Debra Leah Caplan

Assc Professor

Weissman School of Arts and Sciences

Areas of expertise: Yiddish theater, Jewish performance, theater history, traveling and diasporic theater, digital humanities

Email Address: debra.caplan@baruch.cuny.edu

> View CV

Biography
Teaching
Research and Creative Activity
Grants
Honors and Awards
Service

Debra Caplan is an Associate Professor of Theatre specializing in world theater, Yiddish theater and drama, theatrical travel and Jewish performance culture. Her book, Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy, was published by University of Michigan Press in 2018 and received awards from the Theatre Library Association and the Modern Language Association. Her writing has also appeared in Theatre Journal, Theatre Survey, Modern Drama, Comparative Drama, Aschkenas, New England Theatre Journal, Performance Research, Pakn Treger, and American Theatre Magazine.

Professor Caplan is the co-founder of the Digital Yiddish Theater Project (www.yiddishstage.org), an international digital publication platform on Yiddish drama and performance.

She is currently working on an edited collection, The Dybbuk Century: The Jewish Play That Possessed The World (University of Michigan Press, forthcoming October 2023), and a book about the Yiddish actress Molly Picon.

Education

Ph.D., Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University Cambridge MA

B.A., Theater, Jewish Studies, Hampshire College

Semester	Course Prefix	Course Number	Course Name
Fall 2023	THE	3060	Immigration on Stage & Screen
Fall 2023	IDC	4050H	Hon Feit Hum Sem I
Fall 2023	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2023	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Fall 2023	JWS	3070	Jewish Humor
Spring 2023	THE	3045	Principles of Directing
Spring 2023	THE	3020	Applied Theatre Workshop
Fall 2022	JWS	3950	Special Topics in Jewish Studi
Fall 2022	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2022	THE	3042	History of Theatre
Fall 2022	THE	4102	Selected Topics
Fall 2022	JWS	3950	Special Topics in Jewish Studi
Spring 2021	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2021	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2020	THE	3042	History of Theatre
Fall 2020	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Spring 2020	JWS	4900	Mapping the Jewish Experience
Spring 2020	THE	4102	Selected Topics
Spring 2020	THE	3045	Principles of Directing
Spring 2020	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2019	THE	3020	Applied Theatre Workshop
Fall 2019	THE	3042	History of Theatre
Spring 2019	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2019	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2019	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2019	JWS	5000	Independent Study JWS I
Spring 2019	THE	3045	Principles of Directing
Fall 2018	THE	3060	Immigration on Stage & Screen
Fall 2018	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2018	JWS	3060	Immigration on Stage & Screen
Fall 2018	FPA	5002	Independent Study FPA III
Fall 2018	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2018	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2018	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2018	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2018	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2018	FPA	5000	Independent Study FPA I
Spring 2018	FPA	5000	Independent Study FPA I
Spring 2018	FPA	5000	Independent Study FPA I
Spring 2018	IDC	4050H	Hon Feit Hum Sem I
Fall 2017	FPA	5070	Arts Administration Internship
Fall 2017	THE	4102	Selected Topics
Fall 2017	THE	3042	History of Theatre
Fall 2017	THE	5001	Independent Study Theater II
Spring 2017	HEB	5000	Independent Study Hebrew I
Spring 2017	FPA	5070	Arts Administration Internship
Spring 2017	THE	3045	Principles of Directing
Spring 2017	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Fall 2016	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2016	IDC	4050H	Hon Feit Hum Sem I
Fall 2016	THE	3060	Immigration on Stage & Screen
Fall 2016	JWS	3060	Immigration on Stage & Screen
Summer 2016	FPA	5070	Arts Administration Internship
Spring 2016	JWS	6002H	Honors Jewish Studies
Spring 2016	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Spring 2016	THE	3042	History of Theatre
Spring 2016	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Fall 2015	JWS	6001H	Honors Jewish Studies
Summer 2015	FPA	5070	Arts Administration Internship
Spring 2015	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2015	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2015	THE	3045	Principles of Directing
Fall 2014	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2014	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2014	FPA	5070	Arts Administration Internship
Summer 2014	FPA	5070	Arts Administration Internship
Spring 2014	THE	5000	Independent Study Theater I
Spring 2014	THE	4102	Selected Topics
Spring 2014	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Spring 2014	JWS	4900	Mapping the Jewish Experience
Spring 2014	FPA	5071	Arts Administration Internship
Fall 2013	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts
Fall 2013	THE	1041	Introduction to Theatre Arts

Artistic and Creative Activities

Caplan, D. L. (2022). Singer of Warsaw.

Caplan, D. L. (2022). God, Man, and Devil.

Caplan, D. (2019). The Jewish Question. Baruch Jewish Studies Center.

Caplan, D. (2019). Roosevelt's Guests (Dramaturg).

Caplan, D. (2017). I Spy a Spy.

Caplan, D. (2016). Marco Millions.

Caplan, D. (2016). The World On Stage: An Evening of Micro-Plays in Translation. CUNY Center for the Humanities / Mellon Foundation.

Caplan, D. (2016). The Material World. Polyphone Festival.

Caplan, D. (2015). Toyt fun a saylsman / Death of a Salesman.

Caplan, D. (2014). Uriel Acosta: I Want That Man.

Caplan, D. (2013). The * Inn.

Caplan, D. L. Paper Brigade. In Progress.

Books

Caplan, D. (2023). Lives My Father Told Me: A Family Tapestry. In Progress.

Caplan, D., & Merrill Moss, R. (2023). The Dybbuk Century: The Jewish Play That Possessed the World. (p. 290). Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press.

Caplan, D. (2018). Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy. Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Press.

Journal Articles

Caplan, D. (2020). An American in Shtetl: Seeing Yiddish Europe Through the Eyes of Molly Picon. Quest: Issues in Contemporary Jewish History, (17). 75-95.

Caplan, D. (2018). On Writing and Digital Media. Performance Research, 23(4). 145-146.

Caplan, D. (2016). Reassessing Obscurity: The Case for Big Data in Theatre History. Theatre Journal, 68(4). 555-573.

Caplan, D. (2015). 'Attention Must be Paid': Death of a Salesman's Counter-Adapted Yiddish Homecoming. Modern Drama, 58(2). 194-217.

Caplan, D. (2015). Notes from the Frontier: Digital Scholarship and the Future of Theater Studies . Theatre Journal, 67(2). 347-359.

Caplan, D. (2014). Reinkultur in Yiddish: World War I, German-Jewish Encounters, and the Founding of the Vilna Troupe. Aschkenas: Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kultur der Juden, 24(2). 243-259.

Caplan, D. (2014). Nomadic Chutzpah: The Vilna Troupe's Transnational Yiddish Theatre Paradigm, 1915-1935. Theatre Survey, 55(3). 296-317.

Caplan, D. (2012). Heymish Modernism: Joseph Buloff's Chicago Revaluation of the American Yiddish Theatre. New England Theatre Journal, 23. 111-131.

Caplan, D. (2011). Oedipus, Shmedipus: Ancient Greek Drama on the Modern Yiddish Stage. Comparative Drama, 44/45(4/1). 405-422.

Book Chapters

Caplan, D. L. (2023). ‘Mourning and Entertainment’: The Vilna Troupe’s Dybbuk according to Its Actors and Critics. In Caplan, D., & Moss, R. M. (Eds.), The Dybbuk Century: The Jewish Play That Possessed The World (pp. 58-76). Ann Arbor, MI. University of Michigan Press.

Caplan, D. L. (2023). Documenting a Voiceless Celebrity Actress: The Case of Sonia Alomis. In Quint, A., & Seigel, A. (Eds.), Women on 2023 the Yiddish Stage (pp. 195-208). Legenda Press.

Caplan, D. (2020). Imagining a Future That Never Was: Tadeusz Kantor's Symbiotic Jewish-Polish Stage. In Romanska, M., & Cioffi, K. (Eds.), Theatermachine: Tadeusz Kantor in Context (pp. 163-175). Chicago, IL. Northwestern University Press.

Caplan, D. (2015). Forgotten Playwright: Kadya Molodowsky and the Yiddish Stage. Women Writers of Yiddish Literature: Critical Essays (pp. 180-194). Jefferson, NC. McFarland.

Caplan, D. (2014). The Dramaturgical Bridge: Contextualizing Foreignness in Multilingual Theater. The Routledge Companion to Dramaturgy (pp. 141-144). London. Routledge.

Presentations

Caplan, D. L. (2024, May 30). "I'm Gonna Vashti Queen Right Out of My Hair": The Evolution of the Purim Shpiel as Musical Theater Parody. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Synagogue. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA. In Progress.

Caplan, D. L., & O'Brien, C. (2024, March 30). The Global Reach of the Yiddish Theater: The Vilna Troupe, God of Vengeance, and Yiddish Performance the World Over. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, March 30). Funny Traits: Tennessee Williams’ Jewish Influences. Tennessee Williams Scholars Conference. New Orleans, LA

Caplan, D. L. (2024, April 30). Digital Yiddish Theater Project Fourth Symposium. Milwaukee, WI: University of MIlwaukee-Wisconsin.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, March 30). The Global Reach of the Yiddish Theater: The Vilna Troupe, God of Vengeance, and Yiddish Performance the World Over. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, March 30). Visualizing Theater Data: The Case of the Vilna Troupe. Boston, MA: Boston University.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, August 30). Rebuilding a Stronger Foundation: Enhancing Equity. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Austin, TX

Caplan, D. L. (2024, March 30). Visualizing Theater Data: The Case of the Vilna Troupe. Boston, MA: Boston University.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, December 30). The Dybbuk Century: 100 Years of the Jewish Play that Possessed the World. New York, NY: Yiddish New York. In Progress.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, December 30). Yiddish Theater as a Cultural Lifeline during the Holocaust. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center. In Progress.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, November 30). Anchoring Historiographies: Hope, Method, and the Future of Theater History. American Society for Theatre Research. Providence, RI

Caplan, D. L., & Caplan, D. L. (2024, August 30). The Kids Are Not All Right: Post-Pandemic Intro to Theatre Pedagogy Roundtable. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Austin, TX

Caplan, D. L. (2024, April 30). Digital Yiddish Theatre Project Fourth Symposium. Milwaukee, WI

Caplan, D. L. (2024, December 30). Memoir, Marriage, and Musical Theater: The Lost-and-Found Writings of a Professional Yiddish Theater Husband. Association for Jewish Studies. San Francisco, CAIn Progress.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, March 30). The Digital Yiddish Theatre Project and the Future of Collaborative Theatre Research. Performing Arts in the Digital Humanities. College Park, MD

Caplan, D. L. (2024, November 30). Nostalgia and Laughter: The Post-Holocaust Comedic Strategies of Molly Picon. American Society for Theatre Research. New Orleans, LA

Caplan, D. L. (2024, November 30). Yiddish Theater Past and Present. Haverhill, MA: Temple Emanu-El.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, November 30). Yiddish Theater Past and Present. Haverhill, MA: Temple Emanu-el.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, December 30). Molly Picon: Comedy on Tour and the Politics of Jewish Authenticity at Home and Abroad. Between Worlds: Performing Polish-Jewish Encounters. Warsaw, Poland

Caplan, D. L. (2024, December 30). Grief at the Borderlands: Life and Literature. Association for Jewish Studies. Boston, MA

Caplan, D. (2021, July 31). The World of Yiddish Theater. : Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D. (2021, June 30). The Vilna Troupe, the Kadisons, and the Art of Yiddish Theater. New York, NY: Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation.

Caplan, D. (2021, April 30). Yiddish Translation and Naydus Press. New York, NY: Center for Jewish Studies, CUNY Graduate Center.

Caplan, D. L. (2024, July 30). The World of Yiddish Theater. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D. (2020, December 31). The Dybbuk at 100. New York, NY: Congress for Jewish Culture.

Caplan, D. (2020, December 31). Between Two Worlds: Reflections on the Creation and Legacy of The Dybbuk. Warsaw, Poland: Instytut Teatralny.

Caplan, D. (2020, April 30). Paula Priluski and Yiddish Theater. Washington, DC: Theater J.

Caplan, D. (2020, May 31). Yiddish Empire, the Vilna Troupe, and Research in Theater History. Chicago, IL: Northwestern University.

Caplan, D. (2020, July 31). Unzer morgn: Yiddish Studies Today and Tomorrow. Tel Aviv, Israel: Tel Aviv University, Naomi Prawer Kadar International Yiddish Program.

Caplan, D. (2019, May 31). Plotting Yiddish Drama: Using Digital Humanities to Document an Under-Translated Dramatic Repertoire. Digital Humanities Working Group. New York, NY: International Federation for Theater Research.

Caplan, D. (2019, April 30). . Digital Yiddish Theatre Project Third Symposium. Milwaukee, WI

Caplan, D. (2019, July 31). The Art of Itinerancy: Yiddish Theater as a Prototype for Contemporary Migratory Performance. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research.

Caplan, D. (2019, October 31). Make Them Laugh: Molly Picon's Comedic Legacy. Tinton Falls, NJ: Monmouth Reform Temple.

Caplan, D. (2019, November 30). The Art of Itinerancy: Yiddish Theater and the Performance of Migration. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh.

Caplan, D. (2019, November 30). . Separations of Church and State: Performing Sacred and Secular Publics. Arlington, VA: American Society for Theater Research.

Caplan, D. (2019, November 30). Publishing Books: From Proposal to Press. American Society for Theater Research. Arlington, VA

Caplan, D. (2019, April 30). Yiddish Empire Book Talk and Discussion. Milwaukee, WI: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Stahl Center for Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2019, January 31). Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe and the Art of Itinerancy. Aventura, FL: Aventura Arts and Cultural Center.

Caplan, D. (2019, February 28). Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe and the Art of Itinerancy. South Orange, NJ: Oheb Shalom Congregation.

Caplan, D. (2018, December 31). Transnationalism and Jewish Theater. Association for Jewish Studies. Boston, MA

Caplan, D. (2018, November 30). 'Emotional Style:' Reading the Reception History of Molly Picon. American Society for Theatre Research. San Diego, CA

Caplan, D. (2018, October 31). In the Land of Happy Tears: Yiddish Tales for Modern Times. New York, NY: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Caplan, D. (2018, October 31). Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe and the Art of Itinerancy. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture.

Caplan, D. (2018, August 31). Care in the Academy: Revolutionizing Experiences and Access. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Boston, MA

Caplan, D. (2018, February 28). Reassessing Obscurity: Data, the Vilna Troupe, and Digital Humanities Praxis. Bloomington, IN: Borns Jewish Studies Program, Indiana University.

Caplan, D. (2018, June 30). Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe and the Art of Itinerancy. Los Angeles, CA: Skirball Cultural Center.

Caplan, D. (2018, April 30). Theatre 167 Book Night: Reading of Yiddish Empire. West End Theatre, New York, NY: Theatre 167 Wet Ink Festival.

Caplan, D. (2018, March 31). Yiddish Theater as Intercultural Theater. Portland, OR: University of Oregon.

Caplan, D. (2018, April 30). Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe and the Art of Itinerancy. Montclair, NJ: Congregation Shomrei Emunah.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2018, August 31). DIY Bad & Nasty Feminist Performance Actions. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Boston, MA

Caplan, D. (2017, November 30). Experiential Theater History: Bringing a Site-Specific Approach to the Classroom. American Society for Theatre Research. Atlanta, GA

Caplan, D. (2017, April 30). The World of Yiddish Theater. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D. (2017, April 30). The History of Yiddish Theater. The Making of Jewish Theater. New York, NY: Wasserman Jewish Studies Center, Baruch College.

Caplan, D. (2017, July 31). A Love Letter to the Yiddish Stage: Peretz's At Night in the Old Marketplace. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D. (2017, August 31). Translations of Western Classics into Yiddish. Shine Online Educational Series, Yiddish Theater course. New York, NY: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Caplan, D. (2016, December 31). What is Jewish Theater History? Form, Function, and Performance. Association for Jewish Studies. San Diego, CA

Caplan, D. (2016, December 31). Six Degrees of Yankev Blayfer: Social Networking the Interwar Yiddish Stage. Association for Jewish Studies. San Diego, CA

Caplan, D. (2016, January 31). Yiddish Theater's Global Journey. YiddishSchool. Boca Raton, FL: Yiddish Book Center, Florida Atlantic University.

Caplan, D. (2016, March 31). A Tortured Love Affair with the Yiddish Stage: The Spectacular Failures of Y.L. Peretz. New York, NY: CUNY Graduate Center, Center for Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2016, November 30). Being Yankele: Molly Picon's Performance of Masculinity in a Women's Language. American Society for Theatre Research. Minneapolis, MN

Caplan, D. (2016, May 31). Theatrical Complicity: Prostitution and the Making of Jewish Theater in the Global South. New York, NY: Weissman Global Seminar, Baruch College.

Caplan, D. (2016, July 31). Data and the 'Obscurity' of Yiddish Theater. Digital Humanities 2016. Krakow, Poland: Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations.

Caplan, D. (2016, September 30). The Spectacular Failures of Y. L. Peretz on the Yiddish Stage. New York, NY: Columbia University Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2016, November 30). Empowering Your Career: Strategies for Negotiation. American Society for Theatre Research. Minneapolis, MN

Caplan, D. (2016, April 30). Paula Vogel's Indecent. New York, NY: Martin E. Segal Theater Center, CUNY Graduate Center.

Caplan, D. (2015, May 31). Between Worlds: Singer's Mayn tatns beys-din shtub. New York, NY: Folksbiene National Yiddish Theatre.

Caplan, D. (2015, June 30). Networks of Performance: Social Connectedness and Theater-Making. Cambridge, MA: The Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University.

Caplan, D. (2015, March 31). Investigating New York Immigrant Theater Traditions. New York, NY: Baruch Undergraduate Research and Civic Engagement Faculty Seminar.

Caplan, D. (2015, January 31). Drama of the Imagination: H. Leyvik's Di khasene in fernvald. New York, NY: Folksbiene National Yiddish Theatre.

Caplan, D. (2015, June 30). . Dramaturgy Roundtable. Cambridge, MA: The Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University.

Caplan, D. (2015, October 31). Social Networking the Interwar Yiddish Stage: Visualizing a Pre-Digital Viral Phenomenon. Milwaukee, WI: Digital Humanities Lab, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Caplan, D. (2015, October 31). Shulamis, Home, and Nation. New York, NY: Columbia University, Yiddish Studies Program.

Caplan, D. (2015, October 31). . Digital Yiddish Theater Project Second Symposium. Milwaukee, WI: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Caplan, D. (2015, October 31). Death of a Salesman's Jewish Homecoming. New Paltz, NY: Resnick Institute for the Study of Modern Jewish Life, SUNY New Paltz.

Caplan, D. (2015, November 30). Jewish Theater, Global Theater: Yiddish Theater's Aesthetics of Itinerancy in the Long 19th Century. Itinerant Theatres, Audiences, and Adaptation Conference. London, U.K.: German Historical Institute.

Caplan, D. (2015, January 31). In the Temple of Art: Jewish Art as Holy Landscape in The Dybbuk. The Art of Cultural Translation: Performing Jewish Tradition in Modern Times. Oxford University, United Kingdom: Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2015, December 31). Toyt fun a saylsman talkback with members of the New Yiddish Rep. Yiddish New York. New York, NY

Caplan, D. (2015, November 30). Big Data and the 'Obscurity' of Yiddish Theater, Big Data Plenary. American Society for Theater Research. Portland, OR

Caplan, D. (2014, June 30). . Locations of Theater. Cambridge, MA: Mellon School for Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University.

Caplan, D. (2014, May 31). The Aesthetics of Itinerancy: Yiddish Theater as Transnational Prototype. New York, NY: Doctoral Theater Program, CUNY Graduate Center.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2014, March 31). Theorizing Artistic Community: Network Taxonomy for the Theater Historian. Artistic Networks and the Theatrical Imagination. New York, NY: American Comparative Literature Association.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2014, March 31). Yiddish Theater, Global Theater: Mapping the Vilna Troupe with Google Earth. Digital Yiddish Theater Project Symposium. Milwaukee, WI: Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Caplan, D. (2014, March 31). Yiddish Theater, Global Theater. Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book Center.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2014, December 31). . A Case Study for the Digital Humanities: The Digital Yiddish Theater Project. Baltimore, MD: Association for Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2014, December 31). New York Jews and the Must-See Theatrical Landscape of the 1920s. Der tog Symposium. New York NY: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Caplan, D. (2014, December 31). Dos Groyse Gevins: Then and Now. New York, NY: Folksbiene National Yiddish Theater.

Caplan, D. (2014, December 31). . Teaching with Social Media Roundtable. Baltimore, MD: Association for Jewish Studies.

Damelio, A., Caplan, D., Mohan, K., Waltzer , L., & O'Donoghue, K. (2014, December 5). Building Pedagogically-Sound and Technologically-Smart Hybrid Courses. CUNY's 13th Annual IT Conference. John Jay College of Criminal Justice: City University of New York.

Caplan, D. (2014, November 30). Material Objects Plenary. American Society for Theatre Research. Baltimore, MD

Caplan, D. (2014, November 30). Theatrical Complicity: Pimps, Prostitutkes, and the Making of Jewish Culture in the Global South. American Society for Theatre Research. Baltimore, MD

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2014, November 30). . Work/Life Balance Career Session. Baltimore, MD: American Society for Theater Research.

Caplan, D. (2014, October 31). The World of Yiddish Theater. New York, NY: Columbia University.

Caplan, D. (2014, June 30). Introduction to Yiddish Theater Workshop. New York, NY: Max Weinreich Center, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2013, March 31). The American Legacy of Yiddish Theater. New York, NY: Target Margin Theater.

Caplan, D. (2013, March 31). Charting the Spatial Frontier: Digital Mapping and the Future of Scholarship. Digital Humanities: The Next Generation. Boston, MA: Simmons College.

Caplan, D. (2013, November 30). . Navigating New Technologies. Dallas, TX: American Society for Theater Research.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2013, November 30). . Digital Methodologies in Theater Studies: An Electronic Roundtable. Dallas, TX: American Society for Theatre Research.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2013, December 31). In the Days of Job. Staging Leivick. Boston, MA: Association for Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2012, October 31). Sholem Asch's Forgotten Popular Sensation. The Other Yiddish Plays. New York, NY: Target Margin Theater.

Caplan, D. (2012, October 31). Earning Citizenship on the Global Stage: The Vilna Troupe's Dybbuk. The Dybbuk Conference. College Park, MD: University of Maryland Center for Jewish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2012, November 30). Global Theater History and the Digital Frontier. Harvard University Drama Colloquium. Cambridge, MA

Caplan, D. (2012, November 30). The Sun Never Sets on the Yiddish Stage: Global Artistic Networks in the Yiddish Art Theater Movement. American Society for Theatre Research. Nashville, TN

Caplan, D. (2012, December 31). A Second Original: Death of a Salesman's 'Return' to Yiddish. Association for Jewish Studies. Chicago, IL

Caplan, D. (2012, April 30). The Transnational Vilna Troupe(s): A New Look at a Yiddish Theater Landmark. Maria Salit-Gitelson Tell Memorial Lecture. New York, NY: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Caplan, D. (2012, January 31). The Vilna Troupe and the Emergence of a Modernist Yiddish Aesthetic. Modern Language Association. Seattle, WA

Caplan, D. (2012, March 31). Crisis, Catastrophe, and the Emergence of a Yiddish Art Theater. American Comparative Literature Association. Providence, RI: Brown University.

Caplan, D. (2011, December 31). The Vilna Troupe and the Mapping of Yiddish Art Theater History. Association for Jewish Studies. Washington, DC

Caplan, D. (2011, November 30). Transnationalism and the Historical Stage: The Case of the Yiddish Theater. American Society for Theatre Research. Montreal, QC

Caplan, D. (2011, June 30). The History and Transnational Legacy of the Vilna Troupe. Montreal, QC: Montreal International Yiddish Theater Festival.

Caplan, D. (2011, May 31). A Humble Synagogue: Joseph Buloff's Jewish Art Players and the Aesthetics of Modernist Yiddish Theater. Chicago: Theater Capital of America Symposium. Chicago, IL

Caplan, D. (2010, December 31). Death into Wonder: Theater, Redemption, & Resistance in Sutzkever's 'Tsum yortog fun geto-teater'. Association for Jewish Studies. Boston, MA

Caplan, D. (2010, December 31). Imagining the Other: Teatr Polski and the Warsaw Yiddish Art Theater. Association for Jewish Studies. Boston, MA

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2009, March 31). A Tongue in Exile: Insiders and Outsiders on the Polylingual Yiddish Stage. Jewish Languages and Literatures. Cambridge, MA: American Comparative Literature Association.

Caplan, D. (2009, March 31). Coming Attractions: Yiddish Theatre Programs and the Reading of Performance. International Junior Scholars' Conference on Jewish Art. Tel Aviv, Israel: Tel Aviv University.

Caplan, D. (2009, February 28). Beyond the Nation: Birobidzhan in the Jewish Imagination. Northeast Modern Language Association. Boston, MA

Caplan, D. L. Utopia and Dystopia in Yiddish Culture. New York, NY: CUNY Graduate Center Public Programs.

Other Scholarly Works

Caplan, D., & Stromberg, D. (2022). Translation: Sodom, by Isaac Bashevis Singer. 2022.

In Progress.

Caplan, D. (2019). Excerpt from The Life History of Sara Adler: As Told by Sara Herself. Women on the Yiddish Stage.

Caplan, D., & Glezer, R. (2019). The Jewish Question, By Aaron Zeitlin.

In Progress.

Caplan, D. L. (2019). Magic and Melody Delight in a Yiddish Fairytale Reborn. Digital Yiddish Theatre Project.

Caplan, D. (2019). Dystopia on the Verge: Or Why a 1934 Yiddish Play about Charlie Chaplin Still Matters.

Caplan, D. (2018). Teach OER: Introduction to Theatre Arts. Teach OER: A Website from Baruch's Center for Teaching and Learning.

Caplan, D. (2018). In the Kingdom of Ants and Mushrooms by Sofia Kantor. In the Land of Happy Tears: Yiddish Tales for Modern Times. 47-54.

Caplan, D. (2018). A Yiddish Poet, a Cuban Revolutionary, and a Historical Legend Walk Into a Bar: Review of Hatuey: Memory of Fire.

https://yiddishstage.org/a-yiddish-poet-a-cuban-revolutionary-and-a-historical-legend-walk-into-a-bar-a-review-of-hatuey-memory-of-fire

Caplan, D. (2018). Interview with Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof Actress Rachel Zatcoff.

https://yiddishstage.org/interview-yiddish-fiddler-on-the-roof-actress-rachel-zatcoff

Caplan, D. (2018). Singer the Unknown Playwright. Pakn Treger. (76),

Caplan, D. (2017). Brothel Intrigue with a Modern Twist: Got fun nekome at the New Yiddish Rep.

Caplan, D. (2016). Riding the Rails with Yiddish Actors. Pakn Treger. (74), 13-15.

Caplan, D. (2015). Six Degrees of Yankev Blayfer. Digital Yiddish Theatre Project.

http://www.yiddishstage.org/2015/12/04/six-degrees-of-yankev-blayfer/

Caplan, D., & Caplan, D. (2015). Digital Yiddish Theater Project Blog.

www.yiddishstage.org

Caplan, D. (2015). A Love Letter to the Yiddish Stage: Peretz's At Night in the Old Marketplace, Reconsidered. Pakn Treger. 7229-31.

Caplan, D. (2015). The Triumph of Vili Loman: Death of a Salesman at the New Yiddish Rep. In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies Blog.

http://ingeveb.org/blog/the-triumph-of-vili-loman-death-of-a-salesman-at-the-new-yiddish-rep

Caplan, D. (2014). Advice from Sidney Lumet's Yiddish Actor Dad.

http://www.yiddishstage.org/2014/12/15/lessons-from-sidney-lumets-yiddish-actor-dad/

Caplan, D. (2014). Goldfaden, Abraham. Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. 567-569.

Caplan, D. (2014). The Sun Never Sets on the Vilna Troupe. 6912-14.

Caplan, D. (2014). Target Margin's Yiddish Bender. 40-43.

Caplan, D. (2013). Greek Tragedy and Yiddish Literature/Theater. Encyclopedia of Greek Tragedy. 21126-1129.

Reviews

Caplan, D. L. (1970,January 1). Salvage Poetics: Post-Holocaust American Jewish Folk Ethnographies by Sheila E. Jelen. Studies in American Jewish Literature.

Caplan, D. L. (1970,January 1). Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, a film by Max Lewkowicz. American Jewish History.

Caplan, D. (2019,January 1). Review: The Rise of the Modern Yiddish Theater by Alyssa Quint. In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies.

Caplan, D. (2018,September 1). Review: Hideous Characters and Beautiful Pagans: Performing Jewish Identity on the Antebellum America Stage, by Heather S. Nathans. Theatre Survey.

Caplan, D. (2017,April 1). Review: Wonder of Wonders. Studies in American Jewish Literature.

Caplan, D. (2014,September 1). Review: Transposing Broadway: Jews, Assimilation, and the American Musical, by Stuart J. Hecht. Studies in American Jewish Literature.

Caplan, D. (2012,October 1). Review: Rewriting Russia: Jacob Gordin's Yiddish Drama by Barbara J. Henry. Modern Drama.

Caplan, D. (2010,November 1). Review: Beyond the Golden Door and Messiahs of 1933. Theatre Survey.

Research Currently in Progess

Caplan, D., Berkowitz, J., Henry, B., Steinlauf, M., Loeffler, J., Portnoy, E., Thissen, J., Veidlinger, J., Baker, Z., Seigel, A., Rubinstein, A., Spagnolo, F., Netsky, H., Underwood, N., & Legutko, A.(n.d.). Digital Yiddish Theater Project. In Progress.

An international initiative to develop a born-digital research, teaching, and preservation website for Yiddish theater history, co-founded by Debra Caplan (Baruch College) and Joel Berkowitz (University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin).

Caplan, D.(n.d.). Visualizing the Vilna Troupe. In Progress.

http://www.debracaplan.com/digital-scholarship1.html

Title	Funding Agency Sponsor	Start Date	End Date	Awarded Date	Total Funding	Status
Make them Laugh: Molly Picon and the Story of the American Jewish Stage	PSC CUNY 52	07/01/2021	06/30/2023	04/15/2021	3499.45	Completed
Digital Historiography and Performance	PSC-CUNY 51	07/01/2020	06/30/2021	04/17/2020	3499.45	Completed
Plotting Yiddish Drama	PSC-CUNY 50	07/01/2019	12/31/2022	04/13/2019	5950.32	Completed
Make them Laughy: Molly Picon and the Story of the American Jewish Stage	PSC-CUNY 49	07/01/2018	06/30/2019	04/15/2018	3330.95	Completed
Make them laugh: Molly Picon and the story of the American Jewish stage	Eugene Lang Fellowship	06/01/2018	06/30/2019	03/29/2018	6769.93	Completed
Jews, Theater, and the Aesthetics of Itinerancy, 1915-1940	PSC-CUNY 45	07/01/2014	06/30/2015	04/15/2014	3500	Completed
Make them Laugh: Molly Picon and the Story of the American Jewish Stage	PSC-CUNY 54	07/01/2023	06/30/2024	04/18/2023	3491.92	Funded - In Progress

Honor / Award	Organization Sponsor	Date Received	Description
Fenia and Yaakov Leviant Memorial Prize in Jewish Studies	Modern Language Association	2021
Fenia and Yaakov Leviant Memorial Prize in Yiddish Studies	Modern Language Association	2020-09-08	The Leviant Prize is given to an outstanding scholarly work in the field of Yiddish Studies. I received this award for my book, Yiddish Empire.
Open Educational Resources Seminar Participant	Baruch College Center for Teaching and Learning	2018
COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) Faculty Fellowship	Baruch College Center for Teaching and Learning	2018
George Freedley Memorial Award	Theatre Library Association	2018	The 2018 George Freedley Memorial Award for an exemplary work in the field of live theatre and performance was awarded to my book Yiddish Empire: The Vilna Troupe, Jewish Theater, and the Art of Itinerancy.
Global Learning Community Recipient	Weissman School, Baruch College	2016	Selected to lead an inaugural freshman Global Learning Community in Fall 2016
Fellowship, Seminar on Public Engagement and Collaborative Research	Center for the Humanities, CUNY Graduate Center	2015
Center for Teaching and Learning Faculty Fellowship	Baruch College	2014	3-credit course release to develop a hybrid online/traditional Introduction to Theater course at Baruch
Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Dissertation Fellowship	Foundation for Jewish Culture	2012
Melamed Dissertation Fellowship	Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University	2012
Teagle Seminar Course Development Award	Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University	2011
Research Grant	Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University	2011
Merit Fellowship	Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences	2011
Maria Salit-Gitelson Tell Fellowship	YIVO Institute for Jewish Research	2011
Dissertation Fellowship in Jewish Studies	Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture	2011
Certificate of Distinction in Teaching	Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University	2011
Dissertation Research Grant	Targum Shlishi Foundation	2011
Certificate of Distinction in Teaching	Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University	2010
Certificate of Distinction in Teaching	Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University	2009
Fein, Pinanski, and Shain Memorial Fellowship	Combined Jewish Philanthropies	2009
Kavinovsky Research Fellowship	Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University	2009
Merle Fainsod Prize	Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University	2007
Jewish Arts and Culture Initiative Grant	Harold Grinspoon Foundation	2006

College

Committee Name	Position Role	End Date
Harman Writer-In-Residence Fellowship Program Committee	Committee Member	Present
Harman Writer-in-Residence Program Committee	Committee Member	Present
Harman Writer-in-Residence Fellowship Program Committee	Committee Member	Present
Search Committee, Assistant Professor of Theater	Committee Member	Present
Baruch Committee on Financial Aid	Committee Member	Present
Baruch Faculty Senate	Committee Member	Present
Faculty Advisory Committee, Center for Teaching and Learning, Baruch College	Committee Member	Present
General Education Assessment Committee	Committee Member	Present
Weissman Faculty Mentorship Program	Faculty Mentor	Present
Baruch Macaulay Honors Admissions Committee	Committee Member	Present
Executive Committee, Department of Fine and Performing Arts	Committee Member	Present
Search Committee, Assistant Professor of Graphics	Committee Member	Present
Executive Committee, Department of Fine and Performing Arts	Committee Member	Present
Search Committee, Associate Professor of Graphic Design	Committee Member	Present
Search Committee, Lecturer in Graphic Design	Committee Member	Present
Global Studies Minor Committee	Committee Member	Present
Organizing Committee, Jewish Studies Center Annual Conference	Committee Member	Present
Advisory Board, Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center		Present
Baruch College Personnel and Budget Committee	Committee Member	7/14/2023
Weissman Committee on Undergraduate Academic Standing	Committee Member	12/31/2020
Search Committee, Assistant Professor of Theater Faculty Search	Committee Member	12/31/2020
School Committee on Undergraduate Academic Standing	Committee Member	12/31/2020
Baruch Thespian Club	Faculty Advisor	12/31/2019
Baruch Faculty Committee on Educational Technology	Committee Member	12/31/2018
Committee on Prizes, Scholarships, and Awards	Committee Member	12/31/2018
Committee on the Library	Committee Member	12/31/2018
WSAS Assessment Committee	Committee Member	12/31/2018
Advisory Board, Arts Administration M.A. Program	Committee Member	12/31/2018
Search Committee, Arts Administration M.A. Faculty Member	Committee Member	4/30/2018
Weissman Seminar on Interdisciplinary Scholarship	Core Faculty	12/31/2017
Academic Integrity Video Project for the Provost	Committee Chair	12/31/2015
Creative Inquiry Day Humanities Division Judge		5/31/2015

University

Committee Name	Position Role	Start Date	End Date
Delegate, Baruch College Chapter, PSC-CUNY	Committee Member	1/1/2020	Present
Theater and Performance Doctoral Curriculum Committee	Committee Member	9/1/2023	Present
PSC-CUNY Grievance Counselor for Full-Time Faculty	Grievance Counselor	1/23/2023	Present
Translation Seminar Leader, Center for the Humanities Seminar on Public Engagement and Collaborative Research	Program Coordinator	1/1/2015	12/31/2017

Professional

Organization	Position Role	Organization State	Organization Country	Start Date	End Date	Audience
Luna Stage	Officer, Vice President	New Jersey		1/1/2019	Present
Mellon School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University	Board Member			1/1/2013	Present
Luna Stage	Board of Directors of a Company	New Jersey	United States	2/1/2023	Present	Regional
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture	Reviewer, Grant Proposal			9/3/2018	Present	International
Jordan Schnitzer First Book Award, Association for Jewish Studies	Reviewer, Book			9/5/2022	Present	International
Kahan Prize, American Society for Theatre Research	Reviewer, Grant Proposal			5/2/2023	Present	International
Association for Jewish Studies	Distinguished Lecturer			1/1/2018	Present
Masterworks Theater Company	Board of Advisors of a Company	New York		1/1/2014	Present
American Society for Theatre Research Working Conditions Task Force	Committee Member			1/1/2015	Present
Yiddish Book Center	Board of Directors of a Company	Massachusetts		8/1/2015	Present
GPS: Global Performance Studies	Editorial Review Board Member			1/1/2016	Present
Empowerment Committee, American Society for Theatre Research	Committee Chair			1/1/2016	Present
Advisory Board, Great Jewish Books Program	Member			1/1/2017	Present
PSC-CUNY Performing Arts Grant Panel	Reviewer, Grant Proposal			9/6/2021	Present	State
Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture Doctoral Fellowship	Reviewer, Grant Proposal			1/1/2017	12/31/2019
Ad-Hoc Committee on Community Engagement, American Society for Theatre Research	Committee Chair			1/1/2018	12/31/2019
PSC-CUNY Performing Arts Panel	Reviewer, Grant Proposal			1/1/2018	12/31/2019
American Society for Theatre Research Social Media Committee	Committee Member			1/1/2017	12/31/2019
GPS: Global Performance Studies	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2018	12/31/2018
SUNY Press	Reviewer, Book			1/1/2018	12/31/2018
American Society for Theatre Research Executive Committee	Committee Member			1/1/2015	12/31/2018
Jewish Social Studies	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2017	12/31/2017
Theatre Topics	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2017	12/31/2017
Cultural Dynamics	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2016	12/31/2016
Great Jewish Books Teacher Workshop, Yiddish Book Center	Workshop Organizer			1/1/2015	12/31/2016
Theatre Journal	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2016	12/31/2016
Committee on Conferences, American Society for Theatre Research	Committee Member			1/1/2014	12/31/2015
Theatre Journal	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2015	12/31/2015
PMLA	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2015	12/31/2015
Israel Science Foundation	Reviewer, Grant Proposal		Israel	1/1/2015	12/31/2015
Digital Scholarship in the Humanities	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2015	12/31/2015
In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies	Reviewer, Journal Article			1/1/2015	12/31/2015
Meta-Committee, American Society for Theatre Research	Committee Member			1/1/2013	12/31/2014
Graduate Representative to Conference Committee, American Society for Theater Research	Committee Member			1/1/2012	12/31/2013
Literature and Medicine	Reviewer, Journal Article				12/31/2013
Papers on Language and Literature	Reviewer, Journal Article				12/31/2012

Public

Organization	Position Role	Organization State	Organization Country	Start Date	End Date	Audience
Luna Stage	Officer, Vice President	New Jersey		1/1/2019	Present