Term 1 Weeks 1-7

Unit 1: Improvisation/Play-building & Acting

This term, students will create an original piece of theatre that is a complete theatrical statement, demonstrating a sense of dramatic shape and structure. Students will have an opportunity to explore concepts, theatrical techniques and conventions and demonstrate their performance skills. A group consists of no fewer than three and no more than six students, and the performance lasts 8–12 minutes. Students will have the opportunity to choose a topic to serve as a stimulus for creating the group performance. The Assessment task will consist of each student collaborating with a group to devise an original piece of theatre based on a theme, concept, issue, idea, or image from the Group Performance list. 

TERM 1 COURSE OVERVIEW

Unit 1: Improvisation, Playbuilding & Acting

Term 1 Weeks 7-10

Term 2 Weeks 1-10

Unit 2: Studies in Contemporary Theatre 

All performance, however old or new, occurs within a historical, social and cultural context. Students learn about the importance of these contexts and develop performance skills by exploring differences in performance spaces, acting techniques, dramatic structures, and theatrical conventions. Students learn that key elements of theatrical performance, such as the presence of the actor, the use of space, the role of image and sound, the principles of structure, and the role of story and narrative, have different meanings and significance across contexts. Learning will encompass a range of cultural perspectives through the material chosen for study. In studying Contemporary Theatre, students learn experientially. This occurs through practical workshops using improvisation and playbuilding, and a variety of texts, scripts or extracts from scripts. In this work, they will use dramatic and theatrical techniques appropriate to contemporary style. Through research, discussion, and theatre visits, students learn how contemporary theatrical traditions and performance styles inform all drama and theatre. 

TERM 1 & 2 COURSE OVERVIEW: 

Unit 2: Studies in Contemporary Theatre

Term 3 Weeks 1-10

Elements of Production in Performance 

This unit develops students’ understanding of how performance is shaped through production elements, practitioner methods, and interpretive staging choices. Through a sustained study of a selected play, students engage in practical workshops, scene rehearsals, contextual investigation, and ensemble-based performance tasks. 

The learning sequence mirrors the structure of the Preliminary Drama teaching programs, beginning with exploration and skill-building, moving into interpretation and rehearsal intensives, and culminating in a performance assessment. 

Across the 10 weeks, students build a strong actor-director vocabulary through the integrated study of three major practitioners:

• Konstantin Stanislavsky – psychological realism, objectives, actions, units/beats, subtext

• Stella Adler – imagination, circumstance, invention, external research, character depth

• Anne Bogart & Viewpoints – spatial relationships, tempo, architecture, gesture, ensemble movement

Students apply each practitioner’s tools directly to scenes from the chosen play, allowing them to experience how different methodologies shape performance meaning and creative decision-making.

In addition to the scene performance, students will submit an Individual Project, modelled on the structure and creative modes of the HSC Individual Project.

Students may select ONE of the following performance, design, or critical modes:

• Performance: Monologue

• Scriptwriting: Original short script (scene or excerpt)

• Design: Costume

• Design: Set

• Design: Poster/Program

• Critical Analysis: Theatre Review

TERM 3 COURSE OVERVIEW: 

Unit 3: Elements of Production in Performance