Year 12 Drama Units 3 and 4
Overview
The focus of the VCE Drama course is to support and advance your artistic practice and creative development of new, original works. To achieve this, VSV has developed a course that blends complementary online and in-person learning experiences to meet the requirements of the current VCAA Drama Study Design. VSV’s online and interactive resources include contributions from Melbourne Theatre Company, performance collective The Rabble and VSV’s own Drama Educators.
You will see professional play-making processes from the inside and apply this knowledge and skill to devise:
- ensemble work in Unit 3, and;
- solo work in Unit 4.
You will unravel the dramatic potential of a stimulus and prescribed structure to devise and perform these new works, which aim to take audiences ‘beyond real life as it is lived’.
In Unit 3 you will attend a professional performance at the theatre, the analysis and evaluation of which, establishes your own practice of appreciating the work itself and the exploration how its processes and techniques can inform your own and others’ work. This work is selected from the VCAA Drama Playlist, published annually.
In both units, there will be opportunities to explore production areas such as costume, lighting, make-up, mask, props, puppetry, set pieces, sound design and theatre technologies. You will also make directorial decisions in both the ensemble and solo devised work. You are expected to do the work of the actor in both units.
Be part of a partnership that wants to see you from the front row, not just in the front row.
Pre-Enrolment forms
Part A: Student form – to be completed by student and guardian.
Part B: School supervisor form – to be completed by the school supervisor.
Who is it for?
This VCE sequence focuses on the creation and performance of characters and stories. Drama is a way of communicating our stories and giving voice to the stories of others and our parallel dreams. We are all storytellers.
What do you do?
In these units you will:
- be a valued member of an ensemble
- explore your capacity as a solo practitioner
- explore and shape the dramatic potential of a stimulus
- learn and apply play-making techniques
- develop and refine expressive and performance skills
- recognise significant moments that advance the development of devised work
- examine contemporary drama practice
- investigate how production areas convey and heighten meaning
- apply analytical and creative thinking in discussion and writing
- develop drama literacy through practical application
What skills do you need?
You speak your thoughts clearly and have the capacity to build reciprocal relationships. You engage in the creative development of new work in all stages of the play-making process. You dip in and out of play and critical thinking to experiment with different material and techniques.
What skills do you develop?
In these units you will develop the following skills:
- confident articulation of your ideas
- analytical, critical and creative thinking, discussion and application in writing and practice
- foster an appreciation of professional drama practice
- collaborative literacy
- decision-making confidence
- aesthetic sensibility
Requirements
All students are required to complete a Pre-Enrolment form and attend a brief meeting with VSV Drama teachers–online or in-person–to confirm that you have the necessary supports at home, at your home school and/or in your community to study this subject effectively.
- This course is a blend of online and in-person contact.
- Students are required to attend weekly online classes.
- Students are required to attend 3–4 one-day intensives in each unit, as well as a presenting their work at a performance evening for the VSV community
- Metro Melbourne students will attend VSV’s Thornbury campus for in-person intensives.
- Arrangements will be made for students who are unable to travel to Melbourne.
- To meet Unit 3 Outcome 1, VSV Drama teachers will assign students to ensemble groups based on student circumstances and location. Note that ensembles are comprised of 3–6 students.
Pre-enrolment forms
Part A: Student form – to be completed by student and guardian.
Part B: School supervisor form – this form should be completed by the school supervisor when appointed.
You will need:
- internet access
- a headset with microphone
- a webcam
- a camera or device to record practical work in progress with good quality image and sound
Things to think about
You will be:
- working collaboratively and independently
- documenting significant moments in the creative and development process
- viewing, analyzing and evaluating a professional drama performance
- attending 3 – 4 in-person one-day intensives to create and develop devised work
- expected to invest in your ability to think, write and speak critically about drama
- presenting evidence of your contributions to your teacher and communicating with them via phone, email and through regular attendance at weekly 1 hour online classes
- meeting the VSV submission timelines
- meeting the VCAA assessment requirements for the study
- assessed by your teacher for all outcomes in both units
- assessed by VCAA in the solo performance examination and the end-of-year written examination.
Things you can do now
- Go to the theatre. There are lots of independent and non-professional theatre companies in Victoria.
- Before the show, read the program and make predictions about production areas
- During the show, focus on the performance and expressive skills used by the actors
- After the show, research the performance styles in the play
- You may choose to buy a copy of the following text to support your studies: Acting Smart Drama Version 8 by Jane Bird, Richard Sallis and Mark Bailey, Melbourne: Acting Smart, 2019.
- Explore the VCAA website information for DRAMA. Read the DRAMA Study Design, past exams and reports and subject information. Go to the VCAA website for more information about this subject.