Drama

Year 9 Drama students have been engaged in a Cyberdrama unit this term.  Students viewed  creative video and photographic stimulus of a mythical civilisation turned to stone underwater to provide a mythical, fantasy context.  From the initial stimulus, each group devised its own community history and roles and improvised original scenes, scripts, monologue, and group performances, culminating in a ritual performance with music, sound effects, lighting, costume, chanting, acting, and dance.  Performances were rehearsed in class, performed for peer and teacher feedback, and uploaded to  cyberspace.  I was impressed with how effectively students worked in teams in their creative process.  After the final ritual performance, all class members contributed to constructive feedback, leading to their final analytical written task based on two performances they deemed most effective for an audience.  

Making (devising, performing) and Responding (analytical writing) skills have been assessed in this unit.  It was an enjoyable creative process transporting the audience from Ancient Greece, to Medieval Lord of the Rings  situations with potions, witches, and chosen ones to save the day.  One group devised a civilisation in  the aftermath of  volcanic eruptions in Hawaii where the gods had been angered by the people’s environmental destruction, which links to contemporary environmental and societal issues.

In Term 2, Year 9 Drama students will do play-reading, rehearsal, and performance of a published Australian play The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay by Australian writer and playwright Rebecca Sparrow.

It is a pleasure to teach my delightful, creative Year 9 class. 

Year 11 Drama students  have successfully completed their performance FA1 task-based on verbatim stories of refugees in the Australian play Scattered Lives by Brisbane playwright Sally McKenzie.  The Drama syllabus purpose of studying and performing storytelling in political drama is for drama to celebrate, document, empower, and share understandings of the human experience. 

Students are now engaged in their second assessment task FA2 Dramatic Concept, exploring stories of children over Australia’s history in orphanages and institutions based on Angela Betzien’s powerful Australian play Children of the Black Skirt.  Drama is a powerful vehicle to share the historical personal stories that highlight injustice over time in society, corruption, and abuse of power.  Students have viewed a recorded performance of the play, analysed the dramatic meaning and conventions manipulated in the performance, and improvised key scenes to explore conventions and elements of drama.  From this stimulus, the students create their original dramatic concept storyboards of a related contemporary issue in society.  It is a challenging, intellectual, and highly creative task that has relevance for young adults.  This task and the skills involved reflect realistic industry practices in devising, directing, stagecraft, conceptualising political theatre statements, and incorporating technology.  

Year 12 Drama students are analysing Children of the Black Skirt as writing practice in preparation for their external examination extended response. 

Karen Farrow

Drama Teacher