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The Great Depression & Broadway
The Great Depression was a difficult period for theatre in the United States. In an attempt to continue making art during a bad economy, many people tried to form groups. Some examples of which include The Group Theatre, The Theatre Union, and the government subsidized Federal Theatre Project.
Both The Group Theatre and The Theatre Union were founded on far left ideals. The founders of both groups were fed up with the commercial theatre of Broadway. They also shared a "common dissatisfaction with American society of the depression years" (Poggi 150). The Group Theatre expressed their leftist beliefs by practicing the Stanislavsky system, which were theories and practices to perform realistic acting developed by Konstantin Stanislavski. Members of The Group believed that the company would develop a strong ensemble by using this system. The Theatre Union, in contrast, practiced their Communist beliefs in a more drastic way. They believed that Broadway was charging too much for tickets and it didn’t allow for lower class citizens to enjoy theatre. To change this, the Theatre Union made their tickets very cheap and sometimes gave them out for free. Though these practices were for a passionate cause, they weren’t sustainable in the economy of the Great Depression.
Both The Group Theatre and The Theatre Union were founded on far left ideals. The founders of both groups were fed up with the commercial theatre of Broadway. They also shared a "common dissatisfaction with American society of the depression years" (Poggi 150). The Group Theatre expressed their leftist beliefs by practicing the Stanislavsky system, which were theories and practices to perform realistic acting developed by Konstantin Stanislavski. Members of The Group believed that the company would develop a strong ensemble by using this system. The Theatre Union, in contrast, practiced their Communist beliefs in a more drastic way. They believed that Broadway was charging too much for tickets and it didn’t allow for lower class citizens to enjoy theatre. To change this, the Theatre Union made their tickets very cheap and sometimes gave them out for free. Though these practices were for a passionate cause, they weren’t sustainable in the economy of the Great Depression.
These theatres all sprang up in the peculiar climate of the thirties, and they had all expired by the beginning of the war (Poggi 161).
Both theatre groups struggled to pay all their workers. The Theatre Union had a large deficit every year. There were other leftist theatre groups as well, but most would only produce one or two shows before dissolving.
The Federal Theatre was a unique group as it started with a large amount of funds. It was created by the government to create jobs for professional theatre artists across the country. The national director, Hallie Flanagan, wanted the group to develop into a strong national theatre that supported new, experimental work and performed free shows for underprivileged people. The Federal Theatre Project managed to bring new work to the stage from rising artists, such as Orson Welles and John Houseman. Though the group had material, they had trouble producing it due to many conflicts with the government. Several productions were delayed because of suspiciously far left themes. The Federal Theatre met its demise when it was attacked by the House Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities. In 1939, Congress defunded the Federal Theatre Project, making it yet another group to fall during the Depression.
The constant failure of non-commercial theatres combined with limited jobs in commercial theatre left New York actors with difficult careers. It was difficult for them to break into the star system of commercial theatre, which employed people such as Kit Cornell and Alla Nazimova repeatedly instead of new talent. There were also few jobs for theatre artists in general during the time, which the Federal Theatre tried to remedy with little success. Actors could go to non-commercial theatre but that would mean sacrificing a steady income. As noted above, many non-commercial theatres were inconsistent with their funds, so paychecks were small.
Life in the Great Depression was difficult, especially for theatre artists. The odds were stacked against them, but they kept trying and still created art.
The Federal Theatre was a unique group as it started with a large amount of funds. It was created by the government to create jobs for professional theatre artists across the country. The national director, Hallie Flanagan, wanted the group to develop into a strong national theatre that supported new, experimental work and performed free shows for underprivileged people. The Federal Theatre Project managed to bring new work to the stage from rising artists, such as Orson Welles and John Houseman. Though the group had material, they had trouble producing it due to many conflicts with the government. Several productions were delayed because of suspiciously far left themes. The Federal Theatre met its demise when it was attacked by the House Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities. In 1939, Congress defunded the Federal Theatre Project, making it yet another group to fall during the Depression.
The constant failure of non-commercial theatres combined with limited jobs in commercial theatre left New York actors with difficult careers. It was difficult for them to break into the star system of commercial theatre, which employed people such as Kit Cornell and Alla Nazimova repeatedly instead of new talent. There were also few jobs for theatre artists in general during the time, which the Federal Theatre tried to remedy with little success. Actors could go to non-commercial theatre but that would mean sacrificing a steady income. As noted above, many non-commercial theatres were inconsistent with their funds, so paychecks were small.
Life in the Great Depression was difficult, especially for theatre artists. The odds were stacked against them, but they kept trying and still created art.
Star Power
During the 1930s, Hollywood was exploring the use of sound in movies. Sound was first used for short newsreels in 1927. Though this was significant, people didn't take it seriously until Warner Brothers released The Jazz Singer that same year, which only utilized sound when the main character sang. People flocked to see it, so Warner Brothers released an "all-talking film," called Lights of New York. Soon, audiences were hooked:
Sound was, in short, a total revolution--it changed the techniques of making films, radically altered their content, changed the nature of the typical star personality and altered the financial balance of power in Hollywood (Schickel 113).
With this new innovation, movies began to resemble reality more so than ever before. New genres emerged, such as crime films, biographical films, and adaptations of novels. The incorporation of sound also weeded out several movie stars who did not speak well or act with a naturalistic style. To accommodate, Hollywood hired stage actors who were already trained to speak beautifully and act realistically.
The new stars of Hollywood were a different breed than those of the 1920s. The women were more glamorous and risqué.
The new stars of Hollywood were a different breed than those of the 1920s. The women were more glamorous and risqué.
They were frequently hard, mannish in dress and behavior, likely to have extremely realistic notions of their lot in life and of the society they inhabited (Schickel 115).
And so the star system got a reboot. There were the detectives: Dick Powell and James Cagney, the sex symbols: Mae West and Jean Harlow, and the child star: Shirley Temple. These celebrities, and more, were the faces of Hollywood during the Great Depression.
