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The Federal Theatre Project:
A Pathfinder
Summary
The Federal Theatre Projects was the largest and most ambitious effort of the United States
Government to produce theatre events in America. As an attempt to provide work for
unemployed actors and theatre professionals during the Great Depression, The Federal Theatre
Project was created under the Works Progress Administration. Under the leadership of Hallie
Flanagan, the Federal Theatre Project employed 12,700 theatre professionals across the nation.
Though popular with American theatergoers, by 1938 the Federal Theatre Project had
created serious controversy by 1938. Reports by the House Committee on Un-American
Activity stated that productions produced by the project were communistic and a detriment to the
security of the nation. By 1939 Congress voted against the further funding for the project.
Scope
This pathfinder was created to assist in the research of students at Indiana University in need of
primary and secondary documents pertaining to the Federal Theatre Project. Many of the
materials included in this pathfinder are government publications that inform the researcher of
the projects creation, accomplishments, and downfall. The materials in this pathfinder can be
found in the Indiana University Herman B Wells Library or online through subscription
databases and open access web pages.
Abbreviations
B-ALF – Auxiliary Library Facility is a storage facility for the Bloomington campus library.
Materials held here can be delivered to researches by request through IUCAT.
B-Wells – The Herman B Wells Library Located at Indiana University Bloomington. This is the
location of many of the materials referenced in this pathfinder.
LOC – The Library of Congress classification system.
SuDoc – Superintendant of Documents classification system.
WPA – Works Progress Administration
Major Databases
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These databases can be found on the Indiana University Libraries home page.
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/
IUCAT:
This is a catalog of holdings for all Indiana University Libraries.
Lexis-Nexis Congressional:
A subscription only database. This collection includes the full text of congressional publications, finding
aids, a bill tracking service, and the full text of public laws and other research materials to enable
researchers to complete many types of projects.
History and Life:
A subscription only database to secondary literature, this collection contains many journal articles
responding to the happenings of the Federal Theatre Project.
Search Terms:
Key Words
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“federal theatre project”
“project one”
“works projects administration”
“wpa”
“relief appropriations act”
Author
(Last name first in IUCAT database)
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works progress administration
federal theatre project
Flanagan, Hallie
Hopkins, Harry
The Federal Theatre Project is Created
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Roosevelt, Franklin. “Creating Machinery for the Works Progress Administration.”
Executive Order 7034 of May 6 1935, from
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15053; Accessed 08/02/09.
The Federal Theatre Project was funded under the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The
WPA was set into motion through this executive order by President Franklin Roosevelt. The
full-text can be found at the American Presidency Project created by the University of California
Santa Barbra.
“P.L. 74-PR11: Relief Appropriations Act of 1935.” (49 stat 115). Available from: LexisNexis Congressional; Accessed 08/02/09.
Once instituted by the President through Executive Order 7034, funds for the project were
appropriated under the Relief Appropriations Act of 1935. This law can be found full-text in
Lexis-Nexis using the keywords “relief appropriations act” (include quotes). Searching by public
law number or the statutes at large will not provide the law full-text.
Publications Describing Federal Theatre Accomplishments
Publications by the Federal Theatre
Administration, W. P. (1935) Federal Theatre. Vols. 1(1)-2(5). New York: Works Progress
Administration, Federal Theatre Project.
B-ALF
SuDoc number: Y3.W89/2:22
These publications were created for members of the Federal Theatre project. The Materials
include news on the different productions produced across the country as well as statistical data
on audience attendance and employment. Also included in each publication are maps describing
the organization of the project’s different touring circuits.
Administration, U. S. W. P. (1937). Jobs: the W P A way. Washington: Works Progress
Administration.
B-ALF
SuDoc Number: Y3.W89/2:2
This pamphlet created by the Works Progress Administration describes to citizens the benefits of
working for the administration. Detailed information on benefits and wages are included. This
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publication does not specify wages for the members of the Federal Theatre Project, but rather
speaks of the WPA as a whole.
Federal Theatre Project (U.S.), Arent, A., Sundgaard, A., & Rohan, P. d. (1938). Federal
theatre plays. New York: Random House.
B-Wells (reserve desk only)
LC Call Number: PS634 .F2 1973
This collection of three popular plays produced by the Federal Theatre Project was originally
published by the WPA in 1938. The collection was later published by Random House in 1973.
The plays included are: Prologue to Glory, One-Third of a Nation, and Haiti.
United States. (1936). Report on the works program, Works progress administration.
Washington, D.C.: U.S G.P.O.
B-ALF
LC Call Number: HD3881 .A3 1936
The first report developed by the WPA. This publication includes tables, graphs and maps
depicting the impact of the Federal Theatre Project since its inception in 1935.
United States. (1938). Report on progress of the WPA program. Washington, D.C: U.S
G.P.O.
This yearly report began publication in 1938 shortly before the Federal Theatre Project ended.
The report was published annually until the end of the WPA in 1943. The 1938 report is the only
report of this kind to give mention to the Federal Theatre Project. This publication includes
statistical data and narrative describing accomplishments of the project for the years proceeding
1938.
B-ALF
SuDoc Number: FW 4.1:1935-1938
Major Hearings
Hopkins, H. L. (1936). Activities of the Works Progress Administration: Summary of
testimony by Works Progress Administrator Harry L. Hopkins before the subcommittee of the
House Committee on Appropriations in charge of deficiency appropriations, Wednesday, April
8, 1936. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. Available from Lexis-Nexis Congressional; Accessed
08/01/09
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Appropriations for the WPA were determined bi-annually. In this hearing, the head of the WPA
Harry Hopkins makes his case for further funding.
United States. (1936). First Deficiency Appropriation Bill for 1936. Hearings before the
United States House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Deficiency
Appropriations, Seventy-Fourth Congress, second session, on Apr. 8-10, 13, 14, 1936. Part 2.
Emergency Relief - Works Progress Administration. Financial Status of Funds Provided for
Recovery and Relief. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. Available from: Lexis-Nexis Congressional;
Accessed 08/02/09
Further hearings on the allocation of funds by the Subcommittee on Deficiency Appropriations.
These are the final hearings before the additional funding came through to continue the Federal
Theatre Project until 1939.
United States. (1939). Work Relief Appropriations Act of 1939. Hearings before the United
States House Committee on Appropriations, Seventy Sixth Congress, first session, on H.J. Res.
326 A joint resolution making appropriations for work relief and to increase employment by
providing loans and grants for public works projects, for the fiscal year ending in June 30,
1940. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. Available from: Lexis-Nexis Congressional; Accessed
08/02/09
This hearing took place immediately before the end of the Federal Theatre Project was decided.
On page 56 director of the project, Hallie Flanagan, requests more funding for the project. She
explains, in detail, the accomplishments of the project and gives examples of the projects needs.
The Fall of the Federal Theatre
United States. (1939). Investigation and Study of the Works Progress Administration.
Hearings before the United States House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee Acting
Under H. Res. 130, Seventy-Sixth Congress, first session, on Apr. 11, 17, 18, May 1, 2, 8-11,
15, 16, 18-20, 22, June 5-8, 13, 1939. Part 1. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
B-ALF
SuDoc Number: Y 4.AP 6/1: W 89/PT.1
SuDoc Number: Y 4.AP 6/1: W 89/PT.2
This hearing investigates the costs, successes and failures of each project in the WPA. The
analysis of the Federal Theatre Project Begins on page 865. This document provides intricate
explanation of the spending and cost effectiveness of the project
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United States. (1938). Investigation of un-American propaganda activities in the United
States. Special Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Seventyseventh Congress, second session on H. Res. 282, to investigate (1) the extent, character, and
objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States, (2) the diffusion within the
United States of subversive and un-American propaganda that is instigated from foreign
countries or of a domestic origin and attacks the principle of the form of Government as
guaranteed by our Constitution, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid
Congress in any necessary remedial legislation. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
B-ALF
SuDoc Number: Y 4.Un 1/2: Un 1/v.1
The investigation of the suspected communist activity within the Federal Theatre Project is
located in the first volume of this seventeen volume set. It was due to this investigation that
Congress voted against further funding of the Federal Theatre Project. The investigation can be
found in part one of this volume.
United States. (1939). U.S. Federal Theatre Project Investigations. Congressional Record,
84(8), Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
B-WELLS
AE 2.110:108-84
In this portion of the Congressional Record one can view the debates in Congress regarding the
controversial issues surrounding the Federal Theatre Project. The debates begin on page 9396.
Flanagan, H. (1939). What was federal theatre? [Washington: American] Council on Public
Affairs.
B-Wells
LC call number: PN 2266 .F53
This book was authored by the head of the Federal Theatre Project, Hallie Flanagan, after the
project was terminated in 1939. The book contains a timeline of the project’s accomplishments,
a narrative in defense of the project’s controversial production history. Specific quotes from
famous actors, writers, and political figures refuting the allegations of un-American activity in
the Federal Theatre can be found in the last three pages.
Relevant Secondary Literature
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Brown, L. (1989). Liberty deferred and other living newspapers of the 1930s Federal Theatre
Project. Fairfax, Va: George Mason University Press.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: PN3306 .L5 1989
George Mason University holds the largest collection of archived material from the Federal
Theatre Project. This book displays the collection’s holdings on the living newspaper style of
theatre that was made famous by the Federal Theatre Project.
Buttitta, T., & Witham, B. (1982). Uncle Sam presents: A memoir of the Federal Theatre, 1935-1939.
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: PN2270.F43 B8 1982
Ernest, J. (2005). The Federal Theatre Project: A Case Study. American Literature, 77(2),
409-411. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from America: History & Life database; Accessed
08/01/09
In this case study, the author describes the effects of the Federal Theatre Project on the economy
during the Great Depression. This article also describes the major successes of the project in
great detail.
George Mason University. (1975). Federal one. Fairfax, Va: Research Center for the
Federal Theatre Project, George Mason University.
B-Wells
LC Call Numbers:
PN2044.U6 R47 v.10-13 1985-1988
PN2044.U6 R47 v.14 1989
PN2044.U6 R47 v.15-19 1990-1994
This book takes the name of the project’s original title “Federal One”. Each book describes
materials held by the collection as well as finding aids to their archives. In addition to the
descriptions, these books include some narrative about the theatre project and its timeline.
K azacoff, G. (1989). Dangerous theatre: The Federal Theatre Project as a forum for new plays. New
York: P. Lang.
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B-Wells
LC Call Number: PN2270.F43 K39 1989
Melosh, B. (1991). Engendering culture: Manhood and womanhood in New Deal public art and
theater. New directions in American art. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: NX504 .M44 1991
Library of Congress. (1987). The Federal Theatre Project Collection: A register of the
Library of Congress collection of U.S. Work Projects Administration records on deposit at
George Mason University. Washington: Library of Congress.
B-WELLS
LC Call Number: PN 2270 .F43 L52 1987
This book primarily contains the images of productions produced by the Federal Theatre Project
and includes some background regarding the success or failure of each production.
Library of Congress, & Federal Theatre Project (U.S.). (1999). The New Deal stage
Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939. [Washington, D.C.]: Library of
Congress. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/; Accessed 08/01/09
This website provides the most thorough timeline of the Federal Theatre project online. It also
includes several primary source digitized by the Library of Congress. However, the digital
document on this site can be difficult to read and all are available in the Herman B Wells
Library.
O'Connor, J., & Brown, L. (1978). Free, adult, uncensored: The living history of the Federal Theatre
Project. Washington: New Republic Books.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: PN2266.F66
Quinn, S. (2008). Furious improvisation: How the WPA and a cast of thousands made high art out of
desperate times. New York: Walker.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: PN2270.F43 Q56 2008
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Witham, B. (2003). The Federal Theatre Project: A case study. Cambridge studies in American theatre
and drama, 20. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
B-Wells
LC Call Number PN2270.F43 W58 2003
Major Plays by the Federal Theatre Project
Blitzstein, M. (1938). The cradle will rock. New York: Random House.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: PS3503.L7 C8
Federal Theatre Project (U.S.), Arent, A., Sundgaard, A., & Rohan, P. d. (1938). Federal theatre plays. 1.
Triple-A plowed under. New York: Random House.
B-Wells
LC Call Number: PS634 .F2
Kozlenko, W. (1939). The best short plays of the social theatre. New York: Random house.
B-Wells
PR1272 .K8
Swortzell, L. (1986). Six plays for young people from the Federal Theatre Project (1936-1939): An
introductory analysis and six representative plays. New York: Greenwood Press.
B-Wells PS634 .S573 1986
Welles, O., Pepper, J., & Rosenbaum, J. (1994). The cradle will rock: An original screenplay. Santa
Barbara, CA: Santa Teresa Press.
B-Wells PN 1997 .W4454 1994