Year 11 Drama provides a solid foundation for those who wish to pursue Drama at NCEA Level 2 and through to NZ Scholarship level. The course is an opportunity to extend your interest and skill in performance as well as building confidence in public speaking, developing creativity and collaborating effectively.

Year 11 Drama continues to build on the learning that takes place in Year 10 Drama. This includes development in devising practices, character studies, text/play analysis, improvisation, collaboration and theatre forms.

Drama can be an amazing opportunity to add balance and variety into a students timetable. Exploring ideas collaboratively and physically can contrast with classes that may have a more theory-based focus. As well as this, a student's involvement in Drama has been linked to superior oral language development and communication, improved reading outcomes, deepened emotional maturity and empathy, as well as greater self-confidence. (Podlozny. A, 2000).

In Year 11 Drama you will:

• Devise original performances

  • • This includes:

      • learning how to structure, create, write and perform original work 

• Perform texts from established playwrights

  • • This includes: 

      • Reading and analysing famous or influential texts as a class

      • Using Drama techniques to create clear roles and relationships on stage

      • Blocking movement and memorising lines for key excerpts from the play

      • Performing excerpts live, in a group, for the class

• Demonstrate understanding of theatre forms

  • • This includes:

      • • Studying influential theatre forms and their significance to the time period and place they were created. In the past this has included the study of Commedia Dell'arte, Ancient Greek Theatre, Shakespeare and more.

        • Performing in the style of the theatre form, demonstrating understanding of stylistic features.

Term One - Drama Techniques and Niu Sila

• In Term One we:

  • Explore the use of voice, body, movement and space to create believable and convincing characters

  • Study and perform excerpts from the play 'Niu Sila' by Dave Armstrong and Oscar Kightley

  • Work collaboratively with our peers to workshop and perform ideas and scenes

Term Two - Devising and Theatre Form

• In Term Two we:

  • Learn about the use dramatic conventions to create original, devised performances

  • Study the Italian Theatre Form of Commedia Dell'arte

  • Demonstrate the use of stylistic features from the Commedia Dell'arte form in an original devised performance

Term Three - Ancient Greek Theatre

• In Term Three we:

  • Study Ancient Greek Theatre and the social/historical world at the time

  • Explore conventions of the form and apply them in performance

  • Read and perform Sophocles' 'Antigone' and demonstrate our understanding of the text and how it reflects the values of the time it was written.
    
    

Throughout the year the students will have the opportunity to watch live, professional theatre both at school and at local theatres and participate in workshops and seminars with these performers.

You may pick up this subject at Year 11, but a study of Drama at Year 10 is helpful. You should have a strong interest and enthusiasm for the subject and have been involved in extra-curricular performances. You will have completed coursework or participated positively in the Year 10 Drama course.

• You will also need:

  • an open mind and the will to focus.

  • the ability to listen and work autonomously.

  • to accept feedback and act on feed forward.

  • to think critically and be adaptive to arrange of learning environments

  • a sense of humour and a positive outlook to class.

If you have any questions please get in touch with the HoD of Drama, Jessica Cooper j.cooper@wc.school.nz

Acceptance will be at the discretion of the HoD of Drama.

This course provides an excellent foundation for students wishing to continue onto NCEA L2 Drama.

All course content is based around practical, performance-based assessment. All assessments will also require the completion of theory-based components, including portfolios and presentations, that demonstrate understanding.

Although all performances are as a group, you will be assessed individually.

Other Details
An integral part of studying Drama is the opportunity to see professional theatre. Students will be taken on class trips and may have local theatre practitioners run workshops with them.

Formative and summative assessments (checkpoints) take place throughout the year. You will be advised of due dates at the start of each term.

Assessments are sometimes expected to take place outside of class time in front of an invited audience.

Assessment in the Junior and Middle School

Learning Progressions are an evaluation of student progress using various modes of learning as evidence (not just a one-off test).  They are based on the New Zealand Curriculum, and show the level at which a student is demonstrating knowledge or skills.  Our Learning Progressions Framework maps out students’ development as they move through Years 9 - 11.  

Within each subject, at the end of a phase of learning (ie. topic, unit or skill), students will be evaluated using these indicators: Emerging, Developing, Proficient, Advancing.  For more information about what these mean, please see the Year 9 - 11 section of our website.