Staging Strikes: Workers' Theatre and the American Labor Movement

By Collette Hyman and Colette A. Hyman

In the thirties, those on the political left, Socialists, Communists, artists and writers, educators, and labor movement activists, shared the belief that leisure activities should reflect and promote the interests of working people. Cultural activities should be used to educate workers in bringing about radical social and political changes and to draw people together around shared interests. Workers' theater became a successful vehicle for political education and for involving the audience in the labor movement. Such plays as "Let Freedom Ring" and "Waiting for Lefty" depicted experiences that paralleled the audiences' own, that entertained and absorbed them, and that showed them the personal, social, economic, and political changes that could be achieved through the struggles of the labor movement. In clear and moving prose, Hyman traces the history of workers' theater from its grassroots origins to the Federal Theater Project of the WPA under Roosevelt and into unions' recreational programs. Even today, the tradition of workers' theater endures in local and regional productions that reflect current worker concerns or revive significant workers' plays of the Depression period. Hyman shows that the significance of workers' theater lies not only in the plays produced but also in the audiences' experience, in coming together out of common concerns to achieve a solidarity that emphasizes the effectiveness of collective action.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566395046
• ISBN13: 9781566395045
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A Rare Treat: Great Analysis, Smooth Prose

Colette Hyman's analysis of the topic is insightful and engaging. Her book is tremendouly informative and insightful. What makes her book stand out among the greatest books on the Depression era, however, is the skill with which she presents her argument. Her writing ability is unparalled. She could make any topic seem like the most interesting revelation. I read this book in one sitting, and I don't even care for the subject matter. I was just doing research.