Theatre in Context: Analysis & Research (140-2-20)

Topic

Federal Theatre Project Then & Now

Instructors

Caroline Drane Shadle

Meeting Info

Wirtz 240 Seminar Room 2: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

As the Covid-19 pandemic has threatened and impacted live performance and theatre practitioners' often already precarious livelihoods, arts workers and leaders across the country have called for a New Federal Theatre Project. What would a New Federal Theatre Project look like? And what was the original 1930s Federal Theatre Project? In this course, we will study the history of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), a 1935-1939 program of the New Deal Works Progress Administration that radically treated and employed theatre artists as workers. We will think about the historical, social, political, and economic contexts in which FTP productions were staged and received, and explore various federal, regional, and local ideas about what FTP productions should express. Throughout, we will analyze FTP theatre and dance works, including Living Newspaper productions, The Swing Mikado, and Katherine Dunham's L'Ag'Ya. Ultimately, we'll consider, from our exploration of the original FTP, what it could mean to develop a new 21st-century FTP. Over the course of the quarter, students will develop a university-level research paper that incorporates performance analysis and secondary sources.

Registration Requirements

First year theatre majors only

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for Theatre Majors only.