The Roaring Twenties: The Federal Theater Project

The Roaring Twenties of America, which was from 1920-1929, saw a great social and economic prosperity. People were happy, and were celebrating the victory of World War 1. The gasoline price was lowered, right to vote for women was granted, and America was climbing towards a great success. In 1929, Herbert Hoover became the president of the United States of America, and he said, “ Given a chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation”(Roark, Pg. 703). After few months of his inauguration, his words contradicted, the Roaring Twenties halted. During the Roaring Twenties, the stock market prices increased steeply. The rapid

Throughout the late 1920's an important theatrical movement developed: The Workers' Theatre Movement. In the end, it diminished around the middle of the 1930's, and one of the developments aiding the decline of the Workers' Theatre Movement, was the creation of the Federal Theatre Project. The Federal Theatre Project was the largest and most motivated effort mounted by the Federal Government to organize and produce theater events. Once the government took on the duty of putting people to work, it was able to consider the movement. The Federal Theatre Project’s purpose was “to provide relief work for theatrical artists that utilized their talents and to

Compare and contrast the American musical theatre in the 1920s with that of the 1930s. How did each reflect and absorb its era? What forms & styles were dominant, what was the same, what was different and why? Do we see elements from these decades in shows today? Use examples from specific musicals.

Many years and musicals later, as a junior heavily involved with the musical program, my director came to me with an exciting proposition. She’d heard of a program that was being utilized all throughout the world: the International Thespian Society. As the class representative of the musical, she proposed to me that we look into the possibility of our school creating an official chapter of the organization.This program, which would allow students to win awards for hours put into the theatre arts, push themselves to obtain higher rankings on the thespian scale, travel to theatre competitions, and meet students just like themselves at sponsored conventions, was the perfect way for myself and many other students at my school to pursue their love for theatre year round. Being part of this prestigious program would help the musical program to expand by grabbing the attention of students schoolwide with the countless opportunities it offers. The strength of the International Thespian Society would provide a strong base of support for the future of our school’s musical program in a society that continues to cut funding to arts programs of schools

For American farmers, the Great Depression began not with the stock market crash in 1929 but with the collapse of agricultural prices in 1920. Thus the entire decade of the 1920s was a time of poverty and crushing indebtedness, leading to ever-rising foreclosures of family farms. More than 90% of American farms lacked electricity, and the proportion of farms with access to a telephone actually decreased over the course of the decade. Furthermore, rural Americans overwhelmingly native-born, white Protestants found the modern, sexualized, multi-ethnic culture of the cities deeply offensive to their traditional beliefs. Their antagonism toward the perceived cultural excesses of the "Roaring Twenties" fueled a political backlash that allowed a

The 1930’s began with depression, and ended with the war. Surprisingly, despite a difficult economic situation in the United States, the one industry that remained quite stable was fashion. One of the factors of such state was the impact of Hollywood-style luxury. The thirties are known as Hollywood’s Golden Age, with screen idols becoming role models for the masses. There were also Hollywood costume designers that played a crucial role in dictating fashion trends (gingham dress, a cotton fabric dress featuring a checked or striped pattern). Fashion trends that featured in the movies were quickly copied by retailers. Women, who found a dress or a gown in a movie appealing, were able to purchase a lower priced version of it in a nearby department

A ten year gap can really impact a society. This is evident in the times of the 1920s through the 1930s. These decades are very different from one another. This paper compares and contrasts the traits of these times in the world of pop culture. Pop culture is an accurate way to observe the past because it shows everything that was mainstream and a staple of the time.

The Federal Art Project was part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression in 1929 through 1943. One of the great programs of the FAP was established by nearly 100 community art centers that provided art classes for children and new artists. Having made previous attempts such as ‘Public Works of Art Project’ which lasted from 1933-1934, Roosevelt was inspired to create the Works Progress Administration. During the mid 1930s, the US had still been at the center of the Great Depression, with an effort to give people economic relief, Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration, which was created under Federal Project One. The Federal Art Project was designed to enhance the incomes of artists’ and fund patriotic art projects to try and rally disheartened Americans.

America in the 1920’s was called the new era. It is called a new era because it became a turning point in American society, and marked a separation from the 19th century and the 20th century. We soon begin to develop our own social norms, music, and culture as we evolve into a modern nation. The 1920s was also a time of significant economic, political, and social change.

1920’s Broadway was booming! Due to the changes in song formatting, the modernization of plot line, and with a variety of dance style, The Jazz Age catapulted Broadway to a higher dimension than ever before. Like most hits, the Jazz Age fizzled out due to unforeseen circumstances. The Jazz Age ended with the 1929 stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression. The country suffered, investments dropped, banks failed, and crashing companies caused massive unemployment rates. Along with the rest of the country, Broadway was negatively impacted by The Great Depression. However, despite the loss of jobs and struggling venues, the decade of the thirties proved to be an enlightening and rich experience for Broadway. Through research, we will open the curtain with the negative effects that The Great Depression had on Broadway during the 1930’s, then venture into the rising action where we will be begin to see the turning point, and finally end the show in the final act with the light at the end of the tunnel.

The early 1930s was home to one of the most devastating times in American history. Many Americans were unemployed, making little money, and struggled getting by everyday. One thing that brought people together were the theatrical arts. The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) helped to bring jobs and entertainment to people during the Great Depression. The FTP did many things to bring theatrical works across the country, but the short span of four years questions its effectiveness.

The Roaring Twenties were a time of new behaviors, attitudes, and freedoms which were all presented during the Prohibition. The Roaring Twenties were an era of social, political, and dramatic change. During this age, freedoms were expanded yet, in some cases, they were diminished. Prohibition was an enormous part of this era. Prohibition was ratified as the 18th Amendment in 1919, banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The three main contributions from Prohibition were: bootlegging, organized crime, and the failure of Prohibition. Prohibition very much contributed to the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties in a detrimental way to society by creating a period of time in which even the average citizen broke the law.

There is a controversial debate about the 1920s, whether it was “roaring” or whether is was destitute. In the perspective of some historians, the 1920s brought a rapid increase in urbanization and boom in the economy, however, these historians fail to see the evident terrors that the 1920s brought. The positive uproar on the 1920s did not stand a chance against the rising negative roar of residential schools, the Stock Market Crash, and credit debt. Due to these tragic events, 1920s was brought a dark and negative atmosphere rather than one of contentment.

After World War 1, America had to demobilize and revert back to a peace time economy. During the 1920’s, it was viewed as a prosperous economy since there was a new labor force due to demobilization, new inventions, and a new infrastructure. Also moral spirits were high since America along with the Allied Powers defeated Germany and the Great War was finally over. However, America began making many economic policies and decisions that will eventually lead up to the Great Depression.

Throughout centuries, theatre has been an enormous impact throughout society. During the 18th century, theatre had played a significant role to society because it emphasized "Rationalism" (The Age of Reason), which began to lead away from the limitations of Neoclassicism. Then in the 19th century, theatre was important because it introduced "Melodrama" or music drama to increasingly emphasize the emotions and personalities of the characters. And finally the 20th century, in which where it had transformed the whole ideology of what theatre was truly represented.