ABSTRACT
When Richard Schechner first published “Performance Studies: The Broad Spectrum Approach” in 1988, his provocative statement challenged theatre departments to wake up to the larger context of Performance Studies, a “spectrum of performances” that exceeded conventional/traditional definitions of theatre. But a discussion of the canon—in terms of the introductory theatre or Performance Studies class—needs to not only embrace the broad spectrum; it must admit to a fundamental truth: theatre studies only makes sense to the privileged who have been to the theatre.
