Staging the People

The Federal Theatre Project, a New Deal plan to fund theatre and other live artistic performances during the Great Depression, had the primary goal of employing out-of-work artists, writers, and directors, with the secondary aim of entertaining poor families and creating relevant art. These case studies explore the ties between the Federal Theatre Project and regional communities throughout the United States.

"Osborne's research into the life - and unfortunately, the death - of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) goes well beyond the project itself. She reveals the full scope of the cultural environment in which the grand experiment existed and shows the ways in which that environment contributed to the theater's successes and failures...It is difficult to avoid being swept along by her obvious enthusiasm for her subject." - New York Journal of Books"In this fresh and objective study of the Federal Theatre Project, the messy, complex realities are every bit as compelling as the popular myths we grew up with. Osborne s allusion to that four-year chapter of American theatre history as turbulent and exhilarating applies also to the discoveries she makes and to the picture that emerges from her focus on the regional as the matrix for understanding what the project truly contributed toward the ideal of a national theatre." - Felicia Hardison Londré, Curators Professor of Theatre, University of Missouri-Kansas City"Osborne s research is meticulous and her writing is clear and graceful. But what makes this book so compelling is the way she reverses the core and periphery of Federal Theatre production. In foregrounding the lesser known repertoire, she broadens the landscape of our research and pays homage to Hallie Flanagan s desire for a truly national theatre." - Barry B. Witham, Professor Emeritus of Theatre History, University of Washington"Osborne s argument is persuasive and hersubject is heretofore largely unexplored. Throughout she draws heavily on the archive, and as such pulls into consideration a plethora of primary sources that for too long have been (to borrow her words) hidden in plain sight. I believe this book can be considered a significant contribution to the study of American theatre history." - Jonathan Chambers, Associate Professor of Theatre, Bowling Green State University

ELIZABETH A. OSBORNE is an Assistant Professor in Theatre Studies at Florida State University, USA.