Special Collections Research Center

The Federal Theatre Project Collection contains administrative records, play service and research records, library records, and production records created or collected by the Federal Theatre Project from 1935 to 1939. A few items in the collection were created before or after this time period but directly relate to the 1930s material. This collection consists of original materials with some duplicates and photocopies

During the lifespan of the FTP they established a photographic unit to document the productions and ensure a graphic record of their work. 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, but they also captured on film the rehearsals, the audience, the behind the scenes work of the stage crew, and the equipment used to produce FTP plays. Find all that here!

Arnold Goldman's collection consists of research materials, on the living newspaper "Injunction Granted" The form of the living newspaper was introduced during the FTP and was used as a way to present current issues in a theatrical style. the Federal Theatre Project wrote and presented a number of Living Newspapers on social issues of the day, including Triple-A Plowed Under, Injunction Granted, One-Third of a Nation, Power, and Spirochete.

The interviews in the WPA Oral Histories Collection were conducted between 1961 and 1984. The majority of the interviews were done in the 1970s and 1980s by Lorraine Brown and John O'Connor as part of the Institute on the Federal Theatre Project and New Deal Culture. with persons who were associated with various Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects in the 1930s. The interviews were conducted with members of the Federal Art Project, Federal Music Project, and Federal Writers Project.