 If, as historically has been claimed, there is nothing more to theatrical performances than illustrations of a text (Spingarn 1911 [1931]), then there might be a quick way to answer the question, “How does a spectator recognize an instance of theater?”: to encounter an instance of theater is nothing more than to encounter a dramatic text. But, even so, you must still figure out precisely what sort of illustration of a text a live performance is (Worthen 2007). If one takes the view that one should think of a theatrical performance as something to be described, interpreted, and evaluated on its own terms, there is much more to do (Hamilton 2007).