Does theater have a social function? Dirk Baecker, one of the leading sociologists of our time, answers this question in the affirmative. He sees this function in the reflection on relationships of second-order observation, the observation of observers, which theater uniquely accomplishes. In doing so, he does not deny the art of theater; on the contrary, to make observers observable, theater must engage with a perception that typically has other things to attend to. According to Baecker, contemporary theater is an adventure for two reasons: First, bodies, light, moods, stage designs, and media are rediscovered as observers, which have been largely displaced by humans in classical modern theater. Second, theater today is not only discussing its institutions but also its formats.