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How to use this resource
How to use this resource
Welcome to studying Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice as part of the HSC drama course. This resource is not a unit of work, but rather a collection of suggested activities and resources that compliment the study of the 2025–2027 prescribed plays for Topic 2: Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice.
All of the workshop activities in this resource are designed to be led or guided by your teacher. Before beginning the activities, ask your teacher for guidance. You should also seek regular feedback from your teacher throughout each activity. Throughout this topic, you will not only delve into theory, but also get hands-on experiences to truly understand the artistic, cultural, social, political and personal issues and concerns that drive the plays set for study.
At least 2 plays from the list below should be selected. The plays are:
Yves Blake's Fangirls
Jane Harrison’s The Visitors
Michelle Law's Single Asian Female
Lally Katz’ Neighbourhood Watch
For more information, visit Course prescriptions for Drama Stage 6 2025–2027 (NESA, 2024).
As you begin your study of these plays, you may like to hear what the playwrights themselves by reading the interviews in Australian Plays Transform's Hear it from the Playwright – HSC Drama collection.
As part of your studies, you may also have the opportunity to focus on the importance of culturally safe practices when engaging with dramatic works created by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples, or to engage with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples' perspectives in and through the plays.
You will explore structures, forms, styles, and conventions that make theatre a captivating art form. Through engaging in the workshops, you will put theory into practice, culminating in presentations and performances. You will develop acting techniques, characterisation, performance styles, and will explore how the use of space can engage audiences.
In addition, you will develop analytical skills to interpret, synthesise, and discuss your understanding of the plays and making, performing and critically studying drama. Written responses will be a key way to structure and convey your insights, allowing you to effectively articulate your thoughts on experiential learning.
Syllabus outcomes
Syllabus outcomes
Each activity across the resource has suggestions for how to align the activity with syllabus content in the Drama Stage 6 Syllabus (NESA, 2009). These syllabus outcomes are suggestions only and your teacher is best placed to sequence these activities into a program of learning for your class.
Teacher's note
Teacher's note
All workshop activities are designed to be accessed by students but require teachers to lead these activities. Accompanying each resource is a short section of teacher's notes. Click one of the buttons below and navigate to one of the 4 plays to read these notes.
Teachers should also note that all the plays on the HSC drama prescriptions list contain some issues that may be considered controversial in some contexts. When managed appropriately, the study of controversial issues provides valuable and significant learning experiences and helps to prepare students for informed and reasoned involvement in community life through the cooperative study of social issues. Teachers should approach these issues in a sensitive, objective and balanced way, ensuring that a range of views on a subject are considered in selecting and designing suitable learning activities for their specific context in line with the Controversial Issues in Schools Policy. It is also important that teachers ensure that learning activities are appropriately supervised so that objectivity is maintained.
When unpacking the 'Respectful learning' activities for each play, teachers may find it helpful to refer to the safe processes advice in NESA's Dramatic processes: Drama 7–10 syllabus teaching and learning support, provides advice on cultural safety for people from all cultural backgrounds, which may be useful when considering how to explore artistic, cultural, social, political and personal issues and concerns from diverse cultural backgrounds and perspectives. NESA's Teaching advice (additional): Years 7–10 Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content may also provide useful support for studying The Visitors.
Plays set for study
Plays set for study
Check with your teacher about which of these plays are relevant to your study of Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice.
References
References
Course prescriptions for Drama Stage 6 2025–2027 © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2023.
Drama Stage 6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2009.
Blake, Y. 2021. Fangirls [play script]. Currency Press, Sydney.
Harrison, J. 2021. The Visitors [play script]. Currency Press, Sydney.
Law, M. 2018. Single Asian Female [play script]. Currency Press, Sydney.
Katz, L. 2014. Neighbourhood Watch [play script]. Currency Press.
Australian Plays Transform, 2024, Hear it from the Playwright – HSC Drama collection [webpage]. Accessed 30 August 2024.
Drama 7-10 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2023.
Some of this work has been generated using artificial intelligence. Any copyright assisting in this work is owned by the NSW Department of Education.
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