Legal texts in the sense of statutes and case opinions are not the only subjects for interpretation in law. A trial is a sign-and-symbol stew in which texts are simultaneously presented, interpreted, created, narrated, reinterpreted, and ultimately judged. In previous installments, we discussed the many points of connection between theatrical and judicial spaces, and now it’s time to consider the performances that take place within those spaces and how meaning is created within each.

In a traditional proscenium-arch theater, there’s a sharp distinction between stage and audience: the action on the stage—the performance—is framed for the audience. But the performer-audience relationship is merely disrupted, not displaced, in experimental theaters featuring thrust stages, theater-in-the-round, or even street theater. This is to say that a proscenium theater isn’t a prerequisite to framing because framing isn’t just a function of the type of theater we’re observing; it’s a function of space being carved out of some other space for use as theatrical performance space.

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