Resumen del Libro

Rivera-Rodas proposes a new concept about what he calls the poetics of the theatrical reception. The discussion of this phenomenon, which also deals with meta theater, focuses on the dramatic work of Mario Vargas Llosa. Examination of the complex relationships of contemporary dramatic structures provides a new definition of meta theater and its effects on the public. Meta theater is shown as a semiotic result not theatrically representable, since it takes place only in the spectator's perceptible experience. Therefore, it does not exist prior to the theatrical or reading reception, nor is it present in the staging. Instead, meta theater results from interaction among reader, text, and performance.