Overview
Availability
Years 9-10
Qualification
RoSA
The study of drama is founded on distinct ways of understanding the world through exploring, enacting and interpreting real and imagined people, worlds and experiences. All cultures engage in drama and theatre to develop and communicate artistic, critical, sensory and affective meanings.
Stage 5 Drama is the study of making, performing and appreciating drama and theatre. Students learn as practitioners, challenging themselves and others to consider new perspectives on familiar and unfamiliar experiences.
Term 1
Devising Theatre Through Maskwork
Students create a portfolio for a character they wish to portray through movement. They then create a mask for this character using colours, textures and symbolism.
Students then devise duo or small group movement piece that best represents their masked character/s. Physical skills and vocals will be a strong focus.
Term 2
Commedia dell’Arte
Focusing on comedy, humanity and our social conditioning, the motivating force of Commedia dell’Arte is love – love of money, food, drink, love itself and love of oneself. Through the study of stock characters and topical themes and current affairs, students script individual scenes to create a whole class contemporary performance using masks and costumes.
Term 3
Reality TV
Students will work towards designing a Reality TV show to be sold to a streaming channel. Through designing, scripting and marketing they will devise an episode of their TV show to be piloted – incorporating a director and/or producer – reflecting an understanding of the purpose and targeted audiences of reality TV.
Term 4
Black Comedy
Black Comedy finds great humour in what most people regard as inappropriate subject matter. It mocks serious topics such as death and political correctness and laughs at the silliness of human existance. Studying excerpts from the plays of Australian and Indigenous playwrights, students work individually or in small groups, towards the presentation of a scripted scene.
Assessment and Outcomes
These topic areas will go towards a 100 hour ROSA course. Assessment is based on making, performing and appreciating self-devised and scripted pieces each term.
Through research, recording of observations, role playing, rehearsals, discussions, editing, refining of self devised pieces, Drama students use their ever-growing performance skills to communicate problems and possible solutions or messages of hope. Students are encouraged to refine their vocal and physical skills to become better communicators, by using and reading body language and an extended vocabulary, both written and spoken.
Drama students could expect to become confident, wellrounded students with strong beliefs and morals, able to express themselves, their ideals and support these with articulation and knowledge.