The Individual Project as a practical assessment task, including the five options (Critical Analysis, Performance, Design, Script-Writing, Video Drama) and the choice considerations

What this dot point is asking

NESA expects you to know the five Individual Project options, what each requires, and the basis on which to choose between them. Strong answers describe the requirements specifically and engage with the choice considerations honestly.

The answer

Common features

All five Individual Project options share several features.

Solo work

The Individual Project is by one student; the Group Performance is the collaborative task.

Choice early

Students select their option in Term 4 of Year 11 or early Term 1 of Year 12. The choice locks in; it is difficult (and discouraged) to change after Term 1.

Logbook

All options require a logbook of process documentation kept across the year. The logbook records the student's research, decisions, dead ends and revisions. It is part of the submitted material.

NESA submission

The completed work is submitted to NESA at the end of the year. Performance and Video Drama have specific submission processes (recording or filming the work for NESA's panel).

Individually marked

Unlike the Group Performance, each Individual Project receives its own individual mark.

Weighting

The Individual Project counts toward the HSC mark at a weighting set by NESA. Check the current syllabus or school assessment booklet for the exact percentage.

Critical Analysis

A 2,500 word essay on a topic in drama, theatre studies or performance criticism. The topic is negotiated with the class teacher and approved by NESA (a topic is recorded on the NESA registration system early in the year).

What it submits

The essay (2,500 words, footnoted and referenced) plus the supporting logbook.

What it suits

Strong English Advanced or English Extension students who write extended analytical prose comfortably. Students who enjoy reading drama theory and criticism. Students who want a Year 12 piece that builds research and writing skills.

Common topics

A study of a specific playwright (Beckett, Brecht, Williamson, Enoch). A study of a movement (Theatre of the Absurd, verbatim theatre, Australian Indigenous theatre). A study of a dramatic technique (use of chorus, devising methods, physical theatre conventions). A study of a single production (a Belvoir Mother Courage, a Sydney Theatre Company King Lear). A study of a theatrical issue (representation of women, of disability, of First Nations communities in Australian theatre).

Pitfalls

Too broad a topic. Too late a topic registration. Not enough engagement with primary material (the plays themselves). Reliance on Wikipedia or summary sources rather than published scholarship.

Performance

A six to eight minute solo piece performed live to a NESA panel. Either:

• A monologue from a published play, prepared and performed with directorial choices.
• A devised solo piece built around a stimulus or theme.

What it submits

The performance itself (live, with a panel visit similar to the Group Performance panel, scheduled separately) plus the logbook.

What it suits

Strong actors comfortable performing solo. Students with existing performance training (LAMDA, AMEB, school productions). Students who want a Year 12 piece focused on their own acting.

Common monologue choices

Speeches from Shakespeare. Speeches from prescribed and other Australian playwrights (Lawler, Williamson, Nowra, Enoch). Contemporary international monologues (Sarah Kane, Caryl Churchill, debbie tucker green).

Pitfalls

Choosing a monologue that does not show range. Not exploring multiple directorial approaches. Not having a rehearsal director (teacher, mentor) to push the work past the first instinct.

Design

A portfolio for a hypothetical production of a chosen play. The student picks one design specialty:

• Set design. Concept, ground plans, elevations, model (often a scale model), rationale.
• Costume design. Concept, costume renderings for each character, fabric and material research, rationale.
• Lighting design. Concept, lighting plot, cue sheets, rationale.
• Sound design. Concept, cue list, sample recordings or soundscape, rationale.
• Promotional design. Concept, poster, programme cover, marketing materials, rationale.

What it submits

The portfolio (designs, plans, photographs of models if any) plus the logbook.

What it suits

Students with strong visual arts, technical drawing or design backgrounds. Students who think visually about plays. Students who enjoy production research.

Common play choices

A Shakespeare. A contemporary play with strong design potential (When the Rain Stops Falling, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Trojan Women). A studied prescribed text. The choice of play should give the student something to design with.

Pitfalls

Choosing a play that does not show off the student's design. Submitting beautiful drawings without a clear rationale linking design to dramatic meaning. Forgetting that the design must be theatrically realisable.

Script-Writing

An original script of 1,500 to 2,000 words for stage or radio. The script is accompanied by a rationale and dramaturgical notes.

What it submits

The script plus the logbook.

What it suits

Students who write fiction or poetry. Students who have enjoyed studying dramatic form. Students with a story to tell that fits a 15 to 25 minute play (the rough running time of the word count).

Common forms

A two-hander. A monodrama. A short ensemble piece (3 to 5 characters). The script should fit the word count; trying to write a feature-length play in 2,000 words leads to thin material.

Pitfalls

Writing prose disguised as dialogue. Not testing the script with a read-through. Not understanding that the script must perform on stage, not read on the page.

Video Drama

A five to seven minute filmed piece. The student writes, directs and edits the work (acting may be by others). Submitted with a director's statement, storyboard and shot list.

What it submits

The finished video file plus supporting paperwork plus the logbook.

What it suits

Students who film and edit confidently. Students with access to equipment (a phone is enough; a DSLR is better). Students who think in moving image.

Pitfalls

Treating it as theatre filmed (the camera as fly on the wall). Treating it as a short film unrelated to drama (the project must engage with dramatic form). Audio quality is the most common technical failure; invest in a microphone, not a fancier camera.

How to choose

The choice question is honestly the most important practical decision a Year 12 Drama student makes. Three principles.

Pick the option where your existing strength lands hardest

A strong essay writer should do Critical Analysis. A trained actor should do Performance. A visual designer should do Design. A fiction writer should do Script-Writing. A filmmaker should do Video Drama. Trying to develop a new skill in Year 12 from scratch under HSC pressure is high risk.

Pick the option that fits your other Year 12 subjects

Critical Analysis pairs well with English Advanced and Extension. Performance pairs with Music or other performing subjects. Design pairs with Visual Arts or Design and Technology. Script-Writing pairs with English Extension. Video Drama pairs with Multimedia or Photography.

Pick early and commit

Late changes lose months of work. Talk to your teacher in Year 11 about the choice. Talk to senior students about their projects.

How this connects to the written exam

The Individual Project is not directly examined in the written paper. Section III of the written paper sometimes uses the orientation of a critical analysis or theatre critic essay, which most resembles the Critical Analysis Individual Project, but the practical work and the exam are separately assessed components.