Theatrology an Zich, and beyond : notes towards a metacritical repositioning of theory, semiotics, theatre, and aesthetics

Theatrology an Zich, and Beyond: Notes Towards a Metacritical Repositioning of Theory, Semiotics, Theatre, and Aesthetics Study is a sobering reassessment of the ambiguous if not haphazard reception of the classical Prague School semiotics of theatre in contemporary theatre studies, mainly due to the lack of direct access to theoretical work written originally in Czech. Otakar Zich's path-breaking Estetika dramatického umění (Aesthetics of the Dramatic Arts, 1931) is singled out as the most obvious 'missing link' both for its historical achievement and for the underlying potential yet to be grasped and developed to its full potential (his henomenological analysis of correlated pivotal concepts of "stage figure" and "character", among others). It would appear that Zich could come to the rescue in a number of other questions contemporary theatrology ‒ and aesthetics in general ‒ has been struggling with.