The Great Depression of the 1930s brought about government
funding for unemployed Americans. Agencies such as the Civilian
Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
were instituted to create jobs for Americans. The Federal
Theatre Project (FTP), a division of the WPA, employes actors,
directors and technicians, among others. A smaller division
of the FTP, the Federal Radio Division, was begun with the goal
of fostering culture and education, through various
radio series, across the United States.
The first broadcast aired on March 15, 1936, shortly after the
inception of the Federal Theatre Project, with continuing
weekly broadcasts until the gov- ernment stopped funding in
June of 1939 amid concerns expressed by Rep. Martin Dies of the House
Un-American Activities Committee about leftist sentiments. Programming
was a mix of music, famous literary works and offerings from the writers
hired by the WPA. During its existence, the radio division aired
nearly eighty series with an average of two thousand programs a
year. Air time, wholly donated by commercial networks, was worth an
estimated five million dollars at the time.
Though
the Radio Division, in many instances, was not given prime time slots
to air its series, its programming attracted a steady following of
listeners. In a few cases, seris produced by the radio Division were
so impressive that the networks produced similar programs. In addition
to the series being successful, the Division was capable of realizing
another goal: almost one-half of all actors hired by the Division
were in turn hired by private enterprise. The Radio Division along
with its parent, the FTP, took an active interest in producing programs
for minorities such as the "Jewish Theatre of the Air." The Division
also made significant contribu- tions to the future of radio by publishing
manuals, providing technical training for students on radio techniques,
developing new sound effects, and using their rented rehearsal studios
as training grounds for inexperienced radio actors.
The Federal Theatre Project of Radio Scripts is
comprised of 245 scripts from the Federal Theatre Project radio programs
and series as well as collections of radio programs intended for Federal
Theatre Project productions. The Collection spans the years 1936 through
1939. Many of the scripts have been annotated with additional theatrical
instructions, corrections,and textual changes. Total volume of the
Collection is 3 cubic feet or 4 linear feet.
Special Collections & Archives (SC&A) preserves
and makes available to all students, faculty, and researchers many
kinds of original and scholarly materials. Subject areas in SC&A
include Northern Virginiana, Planned Communities, Congressional Papers,
Performing Arts, Maps, the Civil War, and George Mason University.
Formats in SC&A include manuscripts, rare books, playbills, musical
scores, audio and videotapes, architectural drawings, photographs,
and slides.
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Finding Aid to Federal Theatre Project Radio and Play Scripts
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Federal Theatre Project Materials in Special Collections & Archives
