Chris Cherry, of the Greenbelt Recreation Department, has done extensive research on the Federal Theatre Project. As he writes: "It was the Works Progress Administration's four-year program to provide work for actors and other theater workers during the Great Depression. The WPA became, for a time, the biggest theatrical producer in history."

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Cherry has planned, and will host, an 80th anniversary multimedia event that recounts the highlights of the WPA's Federal Theatre Project and its connection to Greenbelt. The program will include a narration and slideshow, song performances, and a presentation of the one-act play by Betty Smith, What Are You Going to Be? Smith would go on to write A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

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A permanent exhibit in the east alcove of the Community Center that commemorates this history has been planned that will display poster art examples from Federal Theatre productions, along with photo and newspaper excerpts. An accompanying reception and the exhibit opening is scheduled for late Summer 2018.

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The program and exhibit are co-sponsored by the Greenbelt Recreation Department and the Greenbelt Museum. For more information, please read more here.