Performance: a key to understanding culture -- Iranian theatre: rooted in tradition -- Sources of meaning in Iranian folk culture -- Dynamics and changes in musical performance -- Ta'ziyeh and ruhozi: symbolic expression in popular performance -- Symbolic conventions in performance: the logic of representation in ta'ziyeh -- The dynamics of humor in ruhozi comedy -- Performing religious roles: accomplishing the sacred -- Performing roles in Iranian theatre : accomplishing identity through performative symbols -- The mass media and the revolution: before and after.