A Study of the Active Role of the Ta’aziyeh Audience in Performance Production and Meaning

The First chapter is an introduction which covers the question, aims and methodology of this study. There are two aims in the study: First to show the active role of Ta’aziyeh audience in performance production and second, to explain their role in making the performance meaning in the Reader-response criticism. The second chapter of the study deals with the first one and describes characteristics of its audience. Third chapter explains Reader-response criticism and its philosophical background. There are two approaches in Reader-response criticism that we separate them according to the result of the study: Constance school and Psychological approach. The results of these two chapters are used in the next chapter, to conclude that the Ta’aziyeh audience is an active participant in the performance production. According to Constance school, the audience doesn’t play any role in making of the meaning, but according to Psychological approach, this is the audience (his actions and reactions) that makes the meaning of the performance.