Federal Theatre (1935-39), branch of the Work Projects Administration designed to provide employment for actors, directors, writers, and scene designers. As well as providing a nationwide audience with inexpensive, high-quality productions, it gave impetus to experimental theaters, such as the Group Theatre, the Mercury Theatre of Orson Welles, the topical "Living Newspaper" (dramatizations of news stories), and the music-dramas of Marc Blitzstein.