Original source · Published January 2026 · Updated January 2026

Course overview

Rationale

The arts are an intellectually engaging intersection of lateral thought and practice. They interrogate the human experience and challenge our understandings by encouraging and provoking alternative ways of seeing, thinking and doing. They enable us to know and observe our world collectively and as individuals. They reveal a sense of who we are and might become as we make connections and new meaning of the world around us and our place in it.

Creative and expressive communication is central to the arts. Students learn to pose and solve problems, work independently and in collaboration, and create and convey meaning from various viewpoints. New skills are learnt and knowledge is created through the investigation and experience of valued traditions and practices across various art forms.

The arts encourage unity through active involvement in building cultural literacy by respecting and valuing the meaningful and unique impact of Aboriginal people’s and Torres Strait Islander people’s contribution to Australia’s arts knowledge, traditions and experience. Australia’s multicultural identity, cultural inheritance and contemporary arts practice is enhanced through this recognition and the shared inspirations of the broader Asia–Pacific community.

Drama interrogates the human experience by investigating, communicating and embodying stories, experiences, emotions and ideas that reflect the human experience. It allows students to look to the past with curiosity, and explore inherited traditions of artistry to inform their own artistic practice and shape their world as global citizens. Drama is created and performed in diverse spaces, including formal and informal theatre spaces, to achieve a wide range of purposes. Drama engages students in imaginative meaning-making processes and involves them using a range of artistic skills as they make and respond to dramatic works. The range of purposes, contexts and audiences provides students with opportunities to experience, reflect on, understand, communicate, collaborate and appreciate different perspectives of themselves, others and the world in which they live.

Across the course of study, students will develop a range of interrelated skills of drama that will complement the knowledge and processes needed to create dramatic action and meaning. They will learn about the dramatic languages and how these contribute to the creation, interpretation and critique of dramatic action and meaning for a range of purposes. A study of a range of forms and styles in a variety of inherited traditions, current practice and emerging trends, including those from different cultures and contexts, forms a core aspect of the learning. Drama provides opportunities for students to learn how to engage with dramatic works as both artists and audience through the use of critical literacies.

In Drama, students engage in aesthetic learning experiences that develop the 21st century skills of critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social skills, and information & communication technologies (ICT) skills. They learn how to reflect on their artistic, intellectual, emotional and kinaesthetic understanding as creative and critical thinkers and curious artists. Additionally, students will develop personal confidence, skills of inquiry and social skills as they work collaboratively with others.

The objectives of the Drama course are to develop students’ knowledge, skills and understanding in the making of and responding to dramatic works to help them realise their creative and expressive potential as individuals. The unique learning that takes place in Drama promotes a deeper and more empathetic understanding and appreciation of others and communities. Innovation and creative thinking are at the forefront of this subject, which contributes to equipping students with highly transferable skills that encourage them to imagine future perspectives and possibilities.

A course of study in Drama establishes a basis for further education and employment across many fields, both inside the arts and culture industries and beyond. The knowledge, understanding and skills built in Drama connect strongly with careers in which it is important to understand different social and cultural perspectives in a range of contexts, and to communicate meaning in functional and imaginative ways.

Syllabus objectives

The syllabus objectives outline what students have the opportunity to learn.

1. Demonstrate skills of drama.

When students demonstrate in Drama, they recognise the function of the dramatic languages and apply their knowledge of elements of drama, conventions, and skills of acting, critiquing, devising and directing in the communication of dramatic action and meaning.

Demonstration of the skills of acting are evidenced in a physical exhibition of performance and expressive skills. These are complex technical skills that require rehearsal and refinement and can be assessed discretely in performance. Demonstration of the skills of critiquing are evidenced in responding and are assessed in the analysis and/or evaluation components of internal assessment and extended response in the external assessment. Demonstration of the skills of devising and directing are evidenced across all dramatic works created, but especially when devising an original dramatic concept and directing in the directorial vision.

2. Apply literacy skills.

When students apply literacy skills in Drama, they select appropriate language conventions for particular purposes and contexts. They use appropriate grammar and systematically arrange words, phrases, clauses and sentences to express meaning in texts. Students recognise, distinguish and apply genre-specific features appropriate to the text. They use and understand appropriate referencing conventions that acknowledge the expertise of others, sourced information, and ideas. When students apply literacy skills, they also comprehend and use their knowledge and understanding of other critical literacies — kinaesthetic (body), visual, oral, aural and digital literacies — in particular circumstances to communicate dramatic action and meaning.

3. Interpret purpose, context and text.

When students interpret, they decipher the meaning and find the interrelationships between purpose, context and text in the dramatic action and communicate to an audience. When students communicate, they share their understanding of dramatic meaning with others using the dramatic languages.

4. Manipulate dramatic languages.

When students manipulate dramatic languages, they use their knowledge and understanding of the elements of drama, conventions, dramatic forms and styles, and the skills of drama to adapt, shape, plan and create dramatic action. When students develop dramatic work, they make meaningful links between the dramatic languages, drawing together ideas and texts in a context for a purpose. This involves exploring new ways of communicating meaning through the planning, trialling and refining of dramatic action using the dramatic languages.

Students synthesise the dramatic languages, purpose, context and text to create a new understanding and interpretation, or they use ideas and their thoughts and imagination to produce a new dramatic work. When students use the skills of acting and devising, they manipulate the dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning. When students use the skill of directing, they manipulate the dramatic languages to adapt and shape dramatic action and meaning.

5. Analyse dramatic languages.

When students analyse the use of the dramatic languages, they identify, describe and examine the essential characteristics that contribute to the creation of dramatic action and meaning. They examine and consider how the components of the dramatic languages are integrated and interpret their use in creating dramatic meaning.

6. Evaluate dramatic languages.

When students evaluate, they make judgments to determine the effectiveness of the use of the dramatic languages in creating dramatic action and meaning, in their own work and that of others. They assess how effectively dramatic meaning is communicated and justify their evaluation by providing examples, describing or showing evidence of the use of dramatic languages in the creation of dramatic action and meaning. They evaluate the dramatic works of others and the dramatic action and meaning they have created, using language conventions and drama terminology.

Designing a course of study in Drama

Syllabuses are designed for teachers to make professional decisions to tailor curriculum and assessment design and delivery to suit their school context and the goals, aspirations and abilities of their students within the parameters of Queensland’s senior phase of learning.

The syllabus is used by teachers to develop curriculum for their school context. The term course of study describes the unique curriculum and assessment that students engage with in each school context. A course of study is the product of a series of decisions made by a school to select, organise and contextualise subject matter, integrate complementary and important learning, and create assessment tasks in accordance with syllabus specifications.

It is encouraged that, where possible, a course of study is designed such that teaching, learning and assessment activities are integrated and enlivened in an authentic setting.

Course structure

Drama is a General senior syllabus. It contains four QCAA-developed units from which schools develop their course of study.

Each unit has been developed with a notional time of 55 hours of teaching and learning, including assessment.

Students should complete Unit 1 and Unit 2 before beginning Units 3 and 4. Units 3 and 4 are studied as a pair.

More information about the requirements for administering senior syllabuses is available in the ‘Queensland curriculum’ section of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.

Curriculum

Senior syllabuses set out only what is essential while being flexible so teachers can make curriculum decisions to suit their students, school context, resources and expertise.

Within the requirements set out in this syllabus and the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook, schools have autonomy to decide:

• how and when subject matter is delivered
• how, when and why learning experiences are developed, and the context in which learning occurs
• how opportunities are provided in the course of study for explicit and integrated teaching and learning of complementary skills.

These decisions allow teachers to develop a course of study that is rich, engaging and relevant for their students.

Assessment

Senior syllabuses set out only what is essential while being flexible so teachers can make assessment decisions to suit their students, school context, resources and expertise.

General senior syllabuses contain assessment specifications and conditions for the assessment instruments that must be implemented with Units 3 and 4. These specifications and conditions ensure comparability, equity and validity in assessment.

Within the requirements set out in this syllabus and the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook, schools have autonomy to decide:

• specific assessment task details
• assessment contexts to suit available resources
• how the assessment task will be integrated with teaching and learning activities
• how authentic the task will be.

In Unit 1 and Unit 2, schools:

• develop at least two but no more than four assessments
• complete at least one assessment for each unit
• ensure that each unit objective is assessed at least once.

In Units 3 and 4, schools develop three assessments using the assessment specifications and conditions provided in the syllabus.

More information about assessment in senior syllabuses is available in ‘The assessment system’ section of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.

Subject matter

Each unit contains a unit description, unit objectives and subject matter. Subject matter is the body of information, mental procedures and psychomotor procedures (see Marzano & Kendall 2007, 2008) that are necessary for students’ learning and engagement with the subject. Subject matter itself is not the specification of learning experiences but provides the basis for the design of student learning experiences.

Subject matter has a direct relationship with the unit objectives and provides statements of learning that have been constructed in a similar way to objectives.

Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives

The QCAA is committed to reconciliation. As part of its commitment, the QCAA affirms that:

• Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first Australians, and have the oldest living cultures in human history
• Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples have strong cultural traditions and speak diverse languages and dialects, other than Standard Australian English
• teaching and learning in Queensland schools should provide opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge of Australia by engaging with the perspectives of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• positive outcomes for Aboriginal students and Torres Strait Islander students are supported by successfully embedding Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives across planning, teaching and assessing student achievement.

Guidelines about Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and resources for teaching are available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/k-12-policies/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-perspectives.

Where appropriate, Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives have been embedded in the subject matter.

Complementary skills

Opportunities for the development of complementary skills have been embedded throughout subject matter. These skills, which overlap and interact with syllabus subject matter, are derived from current education, industry and community expectations and encompass the knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviours and dispositions that will help students live and work successfully in the 21st century.

These complementary skills are:

• literacy — the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions about language and texts essential for understanding and conveying English language content
• numeracy — the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students need to use mathematics in a wide range of situations, to recognise and understand the role of mathematics in the world, and to develop the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully
• 21st century skills — the attributes and skills students need to prepare them for higher education, work, and engagement in a complex and rapidly changing world. These skills include critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social skills, and digital literacy. The explanations of associated skills are available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/senior-subjects/general-subjects/21st-century-skills.

It is expected that aspects of literacy, numeracy and 21st century skills will be developed by engaging in the learning outlined in this syllabus. Teachers may choose to create additional explicit and intentional opportunities for the development of these skills as they design the course of study.

Additional subject-specific information

Additional subject-specific information has been included to support and inform the development of a course of study.

First Nations cultural and intellectual property in The Arts

The Australia Council for the Arts provides protocols for using First Nations cultural and intellectual property in The Arts, which are available at https://australiacouncil.gov.au/investment-and-development/protocols-and-resources/protocols-for-using-first-nations-cultural-and-intellectual-property-in-the-arts.

Making and responding

Making and responding are interconnected. When students engage in meaning-making processes, they are informed by their knowledge and experiences as audience with the dramatic works and practices of others. Making in drama involves the processes of forming or devising and presenting drama. Making helps students to reach their creative and expressive potential and helps them experience and appreciate a deeper understanding of the human condition. When students respond, they are informed by their knowledge and experiences as both artist and audience. Responding in drama involves reflection and critique of the dramatic action of their own and others’ work, including professional practice.

The syllabus objectives in Drama reflect this connection by integrating the knowledge, understanding and skills acquired through both making and responding. The objectives recognise that when students work as artist and audience, making involves work in the art form, while responding involves work about the art form. Engagement in Drama develops students’ knowledge, skills and understanding of the interrelated dramatic languages and how they are applied to shape and communicate dramatic action and meaning.

The objectives for each unit and the subject matter are drawn from the syllabus objectives. These specify the concept and subject matter of the unit through a continued integration of making and responding learning activities.

Inquiry learning

Inquiry learning in Drama is a creative process that places equal emphasis on content and processes. The meaning of knowing in Drama not only requires students to experience and remember, but also considers and interrogates possible questions and answers. This enables young people to use their knowledge and understanding and apply them across a range of contexts to achieve different purposes. It requires students, through making (devising, directing and performing) and responding, to solve problems through questions that have more than one possible resolution. This develops students’ critical and creative thinking skills, and contributes to their ability to participate in aesthetic processes. Through a creative inquiry process, students learn from each other, learn together with others and learn from those outside the classroom. Inquiry is recursive in nature as understandings in drama are continually reviewed and refined based on new learning and questions. Inquiry learning includes four processes: experimenting, developing, refining and reflecting. The processes are interrelated, non-hierarchical and non-sequential, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Inquiry learning can include:

• experimenting with, exploring, experiencing, imagining and generating dramatic ideas
• developing, planning and creating dramatic action and meaning, structuring and organising solutions to problems
• refining and resolving ideas, sharing through devising, directing, performing and responding to drama
• reflecting, evaluating answers and possibilities, justifying choices and decisions in their own and others’ works.

Subject matter in Drama is organised under an inquiry learning process, with each unit guided by inquiry questions. The inquiry questions that frame each unit in this syllabus place the student voice at its centre. Prior knowledge from inherited artistic traditions is built on, while significant concepts and essential questions are identified in each unit, unifying knowledge and understandings in Drama.

The inquiry questions are realised through the processes of making (devising, directing and performing) and responding to drama.

Figure 1: Inquiry learning in Drama

Reverse chronology for historical understanding

Reverse chronology is an effective approach that could be used to investigate arts practice where relevant. This approach begins with a contemporary focus and follows logical pathways backwards to learn about relevant historical, cultural and traditional styles and art forms. Reverse chronology follows a cause-and-effect pathway to understanding influences on artists, styles and practices. This differs from a customary chronological approach that would begin in the past and follow a sequential path to the present. The benefits of a reverse-chronology approach to learning about historical traditions of the art form of drama include:

• helping an understanding of ourselves, and the decisions and choices made by artists in the present, by examining and acknowledging the influences and events that affected previous generations
• fostering research skills in an inquiry learning model in which students pose questions about the causes and effects of influences and compare dramatic forms of past and present times
• ensuring enough time is dedicated to focus on relevant historical practices
• engaging students who are more interested in ideas that relate to themselves and the time they inhabit, which enables them to follow connecting pathways more effectively
• understanding how knowledge of historical forms and practices helps an understanding of those of the current day.

Purpose, context and text

Teaching and learning in Drama always has a purpose, is located in a context and uses and creates text. Purpose, context and text work together to inform the creation of dramatic action and meaning.

Students are provided with opportunities to develop an understanding of the dramatic languages in and across a range of purposes, contexts and texts representing a range of cultural and sociological perspectives. These include Aboriginal perspectives, Torres Strait Islander perspectives, other Australian perspectives, and broader global perspectives. In Drama, students are asked to define and work with dramatic purpose to create dramatic action and meaning.

Purpose and context

Purpose refers to the intent of the creator/s or interpreter/s of the dramatic action and meaning. In Drama, teaching and learning may include a combination of a range of purposes, e.g. to challenge or provoke, to educate and inform, to entertain.

Contexts provide the lens and frame through which dramatic action and meaning are viewed and created. Particular perspectives or viewpoints can be explored. When engaging in drama, the dramatic, real and general contexts need to be considered, e.g. cultural, political, sociological, philosophical, environmental.

Purposes and contexts work together to provide intent and frame the dramatic action and meaning.

Text

Throughout a course of study in Drama, teaching and learning provides students with opportunities to use and create different types of texts. Texts in Drama achieve different purposes, are drawn from a variety of contexts, and embody the dramatic languages.

Examples of texts that students use in Drama include:

• performances — live performances and recorded live performances
• playscripts — published and unpublished
• student-devised texts, e.g. scripts, performances
• stimulus texts, e.g. pre-texts, stories, poetry, still and/or moving imagery, songs, newspaper articles, interviews, music.

Examples of texts that students may create in Drama include:

• performances
• improvisations
• playscripts
• devised concepts
• directorial folios
• dramatic treatments.

Dramatic languages

Figure 2: Dramatic languages

In Drama, a course of study interconnects the dramatic languages in texts and contexts to achieve purposes, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Dramatic languages consist of:

• forms and styles
• conventions
• elements of drama
• skills of drama.

The dramatic languages are the foundations and working materials of drama. Throughout the course of study, students learn to select, manage, manipulate, analyse and evaluate the dramatic languages in a range of contexts for different purposes. Students use these knowledges, understandings and skills to respond to, perform and make dramatic action and meaning.

Across the course of study, the teaching and learning place prominence upon forms and styles, elements of drama, skills of drama and conventions that are to be explicitly taught in relation to context and purpose.

Students understand, manage, manipulate, analyse and evaluate the dramatic languages when responding to, performing and making dramatic action and meaning.

Dramatic forms and styles

Across the course of study, students are provided with opportunities to work with dramatic languages in and across a range of forms, styles, texts and contexts selected from a diversity of dramatic traditions, representing a range of cultural and social inheritances. Students also explore connections and relationships between and across these traditions.

Form is the way dramatic action is structured, organised and shaped to suit a purpose. Some forms include Climactic structure, Cyclic structure, Episodic structure, Hybrid structure, Linear narrative structure, Non-linear narrative structure, Non-narrative structure. (Note: The list of forms is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive, and uses alphabetical order so as not to indicate order of preference. The forms listed are explained in a supporting resource.)

Style is the manner in which dramatic action is expressed or performed. Dramatic styles have particular characteristics that can be identified, used and manipulated to evaluate, create, shape and strengthen the aesthetic impact of drama. Some styles include Australian Gothic, Cinematic theatre, Collage drama, Contemporary performance, Contemporary political theatre, Documentary drama, Elizabethan theatre, Epic theatre, Greek theatre, Kabuki, Magical Realism, Mediatised performance, Neoclassicism, Noh, Object theatre, Physical theatre, Poor theatre, Realism, Theatre of Cruelty, Theatre of the Absurd, Theatre of the Oppressed, Visual theatre. (Note: The list of styles is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive, and uses alphabetical order so as not to indicate an order of preference. The styles listed are explained in a supporting resource.)

Conventions

Conventions are dramatic techniques employed using the skills of drama to produce dramatic action and meaning. Across the course of study, students will manipulate conventions, along with the elements of drama and stagecraft, through the processes of acting, devising and directing to communicate purpose, context and meaning. Students will also critique the use of conventions in communicating purpose, context and meaning to audiences.

Some conventions include Aside, Breaking out of realist action, Chorus, Dexterity and precise timing, Direct address, Disconnected and non-communicative speech, Dreamscape, Dream sequence, Exaggeration, Extreme variation from serious to comic, Flashback/Flashforward, Fluid characterisation, Creating or breaking fourth wall, Fragmentation, Freeze frame, Gestus, Historification, Hypertextuality, Integration of media/multimedia, Intertextuality, Juxtaposition, Linking devices, Mask, Minimalism, Montage, Multiple role-taking, Movement sequence, Motif, Narration, Parallel action, Poetic image, Presentational movement, Projected image, Placard, Puppetry, Repetition, Ritualised movement/speech, Site-specific performance, Soliloquy, Sound and noise as spectacle, Soundscape, Stock character, Stylised movement, Surreal transformations, Symbolic image/object/sound/movement/motif, Tableau, Transcribed dialogue, Use of silence and pause, Use of song, Voice prints, Word play. (Note: The list of conventions is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive, and uses alphabetical order so as not to indicate an order of preference. The conventions listed are explained in a supporting resource.)

Elements of drama

Elements of drama are discrete yet interrelated. Dramatic action and meaning are created when these elements are integrated and applied to a specific context.

Elements of drama include character, contrast, dramatic focus, language, mood, movement, place, relationship, role, situation, space, symbol, tension, time.

Skills of drama

Skills of drama are interrelated and underpin the knowledge and processes needed to create and respond to dramatic action and meaning. Students work as theatre-makers in the roles of actor, devisor and director, and use skills of drama related to these roles. They critique the communication of dramatic action and meaning in dramatic works created by themselves and others. Skills of drama include:

• acting
  • performance skills — audience awareness, energy levels, focus (commitment to role/actor engagement), timing, working as an ensemble
  • expressive skills — body language, facial expressions, movement qualities, vocal qualities
• devising
  • making original dramatic work, including interpreting stimulus, working with stagecraft, planning, collaborating, experimenting, structuring, rehearsing, refining and creating dramatic action, documenting and scriptwriting
• directing
  • articulating a vision, including observing, interpreting text, questioning and shaping dramatic action with consideration to aesthetics, and working with stagecraft
• critiquing
  • describing, analysing, synthesising, evaluating and justifying.

Texts

Subject matter draws on the diversity of drama practices and processes. Students need to engage with a range of texts to develop knowledge of various approaches to devising, directing and performing drama. Texts should include published scripts, live and/or recorded live performance in a range of forms and styles across different eras.

Examples of texts are provided in a supporting resource. Teachers may use, add to, or replace the examples to suit local and contextual needs and maintain currency with the ongoing creation of dramatic new works.

Engaging with live performance

Attending live theatre provides the opportunity for students to be exposed to an authentic realisation of the subject of Drama. Being part of an audience develops ‘theatre literacy’ by enhancing the ability to respond critically to a performance and deconstruct both the text and the performance in depth. Performance texts are open to creative interpretation dependent on purpose, context, text and audience. Authentic performance experiences build understanding of the complex nature of the director’s role and other members of the creative team’s role in constructing meaningful dramatic action and the endless possibilities of performance spaces. Due to the ephemeral nature of drama, the live experience allows students to engage with the immediacy and performance energy of the cast, to witness the transformation of character, the quality of language, and the effect and meaning of complex visual imagery including multimedia, costumes and symbolic sets. The centrality of the relationship between the actor, the audience and the performance text is realised and celebrated through the live medium. As students engage with the art form of drama as active theatre practitioners, they share responses with other audience members and can make immediate visceral and intellectual connections between their own developing practice and that of professionals.

Literacy in Drama

Ongoing systematic teaching and learning focused on the literacy knowledge and skills specific to Drama is essential for student achievement.

Students need to learn and use knowledge and skills of reading, viewing and listening to understand and learn the content of Drama. Students need to learn and use the knowledge and skills of writing, composing and speaking to convey the Drama content they have learnt.

To understand and use Drama content, teaching and learning strategies include:

• breaking the language code to make meaning of Drama language and texts
• comprehending language and texts to make literal and inferred meanings about Drama content
• using Drama ideas and information in classroom, real-world and/or lifelike contexts to progress students’ learning.

To analyse and evaluate Drama content, teaching and learning strategies include:

• drawing conclusions about the purpose and audience of Drama language and texts
• analysing the ways language is used to convey ideas and information in Drama texts
• transforming language and texts to convey Drama ideas and information in particular ways to suit audience and purpose.

These aspects of literacy knowledge and skills are embedded in the syllabus objectives, unit objectives and subject matter, and instrument-specific marking guides (ISMGs) for Drama.

Suggestions for developing literacy in Drama include:

• drawing on sources of information such as observations, demonstrations, discussions, lectures, interviews, live and recorded live productions, books, playscripts, computer software, journal articles, magazines, newspapers, broadcast media, advertisements, videos or films, online resources and soundscapes
• using language for various purposes such as developing ideas, expressing a personal aesthetic, devising symbolism, describing processes, interpreting and analysing still and moving images, explaining relationships, narrating visual stories, evaluating arguments, synthesising information, arguing and justifying positions, researching concepts/focuses, reporting results, proposing actions, interpreting theories and persuading
• presenting information in various forms such as sketches, photographs, commentary on live and recorded productions, extended writing, short responses, letters, reviews, oral presentations, seminars, demonstrations, websites, podcasts, blogs, interviews, visual journal notes and critiques.

Critical literacy

Critical literacy involves the active analysis and interpretation of codes and conventions of aural, digital, kinaesthetic, oral, visual and written texts. Students engage critical literacy skills to identify and challenge representations in texts, and think flexibly about how meaning is contextual and influenced by both the maker and the audience. Students should be taught to identify and use the distinctive literacy skills that are appropriate for particular contexts.

• Aural literacy is the ability to actively use critical listening skills to interpret, analyse and evaluate sounds, dialogue and argument to make decisions. It also involves creating messages using selected sounds and dialogue, and the purposeful integration of sound into the design of products.
• Digital literacy is the ability to use technologies to find, apply and share information in order to solve a problem or create knowledge.
• Drama literacy is the ability to use the dramatic languages to communicate and interpret dramatic meaning as artist and audience, with knowledge of the aesthetic impact of drama.
• Kinaesthetic literacy is the ability to use body movement to communicate and interpret meaning.
• Oral literacy is the ability to use and interpret language, voice and expression to communicate meaning.
• Visual literacy is the ability to look closely at visual texts, observing and describing visual elements to analyse and interpret form, symbols, ideas and meaning. It is also the ability to use materials, elements and symbols to create visual texts.
• Written literacy is the ability to select appropriate language and written features to express meaning in response to particular purposes and contexts. This involves using correct grammar and systematically arranging words, phrases, clauses and sentences. It is also the capacity to correctly interpret and comprehend meaning, genre and structure of written texts.

Numeracy in Drama

Being numerate involves using mathematical skills across the curriculum. Therefore, numeracy development is an essential component of teaching and learning across the curriculum and a responsibility for all teachers.

To understand and use Drama content, teaching and learning strategies include:

• identifying the specific mathematical information in the learning area and applying mathematical knowledge and problem-solving processes such as
  • comprehending basic concepts and terms underpinning the areas of numerical, spatial and measurement concepts and techniques
  • extracting, converting or translating information given in numerical or algebraic forms, into plans, designs, diagrams, maps, graphs or tables
  • using calculators and computers
• providing learning experiences and opportunities that support the application of students’ general mathematical knowledge and problem-solving processes
• using information and digital technologies
• communicating and representing the language of numeracy in teaching, as appropriate.

These aspects of numeracy knowledge and skills are embedded in the syllabus objectives, unit objectives and subject matter, and ISMGs for Drama.

21st century skills

Drama helps develop all six 21st century skills. They are embedded in the syllabus objectives, unit objectives and subject matter and ISMGs for Drama.

Reporting

General information about determining and reporting results for senior syllabuses is provided in the ‘Determining and reporting results’ section of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.

Reporting standards

Reporting standards are summary statements that describe typical performance at each of the five levels (A–E).

A

The student uses skills of acting to communicate meaning to an audience by demonstrating convincing, refined and sustained performance and expressive skills; interpreting selected texts, exploiting dramatic languages to reveal layers of meaning; and manipulating and synthesising elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to realise style and create engaging dramatic action.

The student uses skills of critiquing by analysing to show how the integration of dramatic languages is used to create dramatic action and meaning; and evaluating dramatic languages, revealing interrelationships between purpose, context and meaning, with discriminating justification.

The student uses skills of devising by manipulating and synthesising dramatic languages to create original dramatic work that reveals layers of meaning within the dramatic action of identified forms and styles.

The student uses the skills of directing by manipulating and synthesising dramatic languages to reveal layers of meaning in identified forms and styles.

The student applies literacy skills through well-articulated ideas and controlled structure, using relevant drama terminology, referencing and language conventions enhanced and informed by relevant drama terminology and language conventions.

B

The student uses skills of acting to communicate meaning to an audience by demonstrating controlled and intentional use of performance and expressive skills; interpreting selected texts, showing valid interrelationships between purpose, context and text by intentionally integrating dramatic languages; and manipulating elements of drama, stagecraft and relevant conventions to communicate stylistic characteristics and create coherent dramatic action.

The student uses skills of critiquing by analysing to show the deconstruction of dramatic languages used to create dramatic action and meaning; and evaluating dramatic languages, providing valid justification of choices connected to purpose and context.

The student uses skills of devising by manipulating dramatic languages that shows considered selection of elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to create dramatic works in identified forms and styles.

The student uses the skills of directing by manipulating dramatic languages to show interrelationships between elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to communicate stylistic characteristics and shape coherent dramatic action and meaning.

The student applies literacy skills by using relevant drama terminology and language conventions to communicate structured ideas.

C

The student uses skills of acting to communicate meaning to an audience by demonstrating performance and expressive skills; interpreting purpose and context in selected texts; and manipulating the elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to create dramatic action and meaning.

The student uses skills of critiquing by analysing elements of drama, stagecraft and dramatic conventions used to create dramatic action and meaning; and evaluating dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning.

The student uses skills of devising by manipulating elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to create dramatic action and meaning.

The student uses the skills of directing by manipulating elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to shape and adapt dramatic action and meaning.

The student applies literacy skills, using language conventions and drama terminology to communicate ideas.

D

The student uses skills of acting to communicate action by demonstrating expressive skills; interpreting text to show an understanding of situation, role and relationship; and using elements of drama and stagecraft to create action.

The student uses skills of critiquing by identifying elements of drama, stagecraft and/or dramatic conventions used to create dramatic action; and explaining the use of elements of drama or conventions.

The student uses skills of devising by using of elements of drama, stagecraft and convention/s to create dramatic action.

The student uses the skills of directing by manipulating elements of drama and conventions to shape dramatic action to suit context or purpose.

The student uses language conventions and drama terminology.

E

The student uses skills of acting by demonstrating vocal and/or movement qualities to recite text using isolated elements of drama.

The student uses isolated skills of critiquing by identifying and describing elements of drama or conventions.

The student uses isolated skills of devising by demonstrating use of elements of drama to create dramatic action.

The student uses isolated skills of directing by demonstrating use of elements of drama or conventions; and communicating selected text/s and context/s.

The student uses language conventions or drama terminology.

Determining and reporting results

Unit 1 and Unit 2

Schools make judgments on individual assessment instruments using a method determined by the school. They may use the reporting standards or develop an instrument-specific marking guide (ISMG). Marks are not required for determining a unit result for reporting to the QCAA.

The unit assessment program comprises the assessment instrument/s designed by the school to allow the students to demonstrate the unit objectives. The unit judgment of A–E is made using reporting standards.

Schools report student results for Unit 1 and Unit 2 to the QCAA as satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U). Where appropriate, schools may also report a not rated (NR).

Units 3 and 4

Schools mark each of the three internal assessment instruments implemented in Units 3 and 4 using ISMGs.

Schools report a provisional mark by criterion to the QCAA for each internal assessment.

Once confirmed by the QCAA, these results will be combined with the result of the external assessment developed and marked by the QCAA.

The QCAA uses these results to determine each student’s subject result as a mark out of 100 and as an A–E.

Units

Unit 1: Share

In Unit 1, students explore the importance of drama as a means to tell stories and share understandings of the human experience in a range of cultures. They begin with a focus on Australian voices and experiences, including those of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and/or those from the Asia–Pacific region. They will engage with foundational content, skills and processes of drama to explore the diversity of Australian experiences. This will inform how students develop and share their unique artistic voice and develop an aesthetic awareness.

Students study this unit with the purposes of celebrating, documenting, empowering and informing audiences through storytelling through a range of dramatic forms. Engaging with the skills of acting, critiquing and devising, students work independently and as an ensemble to structure dramatic action and meaning. They manipulate and shape the dramatic languages to explore a range of linear dramatic forms and non-linear dramatic forms through scripted and non-scripted texts. They explore hybridity of styles in storytelling practices.

In this unit, students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills required to make and respond to dramatic works that use a wide range of dramatic conventions to tell stories in linear and non-linear forms.

Unit objectives

1. Demonstrate skills of drama.
2. Apply literacy skills to communicate dramatic meaning.
3. Interpret purpose and context in selected published texts to communicate dramatic meaning.
4. Manipulate dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.
5. Analyse how the dramatic languages are used to create dramatic action and meaning.
6. Evaluate the use of dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.

Inquiry questions

• How can we use drama to celebrate, document, empower and share understandings of the human experience?
• How can we recreate people’s stories in linear and non-linear dramatic forms?
• How can people’s stories be shared through making and responding to drama as ensemble and audience?

Subject matter

Area of study: How does drama promote shared understandings of the human experience?

Students:

• discuss and reflect on the process of storytelling and its value in diverse cultural contexts, including Aboriginal cultures, Torres Strait Islander cultures and/or Asia–Pacific cultures, in contemporary and historical contexts
• describe, from contemporary practices to inherited traditions, how drama is used to document and celebrate, and empower and inform audiences in a range of contexts and linear and non-linear forms of drama
• explore a range of scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre to identify and evaluate meaning and purpose, applying their knowledge and understanding of the dramatic languages, considering how dramatic languages are used to communicate a range of linear and non-linear forms of storytelling
• explore hybrid dramatic work that integrates text, Physical theatre/dance, Visual theatre, objects, music, costumes, lighting, image, sound, sets, and vocal expression
• create and present dramatic action and meaning through the spoken mode (language-based), visual modes (image, movement) and digital modes (projection, film, still image) by
  • exploring hybridity through a combination of scripted, devised, visual and spoken (mode) texts
  • using ICT skills and techniques to enhance dramatic action
• develop and refine skills of acting by
  • interpreting purpose and context in scripted text/s that celebrate, document, empower and inform audiences through storytelling
    • communicating meaning/intent to intended audiences
    • identifying form and style, as well as the particular characteristics associated with the selected form of storytelling to be expressed or performed through dramatic action
    • annotating script excerpts to identify role/s, state artistic intent in relation to form, stylistic characteristics and purpose to be communicated to the chosen audience
  • experimenting with performance skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • establishing audience awareness, energy, focus, timing and ensemble dynamics
  • experimenting with expressive skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • using body language, facial expressions, movement qualities and vocal qualities (characterisation)
  • experimenting with elements of drama, conventions and stagecraft to create dramatic action (including hybridity)
  • using rehearsal processes, including memorising dialogue, documentation of deliberate choices to create dramatic action and realise purpose and context through script annotations, to develop from a ‘work in progress’ to a polished performance
• develop and refine skills of critiquing by
  • using of a range of critical literacies to assist learning when analysing, evaluating and making dramatic works
  • analysing dramatic action to identify, describe and explain the use of dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning in their own and others’ dramatic work
  • evaluating the use of a range of linear and non-linear forms and dramatic styles in scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre (from both inherited traditions and contemporary practices) for identified purposes, contexts and audiences
  • evaluating, describing and justifying choices when devising dramatic action that communicates stories through linear or non-linear narrative
    • evaluating how elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions are used to communicate dramatic meaning in a dramatic concept
    • describing and justifying choices in creating dramatic action in relation to chosen purposes, contexts, and dramatic meaning
  • applying literacy skills, through written, digital and oral communication, considering
    • structure of extended paragraphs and annotations
    • drama terminology
    • language conventions to construct responses
  • describing, explaining and justifying the use of the elements of drama and conventions, within a range of linear and non-linear forms to communicate purpose, style and dramatic meaning
• develop and refine skills of devising by
  • experimenting with hybrid forms and style to create and shape dramatic action and meaning
  • using dramatic languages to share stories (personal and belonging to varying cultures, times or people) informed by oral and written history and emerging practices
  • creating dramatic action through improvisation and experimenting with manipulation of the elements of drama, conventions and stagecraft
    • stagecraft: blocking, avoiding the masking of other actors, maintaining sightlines, taking cues; understanding stage types, layout and direction, management of stage properties and use of other design and/or production elements
  • presenting devised dramatic action in response to engaging pre-texts and stimulus, including live or recorded performance of a professional standard, for a range of storytelling contexts and purposes
  • exploring conventions of improvisation, process drama and play-building in linear and non-linear forms to create and shape dramatic action and meaning, or in response to a range of storytelling contexts and purposes
  • applying written and digital literacy skills to document the demonstration of their dramatic work through scriptwriting and digital records, such as photographs or filmed dramatic action, including the selection of key moments to demonstrate the manipulation of dramatic languages and to best communicate the intended form, stylistic characteristics and meaning.

Key terminology, suggested practitioners and example texts are provided in a supporting resource.

Unit 2: Reflect

In Unit 2, students explore the power of drama to reflect lived experience. The unit introduces students to the dominant paradigm of drama that embraces notions of truth and authenticity in performance.

Over the course of the unit, students explore the representational dramatic traditions of Realism, then investigate more contemporary dramatic styles associated with the realist style, such as Magical Realism or Australian Gothic theatre. The unit engages with the purposes of informing and challenging audiences, understanding and empathising with the truth of others’ experiences, and chronicling/documenting and celebrating what it is to be human. Students manipulate and interpret the dramatic languages and realise these purposes in contexts that include the dramatic, personal, generational, sociological and cultural. This unit is informed by a study of Australian and International drama texts, including texts by Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In this unit, students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills required to make and respond to dramatic works that aspire to be authentic and truthful reflections of the human condition.

Unit objectives

1. Demonstrate skills of drama.
2. Apply literacy skills to communicate dramatic meaning.
3. Interpret purpose and context in selected published texts to communicate dramatic meaning.
4. Manipulate dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.
5. Analyse how the dramatic languages are used to create dramatic action and meaning.
6. Evaluate the use of dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.

Inquiry questions

• How can we use representational dramatic traditions to inform, empathise and chronicle/document lived experiences?
• How can we manage dramatic languages to reflect the human condition?
• How can we reflect contemporary and inherited styles of Realism through making and responding?

Subject matter

Area of study: How is drama shaped to reflect lived experience?

Students:

• discuss and reflect on the purposes of celebrating, informing and empathising in the style of Realism and contemporary styles of Realism, including Magical Realism and/or Australian Gothic
• discuss and reflect on the impacts on the development of Australian drama, with a focus on the development of contemporary styles of Realism and playwrights; consider
  • analysis of the references to Australia’s colonial history in texts
  • problematisation of the process of colonisation and aspects of Australian history, including its intricate connection with Aboriginal experiences and Torres Strait Islander experiences
• explore a range of scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre to identify and evaluate meaning and purpose, applying their knowledge and understanding of the dramatic languages, considering how dramatic languages are used to communicate through the styles of Realism, Magical Realism and/or Australian Gothic
• create and present dramatic action and meaning through the spoken mode (language-based), visual modes (image, movement) and digital modes (projection, film, still image) by
  • exploring hybridity through a combination of scripted, devised, visual and spoken (mode) texts
  • using ICT skills and techniques to enhance dramatic action
• develop and refine skills of acting by
  • interpreting purpose and context in scripted inherited and contemporary styles of Realism text
    • communicating meaning/intent to intended audiences
    • identifying dramatic form and style, as well as the particular characteristics associated with the Realism, Magical Realism or Australian Gothic text/s to be expressed or performed through dramatic action so as to make clear the dramatic context
    • annotating script excerpts to identify role/s, state artistic intent in relation to form, stylistic characteristics and purpose to be communicated to the chosen audience
  • experimenting with performance skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • establishing audience awareness, energy, focus, timing and ensemble dynamics
  • experimenting with expressive skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • using body language, facial expressions, movement qualities and vocal qualities (characterisation)
  • experimenting with elements of drama, conventions and stagecraft to create dramatic action and realise stylistic characteristics (Realism, Magical Realism or Australian Gothic)
  • using rehearsal processes, including memorising dialogue, documentation of deliberate choices to create dramatic action and realise purpose and context through script annotations, to develop from a ‘work in progress’ to a polished performance
• develop and refine skills of critiquing by
  • using of a range of critical literacies to assist learning when analysing, evaluating and making dramatic works
  • analysing dramatic action to identify, describe and explain the use of dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning in their own and others’ dramatic work
  • analysing and evaluating the relationship between text, purpose, context and dramatic meaning in their own and others’ work, including professional live and recorded live theatre
  • evaluating, describing and justifying choices in adapting and shaping dramatic action in achieving purpose and context
  • applying literacy skills, through written, digital and oral communication to consider
    • structure of extended paragraphs and annotations
    • drama terminology
    • language conventions to construct responses
  • describing, explaining and justifying, through spoken word and digital literacies, the use of the elements of drama, conventions and stagecraft to communicate dramatic meaning and purpose in the styles of Realism, Magical Realism and/or Australian Gothic
  • analysing, describing and evaluating how dramatic languages are used in professional live or recorded live theatre to engage a contemporary audience in the styles of Realism, Magical Realism and/or Australian Gothic
• develop and refine skills of directing by
  • identifying purpose, context and meaning in published texts
  • experimenting with elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to adapt Realism texts into contemporary work such as Magical Realism or Australian Gothic or realise stylistic characteristics of contemporary of work such as Magical Realism or Australian Gothic
    • stagecraft: blocking, avoiding the masking of other actors, maintaining sightlines, taking cues; understanding stage types, layout and direction, management of stage properties and use of other design and/or production elements
  • manipulating dramatic languages to articulate a vision to adapt and re-shape a published Realism text or realise stylistic characteristics of contemporary work such as Magical Realism or Australian Gothic
  • applying written and digital literacy skills to document the demonstration of their dramatic work
  • evaluating how elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions are used to communicate dramatic meaning in a directorial vision
  • justifying directorial choices in structuring and shaping dramatic action in relation to chosen purposes, contexts, and dramatic meaning
• develop and refine skills of devising by
  • exploring conventions of improvisation, process drama and play-building in response to a range of contexts and purposes to communicate the intended form, stylistic characteristics of inherited and contemporary styles of Realism and meaning
  • presenting devised dramatic action in response to engaging pre-texts and stimulus, including live or recorded performance of a professional standard, for a range of contexts and purposes
  • applying written literacy skills to document the manipulation of dramatic languages and to best communicate the intended purpose, stylistic characteristics and meaning.

Key terminology, suggested practitioners and example texts are provided in a supporting resource.

Unit 3: Challenge

In Unit 3, students explore how drama can be used to challenge our understanding of humanity over time. Students investigate dramatic styles that are united by social commentary, and that question their world and advocate change. Students explore how dramatic form can be used to express philosophical and political viewpoints in action in society.

Students apply, manipulate, structure and interpret the dramatic languages through dramatic contexts that include political, social, philosophical or economic frames. They engage with the purposes of educating, challenging, empowering and informing audiences. Students engage in exploratory drama processes and workshop with the elements of drama and conventions to learn how they can be used to make social comment. They manipulate and shape the dramatic languages through published texts and student-devised texts that communicate their unique viewpoint. An exploration of Australian and International drama texts, including texts by Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, informs this unit.

In this unit, students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills required to make and respond to dramatic works that aspire to voice the difficult questions of human conscience and challenge our understanding of humanity in a complex and ever-changing world.

Unit objectives

1. Demonstrate skills of drama.
2. Apply literacy skills to communicate dramatic meaning.
3. Interpret purpose and context in selected published texts to communicate dramatic meaning.
4. Manipulate dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.
5. Analyse how the dramatic languages are used to create dramatic action and meaning.
6. Evaluate the use of dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.

Inquiry questions

• How can drama help to educate, challenge and empower us to question society at this time and advocate change?
• How can we shape dramatic languages to communicate and challenge an understanding of humanity at this time?
• How can we make and respond to dramatic works to explore challenges and demands of the human experience?

Subject matter

Area of study: How can we use drama to challenge our understanding of humanity?

Students:

• discuss and reflect on the social power of theatre and its value in diverse cultural contexts, including Aboriginal cultures, Torres Strait Islander cultures and/or Asia–Pacific cultures, in contemporary and historical contexts
• describe, through exploration of contemporary practices to inherited traditions, how drama can educate, challenge, empower and entertain audiences in political and/or sociological and/or philosophical contexts to make clear dramatic action and meaning
• explore a range of scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre to identify and evaluate meaning and purpose, applying their knowledge and understanding of the dramatic languages, considering how dramatic languages are used to problematise and challenge our understanding of humanity
  • Theatre of Social Comment refers to styles that are united by social commentary, including non-realist approaches and may include, but are not limited to: Contemporary Political theatre, Epic theatre, Satire, Theatre of the Absurd and Theatre of the Oppressed
    • Suggested theatre practitioners, stylistic characteristics and dramatic works that make social comment are provided in a supporting resource.
• create and present dramatic action and meaning through the spoken mode (language-based), visual modes (image, movement) and digital modes (projection, film, still image) by
  • exploring hybridity through a combination of scripted, devised, visual and spoken (mode) texts
  • using ICT skills and techniques to enhance dramatic action
• develop and refine skills of acting by
  • interpreting purpose and context in scripted text that make social comment
    • communicating meaning/intent to intended audiences
    • identifying dramatic form and style, as well as the particular characteristics associated with the form and style to be expressed or performed through dramatic action (dramatic context)
    • annotating script excerpts to identify role/s, state artistic intent in relation to form, stylistic characteristics and purpose to be communicated to the chosen audience
  • experimenting with performance skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • establishing audience awareness, energy, focus, timing and ensemble dynamics
  • experimenting with expressive skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • using body language, facial expressions, movement qualities and vocal qualities (characterisation)
  • experimenting with elements of drama, conventions and stagecraft to create dramatic action to realise stylistic characteristics of various Theatre of Social Comment styles
  • using rehearsal processes, including memorising dialogue, documentation of deliberate choices to create dramatic action and realise purpose and context through script annotations, to develop from a ‘work in progress’ to a polished performance
• develop and refine skills of critiquing by
  • using of a range of critical literacies to assist learning when analysing, evaluating and making dramatic works
  • analysing dramatic action to identify, describe and explain the use of dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning in their own and others’ dramatic work
  • evaluating, describing and justifying choices in devising dramatic action that educates, challenges and empowers the audience to question society and advocates change
    • evaluating how elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions are used to communicate dramatic meaning in a dramatic concept
    • justifying choices in creating dramatic action in relation to chosen purposes, contexts, and dramatic meaning
  • applying literacy skills, through written, digital and oral communication to consider
    • structure of extended paragraphs and annotations
    • drama terminology
    • language conventions to construct responses
  • describing, explaining and justifying the use of the elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions and to communicate form and stylistic characteristics of identified Theatre of Social Comment styles, dramatic meaning and purpose
  • evaluating the use of a range of forms and styles that make social comment in scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre for identified purposes, contexts and audiences
• develop and refine skills of devising by
  • identifying purpose, political, social and philosophical contexts and meaning to be communicated
  • experimenting with dramatic languages to educate, challenge, empower and entertain audiences through improvisation, process drama and play-building in linear and non-linear forms
  • manipulating elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to communicate stylistic characteristics of selected styles with the purpose to make social commentary
    • stagecraft: blocking, avoiding the masking of other actors, maintaining sightlines, taking cues; understanding stage types, layout and direction, management of stage properties and use of other design and/or production elements
  • applying literacy skills to document the demonstration of their dramatic work through scriptwriting and digital records, such as photographs or filmed dramatic action, including the selection of key moments to demonstrate the manipulation of dramatic languages and to best communicate the intended meaning.

Key terminology, suggested practitioners and example texts are provided in a supporting resource.

Unit 4: Transform

In Unit 4, students explore inherited theatrical traditions and key dramatic works of the past as a springboard for developing their own artistic statement. They explore influential inherited theatrical traditions that have shaped and informed current dramatic practices in conjunction with emerging dramatic practices that reframe and transform the inherited theatrical styles of Greek theatre, Elizabethan theatre or Neoclassicism and their associated texts.

The unit involves students manipulating and shaping the dramatic languages to reframe text, purpose, context and meaning, drawing on stylistic characteristics and philosophies of Contemporary performance. Students re-imagine, adapt and transform texts from inherited traditions into an expression of their emerging artistic voices, addressing the needs of a 21st century audience.

In this unit, students develop the knowledge, understanding and skills required to make and respond to dramatic works that reshape and challenge meaning and how stories can be enacted.

Unit objectives

1. Demonstrate skills of drama.
2. Apply literacy skills to communicate dramatic meaning.
3. Interpret purpose and context in selected published texts to communicate dramatic meaning.
4. Manipulate dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.
5. Analyse how the dramatic languages are used to create dramatic action and meaning.
6. Evaluate the use of dramatic languages to create dramatic action and meaning.

Inquiry questions

• How can drama be used to reframe purpose, context and meaning through contemporising texts?
• How can you manipulate and shape dramatic languages to communicate to 21st century audiences?
• How can drama reshape and transform meaning of inherited texts through skills of drama, including devising, directing and acting?

Subject matter

Area of study: How can you transform dramatic practice?

Students:

• discuss and reflect on the historical, sociological and political context of a selection of inherited dramatic traditions and styles (such as Greek, Elizabethan or Neoclassical theatre) through techniques such as research, discussion, workshopping and viewing text, and process drama
• discuss and reflect on the relationship between text, meaning, context and audience, focusing on
  • dramatic meaning inherited from the playwright in the text and its relationship to context and audience both past and present
  • contemporary understandings of a multiplicity of meanings
  • contemporary understandings that audience are co-creators of meaning
• create and present new interpretations of inherited dramatic texts as Contemporary performance (following or alongside exploration of inherited styles) through manipulating the elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions in relation to structure (form), purpose, context and dramatic meaning to
  • reframe meaning
  • hybridise and fracture dramatic action and form
  • transform context and purpose
• discuss and reflect on the evolution of dramatic practice in diverse cultural contexts, including Aboriginal cultures, Torres Strait Islander cultures and/or Asia–Pacific cultures
• describe how drama can be used to reframe purpose, context and meaning through contemporising texts
• explore a range of scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre to identify and evaluate meaning and purpose relevant to a 21st century audience by applying their knowledge and understanding of the dramatic languages, considering elements of drama, conventions and stylistic characteristics associated with
  • the inherited styles of Greek theatre, Elizabethan theatre or Neoclassicism
  • Contemporary performance and those that privilege image over spoken text (which may include but are not limited to Physical theatre, Visual theatre, hybrid and/or non-linear forms)
• create and present dramatic action and meaning through the spoken mode (language-based), visual modes (image, movement) and digital modes (projection, film, still image) by
  • exploring hybridity through a combination of scripted, devised, visual and spoken (mode) texts
  • using ICT skills and techniques to enhance dramatic action
• develop and refine skills of acting by
  • interpreting purpose and context of inherited scripted texts to reframe purpose, contexts and meaning
    • communicating meaning/intent to intended contemporary audiences
    • identifying dramatic form and style, as well as the particular characteristics associated with the form and style to be expressed or performed through dramatic action (dramatic context)
    • annotating script excerpts to identify role/s, state artistic intent in relation to form, stylistic characteristics and purpose to be communicated to the chosen audience
  • experimenting with performance skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • establishing audience awareness, energy, focus, timing and ensemble dynamics
  • experimenting with expressive skills to communicate dramatic action and meaning
    • using body language, facial expressions, movement qualities and vocal qualities (characterisation)
  • experimenting with elements of drama, conventions and stagecraft to create dramatic action and realise Contemporary performance
  • using rehearsal processes, including memorising dialogue, documentation of deliberate choices to create dramatic action and realise purpose and context through script annotations, to develop from a ‘work-in-progress’ to a polished performance
• develop and refine skills of critiquing by
  • using of a range of critical literacies to assist learning when analysing, evaluating and making dramatic works
  • analysing dramatic action to identify, describe and explain the use of dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning in their own and others’ dramatic work
  • evaluating, describing and justifying choices in devising dramatic action in achieving purpose and context to realise Contemporary performance
  • applying literacy skills, through written, digital and oral communication to consider
    • structure of extended paragraphs and annotations
    • drama terminology
    • language conventions to construct responses
  • describing, explaining and justifying, through documenting and annotating digital images/footage, the use of the elements of drama and a range of conventions of inherited and contemporary forms and styles to communicate dramatic meaning and purpose
  • evaluating the use of a range of conventions in scripted drama and professional live or recorded live theatre (from both inherited traditions and contemporary practices) for identified purposes, contexts and audiences
• develop and refine skills of devising by
  • identifying purpose, context/s and meaning to be communicated
  • manipulating elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions of Contemporary performance to adapt and shape dramatic action and transform meaning
    • stagecraft: blocking, avoiding the masking of other actors, maintaining sightlines, taking cues; understanding stage types, layout and direction, management of stage properties and use of other design and/or production elements
  • using a scaffolded play-building and rehearsal process to progress from directorial vision/s to a polished performance
• develop and refine skills of directing by
  • identifying purpose, context and meaning in published texts
  • experimenting with elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to present new interpretations of inherited dramatic texts and realise identified stylistic characteristics of Contemporary performance
  • manipulating dramatic languages to articulate a vision to adapt and re-shape an inherited Greek, Elizabethan or Neoclassical text into Contemporary performance
  • applying written and digital literacy skills to document the demonstration of their dramatic work
  • evaluating how elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions are used to communicate dramatic meaning in a directorial vision
  • justifying directorial choices in structuring and shaping dramatic action in relation to chosen purposes, contexts, and dramatic meaning.

Key terminology, suggested practitioners and example texts are provided in a supporting resource.

Assessment

Internal assessment 1: Performance (20%)

Students work, as actor, to collaboratively create a polished performance of a published text that makes social comment for a chosen audience. This performance assesses learning in Unit 3.

Assessment objectives

1. Demonstrate skills of acting.
2. Interpret purpose and context within the chosen text.
3. Manipulate elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to create dramatic action and meaning that communicates social comment.

Specifications

This task requires students to:

• read the selected published text
• select a published scripted excerpt that makes a specific social comment
• identify purpose, context and dramatic meaning inherent in the selected excerpt
• experiment with the elements of drama, stagecraft and a variety of conventions to communicate stylistic characteristics of the selected published text
• manipulate elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to communicate stylistic characteristics and create dramatic action and meaning
• annotate the scripted text excerpt with role/s highlighted and brief annotations identifying
  • selected stylistic characteristics of the chosen excerpt
  • purpose, context and dramatic meaning to be communicated
  • choices in skills of acting (performance and expressive skills), elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions in relation to purpose, context and meaning
• rehearse, as an ensemble, to refine skills of acting and realise the identified dramatic purpose and communicate dramatic meaning.

Stimulus specifications

The teacher provides a published text that is an appropriate script that makes social comment.

Conditions

• Students can develop their responses in class time and their own time.
• This is an individual task.
• The following aspects of the task are completed as a group (up to four people)
  • performance.
• The teacher must provide students with continuous class time to develop the performance.
• All students must be actively engaged and a primary focus for a minimum of 3 minutes of the performance.
• For the audiovisual recording of the student performance, the recording should be continuous with no pausing or editing.

Response requirements

Performance

Performance: up to 5 minutes

Annotated scripted text excerpt (not assessable)

Written

Mark allocation

Instrument-specific marking guide (IA1)

Demonstrating skills of acting

Communicating meaning in performance

Internal assessment 2: Dramatic concept (20%)

Students work, as devisor, to create an original dramatic concept of a theatrical work that expresses a social comment in response to a professional live or recorded live performance. This dramatic concept assesses learning in Unit 3.

Assessment objectives

2. Apply literacy skills to communicate ideas.
3. Manipulate elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to create a dramatic concept that communicates a social comment.
4. Analyse elements of drama and dramatic conventions used to create dramatic action and meaning.
5. Evaluate dramatic languages used to communicate a social comment.

Specifications

This task requires students to:

• view a professional live or recorded live performance that expresses a clear social comment, as stimulus for devising their own original dramatic concept
• identify which of the dramatic languages used in the performance resonate with their personal artistic voice. This might be the performance’s use of form, elements of drama, conventions, stagecraft and/or stylistic characteristics that will influence the development of their own original dramatic concept
• investigate relevant and appropriate topics for making social comment
• identify the intended purpose, context, dramatic form and stylistic characteristics for their original dramatic concept
• workshop ideas for dramatic action, experimenting with a variety of ways to manipulate elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to make social comment
• rehearse and enact the concept to develop key moments of dramatic action
• photograph and/or film key moments of dramatic action that best capture the dramatic ideas
• synthesise the original concept by
  • creating a sequenced digital record of key moments to communicate a social comment
  • writing essential scripted dialogue (as required)
  • documenting a statement of intent
    • describing the dramatic languages (form, elements of drama, conventions, stagecraft and/or stylistic characteristics) used in the professional live or recorded live performance that were drawn upon as inspiration for the original devised dramatic concept
    • outlining the social comment to be made to challenge a contemporary audience, identifying the intended purpose and context, the dramatic form to be used to structure the work, and the stylistic characteristics to be communicated
    • analysis, evaluation and justification of how elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions have been manipulated to communicate a social comment through their intended purpose and context.

Stimulus specifications

The teacher provides a professional live or recorded live performance that expresses a clear social comment in an appropriate Theatre of Social Comment style.

Conditions

• Students can develop their responses in class time and their own time.
• This is an individual task.
• The following aspects of the task may be completed as a group (as required)
  • peers may be used as actors to capture moments of dramatic action for the digital record.
• The teacher must provide students with continuous class time to develop their response.

Response requirements

Multimodal (at least two modes, written and digital, delivered at the same time): up to 1500 words, including:

• a statement of intent
• a sequenced digital record of key moments of the devised concept — one of the following
  • up to 12 photographs of staged dramatic action
  • up to 3 filmed moments of staged dramatic action (up to a total of 90 seconds)
  • up to 8 photographs of staged dramatic action, and 1 filmed moment of staged dramatic action (up to 30 seconds)
• scripted dialogue: up to 500 words (Note: Any dialogue in filmed moments must be included in the scripted dialogue.)

Mark allocation

Instrument-specific marking guide (IA2)

Applying literacy skills

Devising original dramatic concept

Statement of intent

Internal assessment 3: Practice-led project (35%)

Students work, as director and actor, to transform an inherited published text into a Contemporary performance. As director, students create a directorial vision for the transformation; as actor, they perform an excerpt of the selected text. This practice-led project assesses learning in Unit 4.

Assessment objectives

1. Demonstrate skills of acting.
2. Apply digital literacy skills to communicate ideas.
3. Interpret purpose and context within the chosen text.
4. Manipulate elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to adapt, shape and create dramatic action and meaning to transform an inherited published text into Contemporary performance.
5. Evaluate the use of dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning for a contemporary audience.

Specifications

This task requires students to:

• read the selected inherited published text
• identify purpose, context and meaning within the inherited published text to be reframed using stylistic characteristics of Contemporary performance
• engage with Contemporary performance works that explicitly interpret inherited texts using hybridity of conventions across a range of forms and styles
• brainstorm ideas about how the inherited text might be reframed, reimagined or transformed for a contemporary audience
• manipulate elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions to create a vision for a hybrid work, transforming the inherited text into Contemporary performance, by shaping and adapting dramatic action and meaning. Students exemplify their directorial decisions using excerpts of the inherited text
• use still images and/or filmed key moments of staged original dramatic action that best capture directorial ideas in transforming the inherited text
• individually develop a multimodal pitch to
  • articulate a directorial vision to transform the inherited text
  • evaluate dramatic choices in communicating purpose, context, stylistic characteristics and meaning for a contemporary audience
• select an excerpt to present as a Contemporary performance based on directorial visions, teacher feedback and further contributions of the ensemble (as appropriate)
• identify and interpret purpose, context and dramatic meaning to be communicated in performance
• experiment with the elements of drama, stagecraft and a variety of conventions to communicate Contemporary performance characteristics and reframe the inherited text
• annotate scripted text excerpt/s with role/s highlighted and brief annotations identifying
  • selected stylistic characteristics for the Contemporary performance
  • purpose, context and dramatic meaning to be communicated
  • choices in skills of acting (performance and expressive skills), elements of drama, stagecraft and conventions in relation to purpose, context and meaning
• rehearse, as a one-person show or ensemble, to refine skills of acting, realise the identified dramatic purpose and communicate dramatic meaning.

Stimulus specifications

The teacher provides an inherited Greek, Elizabethan or Neoclassical published scripted text.

Conditions

• Students can develop their responses in class time and their own time.
• This is an individual task.
• The following aspects of the task may be completed as a group
  • directorial vision: peers may be used as actors to capture moments of dramatic action for the directorial vision
  • performance (up to four people).
• The teacher must provide students with continuous class time to develop their response.
• All students must be actively engaged and a primary focus for a minimum of 3 minutes of the performance.
• For the audiovisual recording of the student performance, the recording should be continuous with no pausing or editing.

Response requirements

Directorial vision

Multimodal (at least two modes, spoken and digital, delivered at the same time): up to 7 minutes, including:

• a pitch
• still and/or moving images

Performance

Performance: up to 5 minutes

Annotated scripted text excerpt (not assessable)

Written

Mark allocation

Instrument-specific marking guide (IA3)

Applying digital literacy skills in a directorial vision

Articulating a directorial vision

Demonstrating skills of acting

Communicating meaning in performance

External assessment: Examination — extended response (25%)

External assessment is developed and marked by the QCAA. The external assessment in Drama is common to all schools and administered under the same conditions, at the same time, on the same day.

Assessment objectives

2. Apply written literacy skills, using relevant drama terminology and language conventions to communicate ideas and meaning.
3. Analyse how dramatic languages are used to create dramatic action and meaning.
4. Evaluate the use of dramatic languages to communicate dramatic meaning.

Specifications

This examination requires students to:

• respond to an unseen question selected from various options and unseen stimulus
• analyse, synthesise, evaluate and justify to fully answer a question
• respond in the form of an analytical essay that expresses a viewpoint.

Stimulus specifications

The QCAA provides succinct unseen stimulus with contextual information.

Conditions

• Mode: written
• Time allowed
  • Planning time: 20 minutes
  • Working time: 120 minutes

Glossary

The syllabus glossary is available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior-qce/common/snr_glossary_cognitive_verbs.pdf.

References

Australia Council for the Arts 2007, Protocols for producing Indigenous Australian performing arts, www.australiacouncil.gov.au. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2018, The Arts: Learning Area — Key ideas, v8.3, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/the-arts/key-ideas. Marzano, RJ & Kendall, JS 2008, Designing and assessing educational objectives: Applying the new taxonomy, Corwin Press, USA. Marzano, RJ & Kendall, JS 2007, The new taxonomy of educational objectives, 2nd edn, Corwin Press, USA.

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