Amerikkalaisen liittovaltioteatterin nousu ja tuho : analyysi Living Newspaperista yhteiskunnallisen keskustelun foorumina vuosina 1935-1939

Abstract

This study carries out researches into the Federal Theatre Project in the United States during 1935-1939 and the point of view, how the project realized the employment of the unemployed people within theatre as a part of the WP A programs. The focus is on the aesthetics of the scripts of the Living Newspaper unit in New York City, particularly of the plays Triple-A Plowed Under and One Third of a Nation. The theatrical expression is seen involved in the social thought of the time. The little man, a consumer of the Great Depression is the main figure in this study, and the stress through him has been laid on the life situation that existed during those hard times. Finally the pivotal emphasis is on the dialogue between the stage and the authentic reality, and how the public felt they had possibilities to an active participation, because the themes treated did concem their everyday life. This dissertation is pointing out the Living Newspaper as a theatrical predecessor of the now rising public joumalism. This scientific work proves, that in the documentary theatre there were possibilities usable, according which the public might tighten their hold on the social life generally. The federally financed theatre project proved furthermore its dependence on the uncertainty of politics and attitudes in the culture, where the sponsorship usually has been laid on some other basis. The theoretical framework of the study is the american pragmatism, especially the philosophy of John Dewey.