Drama
Stage 6 Drama
Course Prescriptions
Higher School Certificate Drama
2012 – 2014
Contents
Foreword........................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction....................................................................................................................... 5
Content.............................................................................................................................. 5
Topic List – Group Performance....................................................................................... 6
Text List for Individual
Projects....................................................................................... 7
Topics for Study................................................................................................................ 8
Australian Drama and Theatre (Core Study)................................................................ 8
Topic 1: Dramatic Traditions in Australia................................................................. 9
Topic 2: Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice................................................. 9
Studies in Drama and Theatre..................................................................................... 10
Topic 3: Tragedy..................................................................................................... 10
Topic 4: Irish Drama................................................................................................ 11
Topic 5: Brecht........................................................................................................ 11
Topic 6: Site-specific,
Street and Event Theatre..................................................... 12
Topic 7: Approaches to
Acting............................................................................... 12
Topic 8: Verbatim Theatre....................................................................................... 13
Topic 9: Black Comedy........................................................................................... 14
Examinations................................................................................................................... 15
Individual Project........................................................................................................ 15
Group Performances and Individual Performances.................................................... 15
Examination of the Group Performance..................................................................... 16
Examination of the Individual Project: Performance.................................................. 18
Foreword
The HSC course prescriptions for Drama
contain information pertaining to the Higher School Certificate in 2012–2014.
Any amendments to requirements will be notified in the Board Bulletin Official Notices.
The HSC course prescriptions for Drama
should be read in conjunction with:
·
the Drama Stage 6 Syllabus and other support documents
·
Official Notices in the Board Bulletin.
There are prescribed topics, texts and
rubrics required for study in the Drama Stage 6 HSC course. The Board of
Studies reserves the right to make changes to the prescribed topics, texts and
rubrics listed in this document. As the prescribed topics, texts and rubrics
are reviewed, the amendments will be published on the Board of Studies website
<www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au> and in the Official Notices published in
the Board Bulletin.
Curriculum advice may be obtained on:
phone (02) 9367
8030 fax (02) 9367 8476
Correspondence should be addressed to:
Board of Studies
GPO Box 5300
Sydney NSW 2001
GPO Box 5300
Sydney NSW 2001
Introduction
The study of texts prescribed in any
course for the Higher School Certificate examination may not begin before the
completion of the Preliminary course. ‘Study’ here means teacher-directed study
and does not apply to attending performances in the Preliminary course of any
plays prescribed as HSC texts in Australian Drama and Theatre, Studies in Drama
and Theatre, or the Design list for the Individual Project. Students should not
be involved in productions of any of these texts during the Preliminary year.
(Please note that this supersedes the direction in BOS 141/92).
When choosing topics and texts for study
teachers should consider material that is appropriate to the needs, interests
and abilities of their students and appropriate to the ethos and aspirations of
their particular schools. If students are to perform extracts from scripts to
an audience other than the drama class, the teacher should either ensure that
the material is appropriate for the audience (as it may be unfamiliar with the
texts and their themes) or distribute explanatory notes to the audience
members.
Topics and texts should be taught
experientially. These practical experiences should inform the students’
understanding and may be used in their HSC essays to show a personal response
rather than a purely literary one.
Content
The information contained in the
following pages relates to:
1
Topic List – Group Performance
2
Text List – Individual Project:
Design/Critical Analysis (Director’s Folio)
3
Topic List for Australian Drama
and Theatre and Studies in Drama and
Theatre.
Topic lists for Group Performance,
Individual Project: Design/Critical Analysis (Director’s Folio), Australian
Drama and Theatre, and Studies in Drama and Theatre may be changed in total or
in part every three years.
Topic List – Group Performance
ONE topic to be selected by each group from the following:
1. All clear
2. Ajax
3. Coq au Vin
4. Fly by night
5. 710 x 490cm
6. Finders – Keepers!
7. Boots
8. mlt.com
Text List for Individual Projects
Students undertaking
Individual Project: Critical Analysis
(Director’s Folio)
AND
Individual Project: Design (Costume; Lighting;
Promotion and Program; Set)
Must
select ONE of the following as the basis of their work:
Brandon, James 1992,
‘Sukeroku: The Flower of Edo’ in Kabuki,
Five Classic Plays, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
Ionesco, Eugene 2000,
‘Rhinoceros’ in Rhinoceros, The Chairs,
The Lesson, Penguin Classics, London.
Ellis, Ben 1996, Falling Petals, Currency Press, Sydney.
Rostand, Edmond 1998,
Cyrano de Bergerac, Oxford World’s Classics, OUP, London.
Shakespeare, William 2006, The Tempest, 2nd edn, Cambridge School Shakespeare, Cambridge
University Press, Melbourne. [1]
Simon, Neil 2004, Barefoot in the Park,
Samuel French Inc, London.
Enright, Nick & Clarke, Terence 1996, The Venetian Twins, Currency Press,
Sydney.
Sondheim, Stephen & Weidman, John 1991, Assassins, Theatre Communications Group,
New York.
Murray-Smith, Joanna 2008, The Female of the Species, Currency Press, Sydney.
Ibsen, Henrik 1961, ‘The Wild Duck’ in Hedda Gabler and Other Plays, Penguin Classics, London.
Shepard, Sam 1981, ‘Buried Child’ in Sam Shepard: Plays 2, Faber & Faber, London.
This text list may be changed in total or in
part every three years.
Topics for Study
TWO topics must be studied. ONE topic
must be selected from Australian Drama and Theatre (Topics 1–2) and ONE topic
from Studies in Drama and Theatre (Topics 3–9) .
Australian Drama and Theatre will be
examined in a mandatory question that will be applicable to both topics.
Topics and texts should be taught
experientially. These practical experiences should inform the students’
understanding and should be used in their HSC essays to show a personal
response rather than a purely literary one.
Australian productions of works chosen
from Studies in Drama and Theatre may be relevant to the study of the topic.
Topics, texts or rubrics
may be changed in total or in part every three to five years.
Explanations
of dramatic terminology used in the descriptions of the topics for Australian
Drama and Theatre and Studies in Drama and Theatre can be found in the Drama Stage 6 Syllabus. These
explanations are intended to assist teachers and students in exploring topics.
They are not intended to be
prescriptive interpretations of the terms.
Australian Drama and Theatre (Core Study)
The following rubric applies to both
topics.
This topic explores, theoretically and
experientially, the traditional and contemporary practices of Australian drama
and theatre and the various ways in which artistic, cultural, social, political
and personal issues and concerns are reflected in different contexts. Students
investigate how different Australian practitioners use dramatic forms,
performance styles, techniques and conventions to convey ideas and influence
the ways in which audiences understand and respond to ideas and images
presented in the theatre.
Students must study either Topic 1 or
Topic 2. In the examination there will be a mandatory question applicable to
both topics.
Students must study
at least TWO plays.
Two plays
must be selected from Dramatic Traditions in Australia
OR
Two plays from Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice.
Topic 1: Dramatic Traditions in Australia
Students
must explore the topic using at least TWO of the following:
Davis,
Jack 1991, No Sugar, Currency Press,
Sydney.
Hewett, Dorothy 1997, ‘The Chapel Perilous’, in Australian Women’s Drama, P Tait &
E Schafer (eds), Currency Press, Sydney.
E Schafer (eds), Currency Press, Sydney.
Buzo, Alex 1999, ‘Norm and Ahmed’, in Plays of the 60’s Volume 2, Currency
Press, Sydney.
Williamson, David 1993, The Removalists, Currency Press, Sydney.
Topic 2: Contemporary Australian Theatre Practice
Students
must explore the topic using at least TWO of the following:
Cameron,
Matt 2005, Ruby Moon, Currency Press,
Sydney.
Harrison,
Jane 2003, Stolen, Currency Press,
Sydney.
Kemp,
Jenny 2002, Still Angela, Currency Press, Sydney.
Futcher,
Michael & Howard, Helen 2000, A
Beautiful Life, Currency Press, Sydney.
The study of
Australian Drama and Theatre includes the above rubric in conjunction
with the outcomes and content of the Drama Stage 6 Syllabus, pages 22–23 and 29. |
Studies in Drama and Theatre
Students must study ONE topic chosen from
the following.
Topic 3: Tragedy
This topic explores, theoretically and
experientially, plays which give expression to a tragic vision of human
experience. By comparing an ancient Greek tragedy to a modern tragic play,
students will consider the essence of tragedy and the controlling nature of the
protagonist’s plight. In particular, the
role of fate, suffering, hubris and moral responsibility in the experience of
individual tragic heroines and heroes should be considered in light of the
political, social and cultural aspects of that experience. Students will
explore the dramatic forms, performance styles, techniques and conventions in
the plays and consider the implications of staging these plays for a
contemporary Australian audience.
TWO plays
must be chosen, ONE from each list.
List 1
EITHER
Sophocles 2003, Oedipus Tyrannus, Cambridge
University Press, Port Melbourne, Victoria.[2]
OR
Sophocles 2003,
Antigone, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, Victoria.
AND
List 2
EITHER
Miller, Arthur 1998,
Death of a Salesman, Penguin
Classics, London.
OR
Kushner, Tony 1993, Angels in America (Part 1),
Theatre Communications Group, New York.
Topic 4: Irish Drama
This topic explores the political,
cultural, social and historical contexts of Irish drama. Students explore,
theoretically and experientially, the dramatic forms, performance styles,
techniques and conventions used to represent the concerns of the Irish on
stage. Students consider representations
of Irish character, the vision or representation of Ireland presented in the
plays and ways in which Irish drama might be relevant to an Australian
audience.
TWO of the
following plays must be studied:
Carr, Marina
2003, The Mai, Dramatists Play
Service Inc, New York.
(or Carr,
Marina 2000, ‘The Mai’, in Marina Carr:
Plays 1, Contemporary Classics, Faber & Faber, London.)
Friel, Brian
1990, Dancing At Lughnasa, Faber
& Faber, London.
McDonagh,
Martin 1996, The Beauty Queen of Leenane,
Methuen, London.
Synge,
John Millington 1997, The Playboy of the Western World, Nick Hern
Books, London.
Topic 5: Brecht
This topic explores Berthold Brecht’s
artistic and political goals, epic staging and other dramatic techniques and
conventions evident in his plays. Students must investigate, theoretically and
experientially, the different ways Brecht sought to bring large and complex
ideas and events onto the stage, and consider the implications for the
performance of these plays in the contemporary world.
TWO the
following plays must be studied:
Brecht, Berthold 1979, Threepenny Opera, Methuen, London.
Brecht, Berthold 1988, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Methuen, London.
Brecht, Berthold 1995, ‘Mother Courage’, in Collected Plays 5, Methuen, London.
Brecht,
Berthold 1995, ‘Life of Galileo’, in Collected Plays 5, Methuen, London.
Topic 6: Site-specific,
Street and Event Theatre
This topic explores, theoretically and
experientially, site-specific theatre including environmental, street and event
theatre and significant community performance from the 1960s to the present. It
investigates the chosen audience, techniques, artistic and social goals of the
performance makers. Study must include examples of the work of Welfare State
International in the UK from its beginnings to the present and Australian works
from Fire on the Water, and may include additional examples of
contemporary companies and practitioners. Study must include the student’s
participation in the process and performance of a substantial piece of
site-specific theatre, drawing on processes of key practitioners.
Students must study BOTH texts:
Cameron, Neil 1994, Fire on the Water, Currency Press, Sydney.
Fox, John 2002, Eyes
on Stalks, Welfare State International, Methuen, London.
Topic 7: Approaches to
Acting
This topic explores approaches to actor
training in the 20th century and its realisation in theatre production or other
forms of drama performance. The study involves the theoretical and experiential
exploration of the philosophical and practical approaches to two practitioners’
work and the manifestation of their techniques, process and specific exercises,
for performance. Students must consider the aesthetics and expression of the
actor’s presence and its relationship to audience engagement. Specific examples
from the practitioners’ theatre work, contemporary theatre practice and the
student’s own experiential learning should be used to explore the topic.
TWO of the following practitioners and
texts must be studied:
Augusto Boal:
Boal, Augusto 2002, Games for Actors and Non Actors, 2nd edn, Routledge, London.
Jacques Lecoq: Murray, Simon 2003, Jacques Lecoq, Routledge Performance Practitioners, Routledge,
London.
Vsevolod Meyerhold: Pitches, Jonathan 2003, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Routledge
Performance Practitioners, Routledge, London.
Tadashi Suzuki: Suzuki, Tadashi 1986, The
Way of Acting, J Thomas Rimer (trans), Theatre Communications Group, New
York.
The following texts may be used in conjunction with or as a
supplement to the texts above:
Babbage, Frances 2003, Augusto Boal, Routledge Performance
Practitioners, Routledge, London.
Braun, Edward 1995, Meyerhold: A
Revolution in Theatre, Methuen, London.
Topic 8: Verbatim Theatre
This topic explores, theoretically and
experientially, plays written
using the words of people interviewed about an issue or event and the social
context, which gave rise to these plays.
Students consider notions of authenticity and
authority derived from direct
testimony and community involvement. In particular, by engaging with the performance styles, techniques and conventions of the plays, students will explore the tension
between maintaining truth while creating dramatic shape, theatricality and
audience engagement.
TWO plays must be studied:
Compulsory text
Kaufman, Moses, and
Members of the Tectonic Theatre Project 2001, The Laramie Project,
Vintage Books, Random House, New York.
AND EITHER
Brown, Paul 2001, Aftershocks,
Currency Press, Sydney.
OR
O’Connell, Terence 2004, Minefields
and Miniskirts, Currency Press, Sydney.
OR
Valentine, Alana
2007, Parramatta Girls, Currency
Press, Sydney.
OR
Valentine, Alana 2007, Run
Rabbit Run, Currency Press, Sydney.
Topic 9: Black Comedy
This topic explores, theoretically and
experientially, modern comic plays from different countries that deal with what
is often uncomfortable or suppressed.
Students must investigate the nature of comedy and use of humour to
confront an audience with human experiences of pain, loss, the controversial or
the taboo. In particular, by engaging with the forms, styles, techniques and
conventions of the plays, students assess how audiences are affected and
whether laughter provides a cathartic experience in this style of theatre.
TWO of the following texts must be
studied:
Comedy
McDonagh,
Martin 2006, The Lieutenant of Inishmore,
Methuen, London.
Pinter,
Harold 1991, The Homecoming, Faber
and Faber, London.
Wilding,
Ian 2007, October, Currency Press, Sydney.
La Bute,
Neil 2002, The Shape of Things, Faber
and Faber, London.
Effective: 2011
for the 2012–2014 Higher School Certificate
Contact: (02)
9367 8030
Examinations
Teachers and students are reminded that
they are required to certify that any submitted work is the student’s own and
that any words, ideas, designs or workmanship of others have been acknowledged
appropriately. Class teachers and principals must certify that the work has
been done under the teacher’s supervision, was the student’s own work, and was
completed by the due date.
Individual Project
Students’ Individual Project options may
not be changed after mid-July. Before this date, any changes to students’
Individual Project options must be notified in writing to the Board and must be
countersigned by the principal. The Board’s fax number is (02) 9367 8482, marked
for the attention of the Drama Coordinator, Exam Support Section. Option
changes will not be accepted after this date.
Students may not present an Individual
Project: Performance in lieu of another unfinished project or resubmit work
undertaken in the Preliminary course for the HSC.
Group Performances and Individual Performances
For reasons of confidentiality, students
are not allowed to see other students’ examinations. Groups of students who
have presented their Group Performance and individuals who have presented their
Individual Project in Performance are not permitted to become part of the
audience for subsequent groups and/or individuals. Group Performance will be
examined by visiting examiners from the Board of Studies towards the end of
Term 3 of the HSC year. The teacher may be present as part of the audience but
will not be a member of the Examination Panel or perform any technical
operations during the Group Performances.
All students involved in a Group
Performance will be studying for the Higher School Certificate Drama
examination. Where a school has fewer than three students attempting the
examination or a member of the group is incapacitated by illness or
misadventure, other students of the school (not attempting the Higher School
Certificate examination) may be used to achieve the required numbers. These
students should not be involved in the development of the Group Performance.
The use of students, other than HSC Drama
students, must be approved by the Director, Assessment and Examinations.
Examination of the Group Performance
The following checklist has been included
to assist preparation for the examination for Group Performance. Paperwork,
completed and available for examiners, should include the following:
Ÿ Group performance certification forms must be completed BEFORE examinations for each
group, signed by students, the teacher and the principal. Certification forms
should be retained at the school. The purpose of this form is to certify that
the work is the student’s own and has not been directed by any outside adviser
or tutor.
Ÿ Group photo sheets must have student photos pasted onto sheets before the examination.
Student numbers and role descriptions should also be included as well as the
SCHOOL NUMBER. Along with the original, there must be two extra copies of these
sheets for each group available to examiners.
Ÿ A program of running order is essential so that examiners are aware of the order of Group
Performances. Student numbers should be included on programs rather than student
names. Times for scheduled breaks should also be included. Some flexibility to
the program may be required but will be negotiated by examiners where
necessary. Total time allocated for examination of the Group Performance is 30
minutes, including the Performance and interaction.
Ÿ Students who believe they are affected by illness/misadventure should advise examiners before the
Group or Individual performance. The student should then obtain an
illness/misadventure form from the principal. This form should be completed and
submitted within a week of the performance. Examiners should be informed of
these on arrival and of any further misadventures at the time of the
examination.
The
following conditions apply to the Group Performance:
Ÿ A supervised audience of no more than 30 students from the school should be present. The
audience should be aware of appropriate audience conventions and should be
chosen by negotiation between the teacher and the examined students before the
examination. Students who are HSC candidates in any subject are not permitted
to form part of the audience. Members of the public may not be present as
audience members. For reasons of confidentiality, groups of students who have
presented their Group Performance are not permitted to become part of the
audience.
Ÿ The examination area should be an indoor school venue such as a small- to medium-size room.
The area should be conducive to performance, ie free of noise or interruption.
Sectioning off the performance area will help to reduce interruptions.
Ÿ A brief interaction will take place between the examiners and the students at the
conclusion of each Group Performance. This will be a standardised interaction
for the purpose of confirming the examiners’ impressions of the Group
Performance. Interactions may take place in the performance space or in a room
nearby. It is imperative that there be no interruptions to this process.
Following interactions with students, examiners need time to confer.
Confidentiality during this time must be respected.
Ÿ Examiners’ requirements when marking include the need for desks and sufficient light for
writing during performances. Desks should be placed together in an area where
examiners can see and hear effectively. Audience members should not be placed
directly near examiners. There will be two examiners present who will at times
be joined by a senior examiner.
Ÿ Logbooks for
EACH student must be given to examiners in program order for Group Performances
and for Individual Performances.
Ÿ Recording devices of any kind must not be used during examinations.
Ÿ Student identification occurs before each Group Performance. Students are asked to line up in
the order of photographs on the group photo sheets. Examiners record
descriptions of students before the performance begins. Students wearing the
same costumes should attach something, eg a colour band, to assist
identification by examiners during the performance.
Ÿ Inappropriate items in performances such as weapons, naked flames, implements which may
endanger performers, audience members or examiners may not be used. Nudity is
also inappropriate. Examiners will stop performances should any inappropriate
items appear.
Ÿ Production effects such as costumes, sets, lighting, video, film, sound and technical
support should be minimal and limited to those essential to the work’s meaning.
As available facilities and technical equipment vary in schools, external
examiners will not award extra marks to any presentation dependent on technical
and/or special effects.
Ÿ Operation of technical equipment such as lighting can only be carried out by
other students in the school who are not HSC students. Teachers, or members of
the public, are not permitted to operate technical equipment. A stage crew of
students who are not HSC students may be used to set and remove props.
Ÿ Time limits must
be adhered to. Students should be given several opportunities to perform their
work before the examination to ensure work runs within time stipulations (Group
Performance 8–12 minutes). Examiners will stop performances that go over time.
Performances which are under time will not meet the criteria and will be
disadvantaged.
Examination of the Individual Project:
Performance
Please note
that the Checklist for Group Performance above applies to the Individual
Project, Performance with the addition of the following. Paperwork, completed
and available for examiners, should include the following:
Ÿ Before the examination, students and the teacher should sign
student/teacher Individual Declarations. These forms certify that the work is the
student’s own and that the teacher has monitored the development of the
project. Appropriate documentation should be completed if there is a question
that the work is not the student’s own. Examiners should be informed if forms
have not been signed for this reason.
Ÿ A program of running order is essential so that examiners are aware of the order of Individual
Performances. Student numbers should be included on programs rather than
student names. Times for scheduled breaks should also be included. Some
flexibility within the program may be required but will be negotiated by
examiners where necessary. Fifteen minutes are allocated for the total time of
examination of the Individual Performance.
Ÿ The Rationale for Individual Project: Performance should be on the last page of the
Logbook to be referred to by examiners. For submitted Individual Projects, the
Rationale will be sent in separately from the Logbook.
Ÿ Logbooks for
EACH student must be given to examiners in program order for Individual
Performances.
Time limits must be adhered to. Students should be given
several opportunities to perform before the examination to ensure work runs
within time stipulations (Individual Performance 6–8 minutes). Examiners will
stop performances that go over time. Performances which are under time will not
meet the criteria and may be disadvantaged.
