The Library of Congress received its collection of the records of the Federal Theatre Project by transfer and gift over the years 1939-46, with the largest segment transferred from the Washington office of the U.S. Work Projects Administration (WPA) in 1940 . The collection was placed on loan at George Mason University by the Library in 1974, with additions in subsequent years through 1984. In 1994 , the collection was returned to the Library of Congress and is now housed in the Library's Music Division.
The Federal Theatre Project Collection contains documentation for stage productions mounted by the Federal Theatre Project in the period 1935-39. These include a wide variety of materials: billboards, cast lists, correspondence, costume designs, ground plans, lighting cue sheets, lighting plots, music, photographs, playbills, playscripts and playscript "sides" (a "side" is an individual role or part), posters, production notebooks, programs, property lists, publicity reports and clippings, radio scripts, research reports, reviews, scenarios, set designs, study guides, and technical reports. There are approximately 5,000 playscripts and 2,500 titles ranging from vaudeville to classic theater. The most complete description of the entire collection is The Federal Theatre Project Collection: A Registry of the Library of Congress Collection of U.S. Work Projects Administration Records.
The Federal Theatre Project Collection is available to the public in the Performing Arts Reading Room of the Music Division, located in the Library's Madison Building.