• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / History / What was the Federal Theater Project and How did the program help promote black participation in the Arts?

What was the Federal Theater Project and How did the program help promote black participation in the Arts?

February 14, 2020 by Karen Hill

President Roosevelt’s New Deal agency, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), did much to promote black participation in the American arts in the 1930s.

One of the programs sponsored by the WPA was the Federal Theater Project. This project enabled more than 800 African Americans to act in circuses, vaudeville comedies, children’s theatrical performances, and in dramatic theater.

It also created many opportunities for blacks to act in plays that depicted black life. These plays included Hall Johnson’s Run Little Chillun, Rudolf Fisher’s Conjure Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem, and an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in Haiti.

Many of the performers in the Federal Theater Project went on to become film and Broadway stars, including the dancer Katherine Dunham and the actor Rex Ingram (1895-1969).

Related Facts

  • How did the skeptics get the idea that Shakespeare did not write his own plays?
  • Who were some other novelists of the Harlem Renaissance?
  • When was the Original Globe Theater Built and When did it Burn Down?
  • Who was Katherine Dunham and What was Katherine Dunham’s contribution to dance and the arts?
  • What was the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and How did the Black Aesthetic Movement originate?
  • How did the New Deal programs affect African Americans in the arts?

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How did the New Deal programs affect African American progress in the 1930s?
Next Post: Who wrote the book Native Son and When was Native Son published? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy