Quick questions on Individual Project Performance: HSC Drama practical

Length. Six to eight minutes of performance.

The choice is central. A strong monologue:

A devised solo piece is built from a stimulus, theme or concept rather than from a published script. The student writes (devises) and performs their own material.

Phase 1: Initial reads and research. The performer reads the monologue (or develops the devised material) and researches its context. For a monologue: the play, the character's circumstances, the moment in the play. For a devised piece: the stimulus and any related material.

The NESA panel visits the school during Term 3 (sometimes at the same visit as Group Performance, sometimes separately). The student performs the piece live.

Voice. Clarity, range, breath support, articulation. The voice has to fill the room without straining.

Over-acting. Pushing emotion past what the text supports. The panel reads this as inauthentic.

Six to eight minutes of performance.

One performer on stage. No other students. No technical assistance during the piece other than what has been pre-set (lighting, sound).

Performed in front of a NESA panel.

The character is within the student's plausible range (age, gender, emotional register, vocal demands). A 17-year-old performing a 60-year-old character is a stretch; a 17-year-old performing a 17-year-old or 25-year-old character is workable.

The monologue should have a journey: an emotional arc, a discovery, a decision, a moment of change. A flat monologue (one note throughout) gives no room for the performer to show range.

Markers respond to monologues that come from significant moments in plays. A throwaway speech from a minor character gives less context than a major character's central speech.

Six to eight minutes is the target. Trimming a longer speech is fine; padding a shorter one is risky.

A monologue that has been performed by professional actors gives the student something to study (and to push against) in rehearsal.