Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice

How to use this resource

Welcome to studying Contemporary Australian Theatre practice as part of the HSC drama course. These resources are not a unit of work, but rather a collection of suggested activities and resources that compliment the study of the prescribed plays for Topic 2: Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice. 

All of the workshop activities in these resources 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 experience 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 following list should be selected. The plays are:

For more information, visit Course prescriptions for Drama Stage 6 2019–2024 (NESA, 2023).

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'll explore structures, forms, styles, and conventions that make theatre a captivating art form. Through engaging workshops, you'll put theory into practice, culminating in presentations and performances. You'll develop acting techniques, characterisation, performance styles, and will explore how the use of space can engage audiences.

In addition, you'll 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

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

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 a play to read the 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.

Plays set for study

Check with your teacher about which of these plays are relevant to your study of Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice.

References

Course prescriptions for Drama Stage 6 2019–2024 © 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.

Harrison, J. 2007. Stolen [play script]. Currency Press.

Katz, L. 2014. Neighbourhood Watch [play script]. Currency Press.

Keene, D. 2010. Life Without Me [play script]. Currency Press.

This work has been generated using artificial intelligence. Any copyright subsisting in this work is owned by the NSW Department of Education.