About

The Digital Yiddish Theatre Project [DYTP] is dedicated to studying the rich legacy of the Yiddish stage from its origins to the present day. Founded in 2012 by Joel Berkowitz and Debra Caplan, the DYTP is an international group of  scholars  who are among the world’s leading authorities on Yiddish theatre and drama.

The DYTP is a digital publication platform that explores the cultural, linguistic, and geographic complexity of the Yiddish theatre. We publish on Yiddish drama and performance, including original scholarship, theatre reviews, interviews, plot synopses, and translations from primary sources. We write for a wide range of readers, including researchers, theatre practitioners, students, teachers, translators, and the general public.

In addition to our original scholarship, the resources the DYTP offers include:

For centuries, Yiddish theatre was one of the most significant cultural phenomena in the Jewish world. Yiddish was the native language of almost all of eastern European Jewry. Yiddish plays addressed all of the major issues facing modern Jewry, including the tension between tradition and modernization, antisemitism, religious reforms, radical politics, the Holocaust, and debates over the creation of a Jewish state. The Yiddish theatre is thus one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding modern Jewish history.

Core Values

Community is central to the ethos and practices of the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project. Each of our team members brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the group, while also supporting one another. We also seek to nurture younger scholars and integrate them into collaborative, public-facing scholarship. Our community of contributors also assists us in creating a well-rounded body of work that is accessible and solidly grounded in research.

We also interact with an international readership that further broadens the diversity of our online community. They span countries, languages, generations, religious affiliations, and walks of life. The material we publish is often used in classrooms, as a way for readers to learn the history of their own culture, by performing artists seeking to deepen their understanding of the Yiddish stage, by scholars in adjacent fields, and by members of the general public who have an interest in Jewish or performance history.

We are committed to broad representation in terms of both our membership and the content of our publications. Our research team consists of members at various stages of their careers, which span academia, libraries, and performance. The content of our articles, posts, and plot synopses expands upon traditional criticism and scholarship in our field while exploring and expanding the boundaries of Yiddish theatre studies. This includes highlighting the contributions and experiences of traditionally under-represented groups and individuals, and grappling with broadly compelling, relevant subject matter, including questions of racial, religious, ethnic, and gender identity, and the vital role that an understanding of Yiddish drama and performance plays in the understanding of Jewish identity and Jewish history. 

We are always interested in improving our commitment to equity and welcome ideas and suggestions from our readers.

Contributing Editors

Advisory Board