The document discusses semiotics and structuralism, focusing on the work of Ferdinand de Saussure who analyzed language as being composed of signs made up of a signifier (what we perceive) and signified (the concept it represents). It also discusses Charles Peirce who expanded on this idea by categorizing signs as being iconic, indexical, or symbolic based on the relationship between the signifier and signified. The document suggests applying these semiotic concepts to analyzing performance by describing perceived signifiers, identifying signified meanings, and determining the relationship between them.