The study book offers a systematic introduction to the areas, methods, and issues of the field of theater studies. It understands theater studies as a forward-looking science because it explores interactions between people and transitions between everyday life and performance events. The multifunctional approach clarifies the relationship between theater and performances, rituals, and dance. Acting concepts, dramaturgies, and the staging of events are brought to the forefront, regardless of whether they are produced for everyday life, institutional theater, or audiovisual media.