrence Gellert; and Trojan Incident, a translation of Euripides with a prologue from Homer.[4]:433

Help Yourself, a satire on high-pressure business tactics, was among the comedies criticized by Congress. Others were Machine Age, about mass production; On the Rocks by George Bernard Shaw; and The Tailor Becomes a Storekeeper.[4]:433

Children's plays singled out were Mother Goose Goes to Town, and Revolt of the Beavers, which the New York American called a "pleasing fantasy for children".[4]:433

The musical Sing for Your Supper also met with Congressional criticism, although its patriotic finale, "Ballad for Americans", was chosen as the theme song of the 1940 Republican National Convention.[4]:433

Feedback on preliminary bibliography
Chrismccreary, this is a solid start on your research. I'm pleased to see both books and articles on your list. The only thing I caution you against is relying too much on the sources you've found from the 1940s, 1950s, etc. The language in these articles, due to their age, will probably be out of date, and also their ideas and perspectives will be dated. Unless there is something in those articles that you're critiquing, or offering as an example of how (say) people during the historical moment reacted to your subject, you should stick to the recent scholarship (of which there is plenty). In terms of MLA style, you've got a good grasp of it. But note that book titles, journal titles, and database names (such as JSTOR) should be italicized. In addition, frequently used words like "university" and "press" are abbreviated, e.g. U of Massachusetts P, Oxford UP. Also, please review the details about citing electronic sources: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_electronic_sources.html You'll see that MLA recommends including an access date in citations of articles you extracted from databases or consulted online, and inclusive page numbers are formatted as: 258-67 rather than: 258-267. I look forward to seeing your work on this project unfold this semester. Happy writing! Amy E Hughes (talk) 14:31, 27 February 2019 (UTC)