In this area of study students focus on the analysis and evaluation of the acting, direction and design in a production selected from the prescribed VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist.
Students attend a production selected from the Unit 4 Playlist. They study the theatrical style/s evident in the performance and analyse and evaluate how actor/s, director/s and designer/s interpret the script for an audience. They consider the interrelationships between acting, direction and design in the performance. In doing so students consider character/s in the play, how the actor/s interpreted them on stage and the contribution of the director/s to this process.
They study acting skills used by the actor/s to portray the character/s, including facial expression, voice, gesture, movement and stillness and silence. Students develop an understanding of other aspects of acting, direction and design, including artistic vision, focus, the use of elements of theatre composition, the use of verbal and non-verbal language to convey the intended meanings of the play and the establishment and maintenance of the actor–audience relationship. S
tudents’ understanding of the techniques being used by the actor/s, director/s and designer/s is informed by techniques they used to interpret the monologue they selected for Area of Study 1. They refine their understanding of the terminology and expressions associated with analysing theatre productions.
• the character/s in the production including the function and purpose, objective/s, motivation/s, status and traits
• interpretation of a script in performance by actor/s, director/s and designer/s
• acting skills used by the actor/s to realise character/s, including facial expression, voice, gesture, movement, stillness and silence
• acting and directorial decisions made in interpreting a script and application of direction in the production
• design decisions made in interpreting a script and application of design in the production
• application of elements of theatre composition in the production
• focus and verbal and/or non-verbal language to convey the intended meanings of the script
• the establishment and maintenance of the actor–audience relationship
• the interrelationships between acting, direction, design and theatre style/s utilised in the production
• theatre terminology and expressions to analyse and evaluate a theatre production.
• analyse the character/s in the production including function and purpose, objective/s, motivation/s, status and traits
• analyse and evaluate interpretation of a script in performance by actor/s, director/s and designer/s, including
the acting, direction, design and elements of theatre composition used and the interrelationships between acting, direction and design
• analyse the use of focus, the acting space and verbal and/or non-verbal language to convey the intended meanings of the script
• analyse and evaluate:
– the acting, directorial and design decisions made in interpreting a script
– the application of elements of theatre composition in interpreting a script
– the use of acting and design in the performance
– the establishment and maintenance of the actor–audience relationship
• analyse the ways that actor/s, director/s and designer/s work with the theatre style/s utilised in the production
• use theatre terminology and expression appropriately.