Lagniappe
noun [lan-yap, lan-yap]: Chiefly Southern Louisiana meaning a little something extra
I Wish I Could Be Hallie Flanagan – April 2013
I would imagine that during any college education role models emerge. While young people are developing their own individual ideals and world views, they are bound to grab onto those who embodied similar views in an earlier time. During Theatre History III, said to be the most challenging course of the Tulane Theatre major, I met Hallie Flanagan. This woman is the very definition of a trailblazer. She stood up for civil rights, she lived in Iowa for a time (which is only exciting in that I grew up in Iowa), and from all accounts she was an inspiring leader – even before women could do such a thing. And most importantly, she believed in the power of theatre.
Hallie was appointed as the head of the Federal Theatre Project* in 1935. The FTP brought us Orson Welles’ famous Voodoo Macbeth and an amazing production of It Can’t Happen Here, adapted by Sinclair Lewis, which opened simultaneously in twenty-two theatres around the county. Each show was developed slightly differently to better reflect the nuances of the specific location.
Flanagan wanted a federal theatre, not merely a national one. She said, “The world ‘national’ means a definite attempt at uniformity; an attempt to have one theatre expressive of one national point of view. The word ‘federal’ means…many theatres brought together not so much for purposes of control as for purposes of mutual benefit.”
In just four years, the FTP mounted 1200 shows in 40 states and provided jobs for thousands of unemployed theatre professionals. 30 million people saw one of those plays and for many it was their first theatre experience. What an amazing feat.
Hallie, and her work for the FTP, is not often far from my mind. Her tireless work ethic, fearless ideals, and deep passion for the power of theatre are often a source of inspiration. Sometimes however, it’s easy to worry that my contributions will never begin to measure up to the effect that Hallie had on others. But I guess we just keep making plays armed with the hope that this art form still has the power to inform, to inspire, and as cliche as it may sound – to change the world.
For more information on this amazing woman, check out this great write up for the Educational Theatre Association.
*The Federal Theatre project was one of five arts programs of the Works Progress Administration, which was part of Roosevelt’s famous “New Deal” initiative to provide short-term jobs to millions of unemployed Americans.
