Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Federal Theatre Project photograph collection, Collection #C0002, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University.

Acquisition Information

35 mm microfiche negatives were made from original Federal Theatre Project photographs in the early 1980's. Funding was provided via a federal grant.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections and Archives staff.

Historical Information

The Federal Theatre Project FTP was a division of the Works Progress Administration WPA which was established to provide work for unemployed citizens during the Great Depression 1929-1939. The FTP began in August 1935 and flourished as the first and only government sponsored and subsidized theater program in the United States. It was headed by Hallie Flanagan (1890-1969) and was a way for theatrical professionals to gain employment during the Depression. The repertoire of plays was vast including revivals of the classics and new and experimental works like the Living Newspaper. A photographic unit was set up to document the productions and ensure a graphic record of the FTP. The photographers who made up the unit worked in every major city and on each major production. Project photographers recorded not only the actual theater productions themselves they captured on film the reheasals the audience the behind the scenes work of the stage crew and the equipment used to produce FTP plays.

Scope and Content

35 mm Microfiche negatives containing images from FTP productions. Includes performance, rehearsal, set, costume, portrait, and other related photographs.

Arrangement

Organized by production title.

Related Material

Special Collections and Archives holds the Federal Theatre Project collection, which includes numerous personal and organizational records as well as oral histories.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Federal Theatre Project (U.S.)

Subjects:

• Theater--United States--History--20th century.

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Alternative Form Available

The costumes and set designs are also available as a series in the FTP digital collection.