Reading Comprehension

PT145 · S1 · P1 · Q7 Federal Theater Project

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The Federal Theater Project (FTP) was established in the late 1930s by the United States government.

Topic

The Federal Theater Project’s "Negro Units" and their unique contribution to African American theater in the 1930s.

Framework

Highlight Noteworthy

Main Point

The Federal Theater Project’s Negro Units, though short-lived and long overlooked, played a crucial role in bringing diverse and innovative African American theater to national attention, despite both external and internal challenges. *Most Valuable Sentence: (end P1)*

P1: Introduction to the Federal Theater Project and Negro Units

The paragraph introduces the Federal Theater Project (FTP) in the late 1930s, focusing on its "Negro Units," which empowered African American theater artists across the US to create works for primarily Black audiences and, despite hardships, pioneered a national African American theater movement.

P2: Artistic Debates and Diverse Productions

This part sets the stage by referencing the Harlem Renaissance, then dives into internal debates among Negro Unit artists about what kinds of plays to make (folk dramas, urban realism, or adaptations of white works) and whether to blend in with or stand apart from the mainstream. The diversity of opinions led to a wide array of productions, including creative works like *The Swing Mikado*, which knowingly subverted racial stereotypes.

P3: Legacy and Impact During the Depression

Although the FTP only lasted a few years, it provided much-needed support to theater during the Great Depression, letting the Negro Units showcase the real diversity of African American artistry across the US.

7.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the author's claim that the African American artists working in the Negro Units came closer than any others before them to founding a truly national black theater?

  1. The majority of plays produced

    Weakens, if anything

    We want the Negro Units to sound like the first national black theater, but this answer is saying "even before the Negro Units, most plays produced by black theater groups were written by African Americans". That makes it sound like there was "truly black" theater prior to the Negro Units.

    2% picked this

  2. Before the Negro Units were

    Weaker than Correct Answer

    This is pretty good, since it sounds like the Negro Units were the first time that government funding for black theater existed. Of course, maybe there was private funding for black theater prior to the Negro Units. I don't think we need so assume that government funding is a necessity for having a truly national black theater. This is worth keeping on the first pass, but it's weaker than our correct answer. It's more of a sketchy link to say, "If it wasn't receiving government funding, then it wasn't a truly national black theater" than it is to say, "If it almost exclusively performed in big eastern cities, then it wasn't a truly national black theater".

    24% picked this

  3. Correct

    Prior to the establishment of

    Why this is right

    This has really strong language, which is great, because we're looking for maximum strengthening impact. If almost everything before the Negro Units that was written by and for African Americans was made and performed exclusively in large eastern cities, then it sounds very regionally limited. Since the Negro Units were "in cities spread throughout the United States", we can argue that this is the first time that black theater was truly national. When we read "truly national black theater" in context, it's not clear whether we should be thinking: 1. this is the first time theater has been truly black? 2. first time black theater has been truly national? 3. first time theater has been black and national? Technically, the adverb truly is modifying the adjective national, so if we place the right emphasis on that claim, it's easier to like this answer. The Negro Units came closer to establishing a black theater company that was truly national, since prior to the Negro Units, the vast majority of black theater was made and performed exclusively in eastern cities.

    Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    55% picked this

  4. African American dramatic arts organizations

    Unclear Impact

    Since we don't know how many people on average attended performances by the Negro Units, it's really impossible to judge how the past theater companies compared to the Negro Units from this answer choice. And nothing in the phrase "the first truly national black theater" seems to convey any assumed notions about minimum audience size per show.

    14% picked this

  5. Theater historians have had difficulty

    No Impact

    Since this is just telling us that we find it hard to find good data on the older theater groups, it would neither strengthen nor weaken. It could only strengthen if we thought, "If it's hard to find historical documents relating to them, then they weren't a truly national black theater". But that's a much more strained link then, "If it almost always performed exclusively in big Eastern cities, then it wasn't a truly national black theater".

    5% picked this

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