Theatre Studies

Unit 1: Pre-modern theatre styles and conventions

This unit focuses on the application of acting and other stagecraft in relation to theatrical styles of the pre- modern era. Students work with playscripts from the pre-modern era of theatre, focusing on works prior to the 1880s.

On completion of this Unit, students should be able to:

• Identify and describe the distinguishing features of playscripts from the pre-modern era
• Apply acting and other stagecraft to interpret playscripts from the pre-modern era
• Analyse a performance of a playscript from the pre- modern era in performance
• Apply stagecraft to interpret a playscript for performance to an audience

Unit 2: Modern theatre styles and conventions

This unit focuses on studying theatrical styles and stagecraft through working with playscripts in both their written form and in performance with an emphasis on the application of stagecraft. Students work with playscripts from the modern era focusing on works from the 1880s to the present.

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

• Identify and describe the distinguishing features of playscripts from the modern era of theatre.
• Apply stagecraft to interpret playscripts from the modern era.
• Analyse and evaluate stagecraft in a performance of a playscript from the modern era.
• Apply stagecraft to interpret a playscript for performance to an audience.

Unit 3: Producing theatre

This unit focuses on an interpretation of a playscript through the four designated stages of production: planning, production development, production season, and production evaluation. Students also attend a performance selected from the prescribed Theatre Studies Unit 3 Playlist published annually in the VCAA Bulletin, and analyse and evaluate the interpretation of the playscript in the performance.

On completion of this unit the student should be able to:

• Apply stagecraft to interpret a playscript for performance to an audience and demonstrate understanding of the stages of the production process.
• Analyse the use of stagecraft in the development of a playscript for production, incorporating the specifications appropriate for each stage of the production process.
• Analyse and evaluate ways in which a written script has been interpreted creatively and imaginatively. 

Unit 4: Presenting an interpretation

In this unit students study a scene and associated monologue from the Theatre Studies Performance Examination, and develop a theatrical brief that includes the creation of a character by an actor, stagecraft possibilities, and appropriate research.

On completion of this unit the student should be able to:

• Perform an interpretation of a monologue from a playscript.
• Develop a theatrical brief that presents an interpretation of a scene.
• Analyse and evaluate acting in a production from the prescribed playlist.