After I finished writing Furious Improvisation, I discovered that eight short films had been made about the Project during its four-year existence in the 1930s. It occurred to me that the movies could provide a vivid accompaniment to my talks. So, without knowing much about them, I ordered the eight movies from the National Archive in Washington, and had them transferred to DVD.

They turned out to be a rich mix which provided a new dimension to the story. There was beautifully filmed footage, for instance, of the arrival and unloading of a circus train in Brooklyn, and the raising of a circus tent, with the help of a cluster of little boys. There was a lot of footage of backstage workers, sewing, fitting costumes, building sets. There were wonderful scenes of tap dancers and old vaudevillians, and of theaters in remote places. There was charming film of a marionette version of Don Quixote, and a great sequence of an actor turning himself into a terrifying but seductive witch. Much of the film was silent. But there was one wonderful clip of an all-black group, led by Juanita Hall, singing “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel.” And there was a longer clip of the final moments of the Federal Theater production which became known as “voodoo Macbeth,” an all-black version of the Shakespeare play which premiered in Harlem under the direction of Orson Welles. Most remarkable, perhaps, there was a vivid technicolor movie from the final days of the Federal Theater Project, taken in San Francisco during the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939.

With the help of documentary film editor Gretchen Hildebran, I have turned the eight films into a sequence of clips, tailored to go along with my telling of the story of the Federal Theater Project. The movies illustrate the hard times in which the Project began, the early sensation of the Living Newspapers, and the later successes, and controversies, surrounding the nationwide production of It Can’t Happen Here and the incendiary The Cradle Will Rock. I examine the underlying motives of Martin Dies, the Texas Congressman who founded the House Un-American Activities Committee and who brought the Federal Theater down by claiming it was a dangerous Communist operation. My talk ends with the vivid footage of Hallie Flanagan, the remarkable woman who led the Federal Theater Project and whose very last triumph occurred, and was documented in color, at the Golden Gate Exposition of 1939.

“Susan Quinn’s live presentation, with archival film footage and slides, is informative, entertaining, and moving. Her approach to the story of the Federal Theatre Project is so knowledgeable, and she also brings a very personal point of view, with lots of tasty anecdotes and observations. The audience gains insight into the people, events and politics of this extraordinary time and venture. It’s a wonderful reminder of how art serves society. Yet how fragile its place is!”
—Kate Loewald, Founding Producer, The Play Company

“The Coolidge Corner Theatre, an original Art Deco movie palace and vibrant not-for-profit cultural center, was the site of a celebration event that perfectly matched our mission, ‘to entertain, educate, and enlighten, building community - around film’. Susan Quinn, author of the recently published Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times illustrated her research on the groundbreaking Federal Theater Project with rare archival footage from the Library of Congress and a lively stage presentation. The event took place in July, introduced by historian Howard Zinn and was completely sold out. We had to turn so many people away that we asked Susan for an encore in December to celebrate our own 75th anniversary, as well as that of FDR’s New Deal. She delivered another standing-room-only event, this time introduced by Atlantic Monthly's Jack Beatty. Our audience was spellbound by the tale and images Quinn wove together, bringing to life in our own challenging times, the pioneering artistic spirit of Hallie Flanagan and her colleagues.”
—Elizabeth Taylor-Mead, Associate Director, Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation

“Susan Quinn has written a wonderful book about the history of the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project, a New Deal program that produced cutting-edge theater in the depths of the Great Depression. She also offers a lively and moving slide show on the project, which includes some terrific footage from movies about it. The slides feature Harry Hopkins and the project’s dynamic director, Hallie Flanagan, who found ways to keep the actors and writers (many of them later household names), and stagehands and other backstage folk, working and creating around the country, bringing food to their families and joy and a sense of involvement to thousands of struggling Americans who came to see the performances. Right-wing Congressmen brought the project to a halt after four years (an early casualty of the red scare), but the positive impact of progressive government intervention has lessons for us now.”
—Lucia S. Hatch Vice President, Woman’s National Democratic Club

“Susan's lively, engaging, presentation brings to vivid life the energy, desperation and hope that characterized the ‘fervent’ years of the Federal Theatre Project. Our audience left excited and informed about an under-appreciated historical moment that resonates so loudly today. Theatre audiences generally don’t need to be convinced that funding and civic support for the arts is necessary to a thriving culture, but armed with historical context, a few facts and figures and the triumphant story of Hallie Flanagan and Federal One, they left the theatre ready to help make the argument to those who do.”
—Tony Estrella, The Gamm Repertory Company.