Ta ziyeh inhabits a broad space in the performance traditions of the world. It straddles the line between great art and traditional theatre and verges on ritual. Like many Asian theatrical traditions, there are no training manuals and no schools of instruction for ta ziyeh performers. That such a grandly impressive tradition could emerge from an informal training system is surprising. Insofar as it is possible to speak of ta ziyeh training, such an assessment must be made ethnographically by witnessing troupes and talking to individual performers. The authors have been working with ta ziyeh performers over a span of more than years—in villages, in urban areas, at national festivals, and specially staged performances in venues that are not typical for this genre, such as enclosed theatrical spaces in Iran as well as in Europe and North America. In particular, Mohammad B. Ghaffari has produced more performances of ta ziyeh for nontraditional audiences than any other artist, and has not only researched the topic, but worked directly with many troupes and individual performers. Although there are more than known ta ziyeh dramas, with subjects ranging from the tragic to the comic, the most popular center on the passion of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. These dramas are essentially the story of a multigenerational family and its enemies. There are male and female characters, all played by men, and the performers are of all ages, from infancy to senescence. In addition, a whole range of both realistic and fantastic figures are represented throughout the dramas.