The Federal Theater Project (FTP) was established in the late 1930s by

Question

The Federal Theater Project (FTP) was
established in the late 1930s by the United States
government. Although it existed for only four years,
at its peak the FTP employed an average of 10,000
  (5)   workers, operated 185 production units in 28 states,
and entertained a weekly audience of nearly half a
million people. One of the most important, though
until recently little-studied, legacies of the program
were its "Negro Units," which were dedicated to
  (10)   producing plays on African American subjects for
primarily African American audiences. Hundreds of
actors, directors, designers, technicians, and playwrights
were employed by as many as eighteen of these units
in cities spread throughout the United States. Defying
  (15)   the external forces of racism and bureaucracy, and
overcoming internal artistic and personal differences,
the people working in these units arguably came closer
than any other group of African American theater
artists had come before to founding a truly national
  (20)   black theater.

The creation of the FTP came on the heels of the
Harlem Renaissance, a period of intense creativity
and innovation within the African American arts
community. Thus, by the time the FTP was founded,
  (25)   a diverse body of thought concerning the social
function of art already existed within the African
American community. The question of what kinds of
plays the Negro Units should produce gave rise to
vigorous, sometimes heated, debates: some producers
  (30)   favored folk dramas exploring rural roots and culture;
others preferred urban realistic dramas depicting
contemporary dilemmas for African Americans; and
still others advocated adapting dramas written by
white playwrights for performance by African
  (35)   American acting troupes. These debates were
motivated in part by larger debates over whether
black theater should attempt to blend into mainstream
culture or capitalize on its difference from the cultural
mainstream; whether it should aim for the African
  (40)   American or the white part of its audience; and
whether it should endeavor to instruct or be content
simply to entertain. These disagreements resulted in a
wide range of productions reflecting the diverse views
and interests of the African American community.
  (45)   Among them was  The Swing Mikado , a musical that
inverted the minstrel tradition by casting African
American performers in an ironic adaptation of a
white classic. Calling attention to the artifice of the
performers' roles, this play challenged its audience to
  (50)   think about what it means to assume black roles both
on and beyond the stage.

Although it did not have a long history, the FTP
provided a lifeline for the theater during the Great
Depression, a time when the performing arts in the
  (55)   United States faced an uncertain fate. This allowed
the Negro Units to produce dramatic art that reflected the
genuine diversity of African American artists and their
audiences nationwide.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) The actors, directors, designers, and playwrights who worked in the Federal Theater Project's Negro Units have recently been rediscovered by theater historians, who now rank them among the most talented and influential stage performers and producers of their day.
(B) Of all the programs created under the auspices of the United States government, the Federal Theater Project has had the most lasting effect on the African American arts community in the United States.
(C) The Federal Theater Project's Negro Units are now being recognized for the pivotal role they played in creating what was perhaps the first truly national black theater in the United States, one reflective of the diversity of views and interests of the African American community.
(D) Although the Federal Theater Project's Negro Units produced a wide variety of plays in the late 1930s, they are best known today for their highly creative productions of folk dramas.
(E) By supporting the work of the Federal Theater Project's Negro Units in the late 1930s, the U.S. government provided much needed aid for the theater during the Great Depression, a time when the arts in general had an uncertain future.

2 
 2. According to the passage, the Federal Theater Project did all of the following EXCEPT:

(A) evolve over the course of several decades
(B) operate in cities throughout the United States
(C) produce plays about African American subjects
(D) employ designers and technicians
(E) entertain large audiences weekly

3 
 3. With which one of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree?

(A) Government funding for the FTP would probably have continued beyond the late 1930s if the plays produced in the program had been more popular.
(B) The artists of the Harlem Renaissance were more polarized in their views about the social function of art than were the people working in the Negro Units.
(C) Philosophical and aesthetic disagreements among the people working in the Negro Units contributed to the diversity of those units' dramatic legacy.
(D) African American theater artists working today have equaled if not surpassed the artistic contribution made in the 1930s by the people working in the Negro Units.
(E) The urban realistic dramas produced by the Negro Units were more popular with African American audiences than folk dramas were.

4 
 4. The author refers to the Harlem Renaissance at the beginning of the second paragraph primarily in order to

(A) give an example of a successful African American artistic movement that preceded the founding of the Negro Units
(B) emphasize the contribution made by African American artists to the overall political advancement of the African American community
(C) provide a historical explanation for why the work of the Negro Units fell into obscurity
(D) establish a historical context for important artistic debates that occurred within the Negro Units
(E) prove a point about the nature of the relationship between African American culture and mainstream U.S. culture in the 1930s

5 
 5. In referring to "a truly national black theater" (lines 19- 20) the author most likely means

(A) a publicly funded performing arts center dedicated to the production of plays for African American audiences
(B) a broad-based dramatic-arts enterprise reflecting the diversity of views and tastes of African American artists and communities
(C) a federal government program established during the Great Depression to promote the dramatic arts in African American communities
(D) a canon of plays written by African American playwrights and endorsed by scholars
(E) a successful chain of black-owned playhouses spread throughout the United States

6 
 6. The passage provides the most support for inferring that the producers of the musical The Swing Mikado were among those who

(A) believed that playwrights should avoid controversial themes in their work
(B) opposed the idea that plays should instruct as well as entertain the audience
(C) favored folk dramas exploring rural roots and culture
(D) favored urban realistic dramas depicting contemporary dilemmas for African Americans
(E) advocated adapting dramas written by white playwrights for performance by African American troupes

7 
 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?

(A) The majority of plays produced by black theater groups predating the Negro Units were from original scripts by African American playwrights.
(B) Before the Negro Units were founded, government funding for the dramatic arts in
African American communities was almost
nonexistent.
(C) Prior to the establishment of the Negro Units, the vast majority of dramas written by and for African Americans were produced and performed exclusively in large eastern cities.
(D) African American dramatic arts organizations founded prior to the Negro Units drew audiences of fewer than I00 people on average to any given production.
(E) Theater historians have had difficulty locating historical documents relating to the earliest activity of organized African American theater groups.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

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?

Explanation

Treat this question like a Strengthen Arguments question. The credited response will either introduce information in direct support of the claim or will rule out alternative claims. Trap answers will include anything that weakens the claim or that is not relevant to the claim.

A. No.  The claim is that the Negro Units came closest to creating the first national black theater. If anything, this answer choice would possibly undermine that conclusion.

B. No.  The presence or absence of government funding is not relevant to the claim that the Negro Units were possibly the first national black theater.

C.  Yes.   This answer choice limits early incarnations of African American theatrical arts to a small geographic region within the United States. Thus, by definition, there could be no earlier national theaters.

D. No.  The size of the audience is not relevant to the claim that the Negro Units were the first national black theater.

E. No.  The difficulties historians have had is not relevant to the claim being made.

Answer: C

RahulJain293 · Answer

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Note for Main Point Questions: I usually summarize each para and link them together to get an overview of the entire passage. Try that out and hopefully it helps.

(A) The actors, directors, designers, and playwrights who worked in the Federal Theater Project's Negro Units  have recently been rediscovered  by theater historians, who now rank them among the most talented and influential stage performers and producers of their day.
 Incorrect. Passage does not talk  ONLY  about how recently the workers are recognized.

(B)  Of all the programs  created under the auspices of the United States government, the Federal Theater Project has had the most lasting effect on the African American arts community in the United States.
 Incorrect. We DO NOT KNOW about 'ALL the programs' via the passage. TRAP.

(C) The Federal Theater Project's Negro Units are now being recognized for the pivotal role they played in creating what was perhaps the first truly national black theater in the United States, one reflective of the diversity of views and interests of the African American community.
 Correct. Plain summary of all 3 paragraphs.

(D) Although the Federal Theater Project's Negro Units produced a wide variety of plays in the late 1930s, they are best known  today  for their highly creative productions of folk dramas.
 Incorrect. FTP shut within 4 years. They do not exist TODAY

(E) By supporting the work of the Federal Theater Project's Negro Units in the late 1930s, the  U.S. government provided much needed aid  for the theater during the Great Depression, a time when the arts in general had an uncertain future.
 Incorrect. We do not know about Aid provided.

vv65 · Answer

Question 1  
The answer to question 1 comes from the first paragraph.

Lines 17-20 tell us that  "the people working in these units arguably came closer than any other group of African American theater artists had come before to founding a truly national black theater". .

Line 7 says that the "Negro units" were  "One of the most important, although  until recently little-studied , legacies..." . 
This line is important, because the phrase  'until recently little-studied'  justifies the words   "are now being recognised"   in (C).

Every word of the answer needs backing from the text!

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 5

Question 5 asks what the author most likely means by "a truly national black theater" (lines 19- 20).

To answer this question, we have to look elsewhere in the passage. How does the author describe the Negro Units of the FTP, and why are they "a truly national black theater"?

Looking at paragraph 2, the author describes the differing viewpoints that existed in these theater units. Should they put on folk dramas or urban dramas? Should they perform adapted plays written by white playwrights? In this paragraph, the debates are not settled.

In paragraph 3 the author confirms the important role of the Negro Units, saying that they "reflected the genuine diversity of African American artists and their audiences nationwide." From this, we know that these units were valuable  because  they didn't settle the debates in paragraph 2. Instead, they put on diverse plays that mirrored the diverse,  nationwide  African American community.

From this, we know that the author defines a "a truly national black theater" as one that reflects the nationwide diversity of African American artists and their audiences.

Taking a look at the answer choices:
 
This doesn't capture the author's emphasis on diversity of thought. Additionally, while the FTP WAS publicly funded, the author doesn't say that a program  must  be publicly funded in order to be "truly national."

(A) is out.
 
This aligns nicely with the definition in the passage! Keep (B).
 
The debate about whether to use plays written by white playwirghts was never resolved. Perhaps some troupes did so, and some did not. So, the definition of a "truly national black theater" is not limited to only plays written by African American playwrights.

(D) is out, and (B) is the correct answer to question 5.

Prepstudent1 · Answer

In Question 4, why is the correct answer D and not A?

guddo · Answer

4. The author refers to the Harlem Renaissance at the beginning of the second paragraph primarily in order to

The Harlem Renaissance is mentioned to explain why, by the time the Negro Units were created, there was already  a rich and diverse set of ideas about the social role of African American art . This background helps explain the debates that later arose within the Negro Units over what kinds of plays they should produce and what purpose black theater should serve.

(A) give an example of a successful African American artistic movement that preceded the founding of the Negro Units

Incorrect. The Harlem Renaissance did precede the Negro Units, but the author mentions it specifically to explain the intellectual and artistic context for the later debates.

(B) emphasize the contribution made by African American artists to the overall political advancement of the African American community

Incorrect. The passage does not focus on political advancement.

(C) provide a historical explanation for why the work of the Negro Units fell into obscurity

Incorrect. The passage does not connect the Harlem Renaissance with the later obscurity of the Negro Units.

(D) establish a historical context for important artistic debates that occurred within the Negro Units

Correct.   The passage says that the Harlem Renaissance had already produced a diverse body of thought about the social function of art. This directly sets up the debates within the Negro Units over subject matter, audience, cultural identity, and whether theater should instruct or entertain.

(E) prove a point about the nature of the relationship between African American culture and mainstream U.S. culture in the 1930s

Incorrect. The mainstream-versus-distinctive-culture issue is one of several debates discussed, not the main reason the Harlem Renaissance is introduced.

Answer: (D)

egmat · Answer

Hi Prepstudent1,

This is a classic  Function  trap, so your instinct isn't crazy: choice A describes the Harlem Renaissance  accurately . It really was a successful African American artistic movement, and it really did come before the Negro Units. So A is a  true statement .

But a Function question doesn't ask "what is this detail?" - it asks  why did the author put it here?  And that's where A falls short.

Follow the word "Thus"

Look at how the second paragraph opens (lines  21 - 27 ):

"The creation of the FTP came on the heels of the Harlem Renaissance...  Thus , by the time the FTP was founded, a diverse body of thought concerning the social function of art already existed..."

That "Thus" is the giveaway. The author mentions the Harlem Renaissance  in order to  explain where all that "diverse body of thought" came from. And the very next sentences cash that out: the "vigorous, sometimes heated,  debates " over what kinds of plays the Negro Units should produce (folk dramas, urban dramas, adaptations).

So the reference is a  setup  - it establishes the historical background that produced those internal artistic debates. That's exactly what  D  says: "establish a historical context for important artistic debates that occurred within the Negro Units."

Why A isn't the purpose

A treats the mention as an end in itself - as if the author paused just to hand you an example of a good movement. But the author never dwells on the Renaissance's success; it's a stepping stone, immediately used to explain the debates that follow. A stops at  what the detail is  and misses  the job it does  in the paragraph.

Quick habit to lock this in:  whenever a Function question tempts you with a choice that's simply "true," ask -  does the sentence right after this detail depend on it?  Here the debates depend on the "diverse body of thought," which depends on the Renaissance. That chain points straight to D.

Answer: D

The Federal Theater Project (FTP) was established in the late 1930s by

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The Federal Theater Project (FTP) was established in the late 1930s by

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