Drama is the study of the continuity and change of the human experience and understanding how to communicate and share that experience with others is pivotal to building a student’s sense of self and their place in the world. This understanding is developed creatively through active, experiential, critical and reflective learning, and may be presented through performance, oral and multimodal presentations, essays, design portfolios, and scale model constructions. Through these learning experiences, students engage in an integrated study of the Elements of Drama through the practices of making, performing and appreciating.
As students engage with the course, they develop a variety of skills that are valuable across a range of industries and invaluable assets in any future workplace, including:
- Building confidence and self esteem
- Communicating in powerful and complex ways
- Leading and working within teams
- Creating imaginative solutions
- Creative thinking and problem solving
- Developing self-discipline
These skills and a deeper appreciation of the human experience are achieved through a strong engagement across a range of dramatic forms, performance styles, dramatic techniques, global and historical dramatic traditions and theatrical techniques.
Stage 5
Each year students experience the core study of Playbuilding, in which students create a self-devised performance to build an understanding of the Elements of Drama and various theatrical techniques. In addition to this, students participate in a study of:
- Elizabethan Theatre
- Set Design & Scale Model Construction
- Commedia Dell Arte
- Melodrama
- Realism
- Political & Protest Theatre
- World Theatre
- Contemporary Scripted Drama
Stage 6
Drama in years 9 and 10 are not required to study Senior Drama, however if you have, the skills you have learned will be useful. Drama includes both Practical and Theoretical Components. All students must participate in the Group Performance for the HSC. Students work in a group of three to six and produce an original piece of theatre. Marks are based on both performance and structure. You must also present an Individual Project. This is negotiated between the student and the teacher.
