We Work Again
About We Work Again
A WPA short shows African American workers on construction, in domestic-service and health training, in adult classes, and on stage. The stage sequence is the only known footage of Orson Welles's 1936 all-Black Federal Theatre Macbeth.
Cast & crew
More about We Work Again
The Work Projects Administration made this promotional short in 1937. No director is named. Eric Burroughs, Lawrence Chenault, Alma Dickson, and Maurice Ellis are billed in the catalog. The Macbeth footage is from the 1936 New York Negro Unit production, which Welles directed. A copy is on the Internet Archive as we_work_again_1937.
Themes
Background
Made during the Depression to show WPA work and training for African Americans.
Making
The WPA cut its own employment footage together with a record of the Federal Theatre Macbeth.
Preservation
It holds the only known footage of the 1936 Federal Theatre Macbeth. A copy is on the Internet Archive.
Notes
- The catalog dates the Macbeth to 1935. The Wikipedia account dates the production 1936.
- The jobs shown include construction, domestic service, health training, and adult education.
- Welles does not appear as a billed actor. The value is the stage footage.
- The Commons file uses the same title.
Scenes
- Workers and trainees are shown on the job.
- The short cuts to Welles's all-Black Macbeth.
Also available
- Internet Archive (we_work_again_1937)