Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939: Engagement and Experimentation

The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was a significant theatrical phenomenon that bridged the gap between American modernism and its European counterparts. This book offers the first comparative study of the FTP's history, performances, and politics, drawing on unpublished plays, archival material, and theoretical analysis. It highlights the FTP's contributions to American modernism and its European counterparts, including Hallie Flanagan's role as a bridge between the two.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2020
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was a significant cultural phenomenon that occurred in the United States during the 1930s. It was a government-funded program that aimed to provide employment and artistic opportunities to artists and performers during the Great Depression. The FTP was led by Hallie Flanagan, a prominent figure in the American theater, and it had a profound impact on the development of American modernism and its European counterparts. This book offers the first comparative study of the history, performances, and politics of the FTP in a book form. It contributes significantly to the study of Hallie Flanagan as the bridge between the FTP and the European avant-garde, and it will also contribute to the study of Flanagan's own plays. The book draws and exposes further links between American modernism and its European counterparts, particularly the work of Meyerhold, Brecht, and the European avant-garde. It concentrates predominantly on the New York division and its following units: the Living Newspaper, the Negro unit, the Children's unit, and the Dance unit. Exploring a range of performances, it suggests that the FTP is responsible for an array of theatrical and dramatic experimentations but that it is also indebted to and carries on from the tradition of the European avant-garde and the contemporary modernist theatrical explorations. The book offers both a historical survey and theoretical analysis based on performance theories. It is engaging and informative, and it presents a comparative study of the history, performances, and politics of the FTP that will be of interest to scholars and students of theater and cultural history.

Weight: 532g
Dimension: 162 x 240 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474445450