Senior Drama - an evolving vision for a changing world
St. Joseph's College
Gregory Terrace
YEARS 11 - 12
QSA - Yr 11 and 12 Drama Syllabus
Drama is one of the oldest art forms known. It has its origin in the impulse to imitate, symbolise and ritualise experiences in an attempt to understand and control them. Societies and cultures throughout history have developed enactive ways of making and communicating meaning that involves performers and audiences. This enactive mode of expression, integrating oral, kinaesthetic, visual and aural aspects, engages people in a suspension of disbelief in order for them to enter a fictional world.
Drama provides a medium for exploration, social criticism, celebration and entertainment. It enables students to define and shape their own identity within social and cultural contexts. Students involved in drama activities are participating in aesthetic learning in which the senses and emotions are engaged cognitively and affectively. This is an experiential mode of learning that demands active participation.
By blending intellectual and emotional experience, Drama offers a unique means of enquiry that contributes to knowing and understanding the world.
In this syllabus, drama is explored through the dimensions of forming , presenting , and responding . These three dimensions are interrelated and complementary. The synthesis of these three dimensions enables students to create and communicate dramatic meaning.
When forming drama, students actively explore ideas through developing an understanding of the elements of drama and dramatic conventions. They learn to hypothesise, experiment and make judgments as they select and structure those elements and conventions to create and shape dramatic action.
When presenting drama, students use expressive communication processes to convey meaning effectively to an audience. Students develop an understanding of the nature and function of drama, a practical knowledge of dramatic form and style, and a range of acting and performance skills and techniques.
Through responding, students use written and oral processes to communicate their interpretation, critical analysis and evaluation of drama. In responding, students demonstrate their understanding and knowledge of dramatic action from outside or after the drama.
The collaborative nature of drama as an art form provides students with opportunities to learn to manage the processes of drama and the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills required to work effectively, both individually and in groups. Such skills are essential to give students, in a changing society, a critically active orientation necessary to play a full part in their own culture, the culture of others and the world of work.
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