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Unit 4: Contemporary and Devised Drama

13 dot points, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

What distinguishes presentational, non-realist drama from realism, and how does it openly acknowledge its audience?

Identify and apply the conventions of presentational, non-realist drama when devising and performing original work

Presentational, non-realist drama. Breaking the fourth wall, theatricality, non-linear structure, direct address, multi-roling and stylisation, and how non-realist drama questions perspectives for an audience.

7 min read →

How does Artaud's theatre of cruelty use sensory assault to reach an audience beyond words and logic?

Apply Artaud's theories and conventions of the theatre of cruelty to devise and perform non-realist drama

Artaud. The theatre of cruelty, sensory assault, ritual, the abandonment of text, total theatre and the assault on the subconscious, and how Artaudian drama shocks an audience awake.

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How do Brecht's theories and conventions of epic theatre make an audience think critically rather than simply feel?

Apply Brecht's conventions of epic theatre to devise and perform presentational, non-realist drama

Brecht. The alienation effect, gestus, direct address, narration, song, placards, multi-roling and episodic structure, and how epic theatre creates a critical audience for social change.

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How do critical frameworks and cultural perspectives help an audience interpret and judge drama in its context?

Apply critical frameworks and cultural perspectives to interpret, respond to and evaluate drama

Critical frameworks. Reading drama through social, cultural, historical and other lenses, intercultural understanding, context and meaning, and how an informed audience interprets and evaluates drama.

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How does the relationship between performers and audience shape the meaning and experience of devised drama?

Shape the actor-audience relationship and use space and staging configurations to create meaning for an audience

Actor-audience relationship. Staging configurations, proscenium, thrust, in the round, traverse and promenade, direct address, immersion and proximity, and how performers shape the audience's experience.

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How do you analyse a live performance or a script and write clearly about how it makes meaning for an audience?

Interpret and analyse drama in performance and on the page, using drama terminology to explain how meaning is constructed for an audience

Interpreting and analysing drama. How to read performance and text, use drama terminology, structure an analytical response, and explain how acting, design and direction create meaning for an audience.

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How does an ensemble turn a stimulus and a set of ideas into an original devised performance?

Apply the processes of devising drama, from stimulus and research to structuring and refining an original ensemble work for performance

Devising. Stimulus, research, improvisation, dramatic intention, structuring devices, ensemble collaboration and refinement, and how a group shapes original drama for an audience.

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How do physical theatre and contemporary styles tell stories through the body, image and ensemble rather than dialogue?

Apply the conventions of physical theatre and contemporary styles to devise and perform original ensemble drama

Physical theatre and contemporary styles. Ensemble movement, gesture and image, verbatim and documentary theatre, multimedia and postdramatic forms, and how devisers make meaning beyond dialogue for an audience.

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How does an ensemble turn a stimulus into original dramatic material through research, response and improvisation?

Generate and develop original drama from a stimulus using research, improvisation and ensemble collaboration

Stimulus. Types of stimulus, brainstorming and free association, research, improvisation and play-building, selecting and shaping material, and how an ensemble grows original drama from a starting point.

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How do the ideas of major practitioners and theatre styles shape the way contemporary and devised drama is made and performed?

Apply the theories and conventions of selected practitioners and contemporary theatre styles when devising and performing original drama

Practitioners and styles. Stanislavski, Brecht and Artaud, plus contemporary and physical theatre, their conventions, and how devisers apply practitioner ideas to make original work for an audience.

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How does Australian drama reflect its social and cultural contexts, and why does context matter when interpreting a play?

Analyse how Australian and contemporary drama reflects its social, cultural and historical contexts and shapes meaning for an audience

Australian drama and context. How social, cultural and historical context shapes plays and performances, the voice of Australian theatre, and how to analyse context and meaning for an audience.

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How do signs, symbols and design choices on stage carry meaning that an audience reads and interprets?

Analyse and use the signs and symbols of performance to construct and communicate meaning to an audience

Semiotics. How signs and symbols in performance carry meaning, denotation and connotation, costume colour set and gesture as signs, and how an audience reads the layered meaning of a production.

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How does a drama student reflect on and evaluate the process of making and performing drama to improve their practice?

Reflect on and evaluate the process and product of devising and performing drama using evidence and informed judgement

Reflection and evaluation. The difference between description and evaluation, criteria and evidence, reflecting on process and product, and how informed judgement improves a student's drama practice for an audience.

7 min read →