Hallie Flanagan (27 August 1889-23 July 1969) was an American theatrical visionary, director, playwright, author, and director of the Federal Theater Project, a part of the Works Progress Administration. August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Theatre is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. ... Narrowly, a visionary is one who experiences a supernatural vision or apparition. ... Generally a director is a person or one of a body of persons appointed to manage the affairs of a government agency, company, corporation, group or project. ... A playwright is an author of plays for performance in the theater. ... The word author has several meanings: The author of a book, story, article or the like, is the person who has written it (or is writing it). ... Scene from Orson Welles Voodoo Macbeth The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was a project to fund theater performances in the United States during the Great Depression. ... The Works Progress Administration (later Works Projects Administration, abbreviated WPA), was created on May 6, 1935 with the signing of Executive Order 7034. ...

Born Hallie Ferguson in Redfield, South Dakota, Flanagan was raised in Grinnell, Iowa. After attending Grinnell College, Hallie attended George Pierce Baker's influential 47 Workshop class at Harvard University. This class, one of the first of its kind at an American university, taught playwrighting. While at Harvard and later at Vassar College, Flanagan began developing her own ideas for experiemental theatre. Redfield is a city located in Spink County, South Dakota. ... Grinnell is a city located in Poweshiek County, Iowa. ... Grinnell College is a four-year undergraduate liberal arts college located in Grinnell, Iowa. ... George Pierce Baker (1866 - 1935), American educator. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college situated in Poughkeepsie. ...

In 1926, Flanagan accepted a Guggenheim Fellowship to study theatre in Europe. While there, she met many of the most influential figures in theatre including John Galsworthy, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Edward Gordon Craig, and Lady Gregory. Returning to Vassar, she began to institute many of her new found ideas with the Vassar Experimental Theatre which she created. 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Guggenheim Fellowships are awarded annually by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... John Galsworthy (August 14, 1867 - January 31, 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. ... Konstantin (Constantin) Stanislavski (Константи́н Серге́евич Станисла́вский / Алексе́ев) (January 5, 1863 - August 7, 1938) was a Russian theatre and acting innovator. ... A photograph of Lady Gregory from her 1913 book Our Irish Theatre Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852–22 May 1932), née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. ...

With the onset of the Great Depression, and many people, including theatre folk, out of work, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration to employ many of the unemployed. Among the many segments of this program was the Federal Theatre Project aimed at employing out of work entertainers. Flanagan was asked to lead this program in 1935. --209. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... This article is about the profession. ... 1935 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Flanagan's vision for this program was to bring theatre to many people who had never witnessed it plus producing cutting edge theatrical material of the highest quality. This program involved creating children's theatre as well as 'living newspaper' plays that would reach out to the culturally unaware. Though the program produced fine works, some argued over messages being delivered by plays. Concerns over works with messages deemed to be communistic and socialistic plagued Flanagan and the Theatre Project. Flanagan was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1938. After four years, the Federal Theatre Project was shut down and Flanagan returned to Vassar. Communism is a term that can refer to one of several things: a social and economic system, an ideology which supports that system, or a political movement that wishes to implement that system. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) was an investigating committee of the United States House of Representatives. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1942, Flanagan accepted a post as head of the theatre department at Smith College and she remained there until her retirement. 1942 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Smith College campus center Smith College, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, is the largest womens college in the United States. ... Retirement is the status of a worker who has stopped working. ...

Flanagan married twice, first to Murray Flanagan who died in 1918 and second to Philip Davis. 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

External Links

• Bio of Hallie Flanagan from a site on the Federal Theatre Project (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/ftbrwn01.html)
• Transcript of Flanagan's testimony before the Dies Committee of the House Un-American Activities Committee, December 6, 1938 (http://fsweb.wm.edu/amst370/2001/sp4/hftrans.html)