Poof! Performance theory

Performance theory is a multidisciplinary theory explored most prominently by Richard Schechner, who says that "performing onstage, performing in special social situations, and performing in everyday life are a continuum" (Schnechner 143). With his work, Schechner has had influence not only in the academic disciplines of anthropology, sociology, and gender studies, but also within the world of theatre production. Schechner's research interrogates the conventional definitions of theatre and makes the case for a more revolutionary kind of production that engages with a "survival value" or "biological function" (53), so that each player—writer, performer, viewer—derives meaning from the performance.