Solo piece

This assessment is only taken by Higher Level candidates and at 35% of the total mark is the single most important assessment.

The task is to choose a theorist whose work you are not familiar with. A theorist is someone who has written about theatre or an aspect of theatre such as lighting or acting. Most people who write about theatre are concerned with practical aspects of performance, but a theorist will also be concerned with more complex ideas such as how theatre can influence or reflect issues in society. Some theorists are also theatre-makers while some have written about theatre without becoming involved creatively. Some theorists have had actor training as their main focus. You will find that the language used by some theorists is quite dense and part of the challenge will be to interpret what exactly their ideas mean when interpreted practically. In these cases it can be helpful to read a commentary or a simplified version of the original work.

Once you have found a theorist and have read some his or her work you will become aware that there are particular aspects to their theories as well as overarching ideas. You are looking for an aspect which you can incorporate and demonstrate in your short solo performance. It's a good idea to choose an aspect which you find interesting to explore and which you feel would like to you having a clear creative response.

The solo piece is an acting task in which only you can perform. However, you should make use of a friend to offer you feedback as you develop your piece and you should make a record of their comments in your journal. You can also have technical support in you performance although you will need to give instructions to the technical crew. Using video to record the development of your piece is a good idea. You can store your recordings on a site such as Vimeo and add links to your journal.

In the files section below is a useful document on the stages of creating your solo project. There is exemplar material on the IB website which you will find useful including marked work and videos of performances.