They do help the reader to parse it, but I'm still not sure what it
means. Schechner's interest examined the same topics as Turner, but from a different lens? Isn't it Schechner, not his interest, that examines the topics?
It seems like the author is trying to convey several different but related ideas, but they're sort of mashed together in a way that makes the relationship unclear.
- Schechner examines the same topics as Turner.
- Schechner examines the same topics through a different lens.
- Schechner is interested in the range of performances in life.
What's not clear at all to me is whether the interests listed are the the topics being examined, the lens through which they're examined, something else entirely. At the very least I'm pretty sure they're not doing any examining.