Flanagan, Hallie, 1890-1969

Hallie Flanagan was the national director of the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939.

Hallie Flanagan Davis, whose professional name was Hallie Flanagan, taught drama at Vassar, 1925-1942, and founded its experimental theater; in the 1930s she served as the director of the Federal Theater Project.

Smith College Dean and Professor, Theater, 1942-1955. Grinnell College, Associate Professor, 1924/1925. Vassar College, Professor, 1925-1942. Head, Federal Theater Project. Grinnell College, B.A., 1911. Radcliffe College, M.A., 1924.

Director of Works Progress Administration Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939.

Hallie Flanagan Davis was born on August 27, 1890 in Redfield, South Dakota. Her parents were Frederic Miller and Louise (Fisher) Ferguson. Davis got her BA at Grinell College (Grinell, Iowa) in 1911. In 1924, she earned her Masters from Radcliffe College. She had two short-lived marriages, both of which ended due to her husbands' death. The first, in 1912, was to John Murray Flanagan, who died in 1919. The second, in 1934, was to Phillip Haldane Davis, who died in 1940. Between the two marriages, Davis had two children and three step children.

In 1924-5, Hallie Flanagan Davis was an Associate Professor at Grinell College, and the founder of their Experimental Theater. From 1925 until 1942, Davis worked as a Professor at Vassar College, where she also founded and directed Experimental Theater. In 1935, she was asked to head the Federal Theater Project, which was part of the New Deal's W.P.A. She served as the head of the project until its end. In 1942, she accepted Smith College's offer to serve as Dean and a professor in the Drama Department. She resigned from her position as Dean in 1946 so that she could focus on the Drama Department, of which she was the chair, and on the Theater, of which she was the director. Davis retired from Smith in 1955. In 1962, the Studio Theater in Smith's new Center for the Performing Arts was named in her honor. She died on July 23, 1969.

Flanagan Davis' writings include: Arena, Shifting Scenes in the Modern European Theater, and Dynamo, the Story of the Vassar Theater. Her plays include: The Curtain, and E-mc2.

Hallie Flanagan was the national director of the Federal Theatre Project; taught and directed at Grinnell and Smith College and founded the Vassar Experimental Theatre.

She was born in 1890 (some sources say 1889) in Redfield, South Dakota and grew up in Grinnell, Iowa where she attended Grinnell College. She studied with George Pierce Baker at Harvard's 47 Workshop. She returned to Grinnell where she initiated her idea for an experimental theater. The following year she accepted a job at Vassar College. In 1926 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study theater in Europe, the first woman to receive this honor. She traveled extensively and met with John Galsworthy, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Karel Capek, Edward Gordon Craig, and Lady Gregory among others. From 1927 to 1935 she taught and directed at Vassar where she established the Vassar Experimental Theatre.

In 1935 Hallie Flanagan was appointed national director of the Federal Theatre Project, an offshoot of the Works Progress Administration. Flanagan envisioned the project not only as a source of employment for American artists but as a way to bring theater to people across the country, many of whom had never seen a play. The project lasted for four years and was ultimately abolished by Congress. Hallie Flanagan returned to Vassar where, with the aid of a Rockefeller grant, she organized the Federal Theatre records and wrote ARENA, the story of the Federal Theatre Project.

In 1942 she took a leave of absence from Vassar and became the head of the theater department of Smith College. She remained at Smith until her retirement in 1952.

Besides ARENA, Flanagan was the author of numerous articles and two other books: SHIFTING SCENES OF THE MODERN EUROPEAN THEATRE, based on her 1926-1927 travels, and DYNAMO, a chronicle of her work at Vassar. She was also a playwright. Hallie Flanagan died on July 23, 1969.

National Director of the Federal Theater Project.

FTP was established in 1935 as part of the Works Progress Administration Federal Project No. 1. It was abolished in 1939 when funding was cut in the Reorganization Act of 1939.

Hallie Flanagan was born Hallie Ferguson August 27, 1889 in Redfield, South Dakota. She grew up in Grinnell, Iowa, attended Grinnell College, and studied with George Pierce Baker at Harvard's 47 Workshop. She returned to Grinnell where she initiated her idea for an experimental theater. The following year she accepted a job at Vassar College. In 1926 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study theater in Europe, the first woman to receive this honor. She traveled extensively and met with John Galsworthy, Constantine Stanislavsky, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Karel Capek, Edward Gordon Craig, and Lady Gregory, among others. From 1927 to 1935 she taught and directed at Vassar where she established the Vassar Experimental Theatre.

In 1935 Flanagan was appointed national director of the Federal Theatre Project, an offshoot of the Works Progress Administration. Flanagan envisioned the project not only as a source of employment for American artists but as a way to bring theater to people across the country, many of whom had never seen a play. The project lasted for four turbulent yet creative years and was ultimately abolished by Congress. Flanagan returned to Vassar where, with the aid of a Rockefeller grant, she organized the Federal Theatre records [Theatre Research Project] and wrote Arena, the story of the Federal Theatre Project.

On leave of absence from Vassar in 1942, Flanagan accepted a position at Smith College as head of the theater department and Dean of the school. She remained at Smith until her retirement in 1952.

Besides Arena, Flanagan was the author of numerous articles and two other books: Shifting Scenes of the Modern European Theatre, based on her 1926-1927 travels, and Dynamo, a chronicle of her work at Vassar. She was also a playwright.

Flanagan married twice: to Murray Flanagan who died in 1918 and to Philip Davis who died in 1940. Flanagan lived with Parkinson's disease for many years and died on July 23, 1969. Her two sons predeceased her. She was survived by her three stepchildren and her grandchildren.