DUMMY by Walker Caplan to Make World Premiere
Directed by Eliza Palter, New Relic Theatre's new commission examines performance and control through a centuries-old theatrical device.
New Relic Theatre will present the world premiere of DUMMY, written by Walker Caplan and directed by Eliza Palter, November 13-22, 2026, at IATI's Underground Theater. The script was commissioned by New Relic Theatre and was developed in partnership with the New York Society Library.
In the prison town of Yow, three teenagers stage a pageant retelling Yow's founding myth. Creating this play, however, quickly demands far more from each than they expected. Darkly funny, absurd, and unnerving, DUMMY examines the evil inside every artist.
Walker Caplan is a playwright and fiction writer whose short story 'Attention' appears in the Fall 2026 issue of n+1. Caplan's play Castle Door, co-created with Matt Romein and workshopped through CultureHub's New Works Lab, will be produced by LaMaMa in 2027. Caplan is also co-editor-in-chief of Joyland, a literary magazine devoted to fiction.
Caplan's play takes inspiration from the 'dumb scene,' a centuries-old comic theatrical device in which one person interprets another's silence. In DUMMY, that trope is transformed into a contemporary story about performance and control.
DUMMY runs November 13-22, 2026, at IATI's Underground Theater in the East Village. Tickets are available now, starting at $10. Cast & creative team will be announced soon.
About New Relic Theatre
New Relic Theatre is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit theater company that develops and produces adventurous new work and adaptations. DUMMY is a commission by New Relic Theatre and the world premiere of Walker Caplan's play.
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