VCE Theatre Studies Frequently Asked Questions

VCE Theatre Studies 2014 - 2018

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the VCAA be publishing a glossary for VCE Theatre Studies? Theatre language and terminology evolves and changes constantly; therefore a glossary is not appropriate as part of a ‘fixed’ document such as a study design. The terms defined in the ‘Terms used in this study’ section of the study design (page 10) are those that should be understood by users of the study design as having particular meanings and parameters in the context of the study. The range of terminology that teachers and students will use across the course far exceeds the terminology used in the study design. Most terminology in the study design is generic in nature and open to interpretations that have common underpinnings but can also be informed by particular theatrical context(s). Teachers and students might develop glossaries of terminology they use, for example, terminology relevant to a particular area of stagecraft or theatrical style. These glossaries might be used within a class group or shared across a wider network.

Is there a set list of theatrical styles and associated terminology that should be studied across Units 1-4? VCE Theatre Studies requires students to learn about a range of theatrical styles from different times, places and cultures but does not set specific styles to be studied. The definition of ‘Theatrical styles’ provided in the study design outlines the rationale for this approach. The definition begins by describing the nature and scope of a theatrical style: ‘Theatrical styles are the practices and traditions which have come to be accepted as conventional and are particular to specific times, places, peoples and cultures’. The next section of the definition describes why a set list of styles is not appropriate: ‘by their very nature, theatrical styles are not static, constant or definitive but are indicative, for example a theatrical style might indicate a historical period or political movement’. The definition ends with a statement about the nature of theatrical styles in modern theatre: it is understood that theatrical styles are fluid and experimental and evolve in response to a range of contexts and purposes. As mentioned above, the theatrical language and terminology students will learn and use in VCE Theatre Studies is diverse and largely contextual. For example, the language and terminology used in describing the conventions and effects of an evolving theatrical style such as ‘hyper-realism’ is likely to change as the style moves from experimental to conventional. Definitions or descriptions of a new or evolving theatrical style may begin by drawing on language used in other arts disciplines such as new media or visual arts and gradually be modified to absorb language more typically associated with theatrical practice. Teachers need to be aware of shifts in language used within the theatre industry. In the case of ‘hyper-realism’ this might involve connecting terms used within the industry with terms used in relation to more conventional theatrical styles such as the Theatre of Cruelty which can be seen as contributing to the scope and nature of the new theatrical style.

What is the status of the Advice for teachers document? The Advice for teachers is a companion document to the study design and provides advice about designing teaching and learning activities for Units 1-4. As the scope of the 2014-2018

©VCAA, August 2014 study design is very similar to the scope of the 2007 study. Many of the examples in the Advice for teachers for that study has been retained. Teachers may use the published Advice for teachers as a model for revising existing activities in their learning program or to devise new activities. For example, they might use the outline provided in a detailed example as a model but use different theatrical styles, periods or playscripts to construct an actual learning activity or sequence of activities.

Why is Theatre Technologies not listed as a ‘design’ area of stagecraft? Theatre Technologies is an evolving area of stagecraft that can involve aspects of design, production and stage management and/or other stagecraft areas. For this reason, Theatre Technologies is listed separately from the Acting and Direction, Management and Design areas of stagecraft identified for VCE Theatre Studies. Theatre Technologies are rarely used independently of other areas of stagecraft. For example, specific theatre technologies equipment or practices may be used to realise concepts through other areas of stagecraft such as set, lighting, costume or stage management.

Will the list of stagecraft that students may apply within the Design option for the Stagecraft Examination be extended at any time? The VCAA conducts ongoing monitoring of VCE curriculum and assessments. As required, minor amendments can be made to curriculum and/or assessment specifications during the term of a study’s accreditation. More substantial changes are made in response to a formal study review. Before any extensions to the list of ‘Design stagecraft’ for the Stagecraft Examination could be considered, the VCAA would need to be confident that the options are accessible across the full cohort of students and study providers and that they can be assessed in an equitable manner. For example, for lighting to be included, access to appropriate resources would be required across study providers and in all examination rooms.

Why are the stagecraft areas divided into List A and List B for Unit 3 Outcome 1? The Areas of stagecraft in List A for Unit 3 Outcome 1 are those that students can use for Unit 4 Outcome 1. To support a learning continuum and development of expertise, all students must select at least one stagecraft area from List A for Unit 3 Outcome 1. The areas of stagecraft in List B are those that for reasons of equity and access are not available for Unit 4 Outcome 1 and the Stagecraft examination.

Do students have to use the areas of stagecraft they applied for Unit 3 Outcome 1 to respond to questions on the written examination? Students may choose any of the listed stagecraft areas to respond to specific examination questions. The structure of Unit 3 Outcome 1 and Unit 4 Outcomes 1 and 2 mean that while students may ‘specialise’ in particular stagecraft areas they should also have knowledge of other stagecraft. For example, in Unit 3 Outcome 1, irrespective of the stagecraft they select, students are required to participate in collaborative production planning, development and presentation. This allows students who select stagecraft such as stage management to contribute to development of the concept for the production and develop imaginative ways of applying this stagecraft to realise the selected theatrical vision. For example, the stage manager might develop approaches to moving set or properties that draw on conventions relevant to selected theatrical styles. This could involve working collaboratively with students taking responsibility for other stagecraft such as lighting, sound, theatre technologies or the actors.

©VCAA, August 2014 If a student chooses the Acting and Direction option for the Stagecraft examination, to what extent do they need to layer their performance with stagecraft (given that they can discuss this through the Focus Statement)? Students who choose the Acting and Direction option are required to ‘create an informed context’ and ‘present an interpretation that includes the realisation of a unified directorial vision to convey the context(s) and intended meaning(s) of the monologue to an audience’. Application of other stagecraft will allow students to meet these requirements in ways that enhance their application of acting and direction skills. For example, costume choices can be used to create a specific context for the interpretation or use of properties can be manipulated to demonstrate understanding of changes in status or motivation within the monologue.

Can the framing statement be delivered in character to assist the actor in preparing and focussing on the role he/she will interpret? Students are advised not to deliver the framing statement in character. The Framing Statement is an opportunity for students to outline their directorial vision before presenting their interpretation of the monologue.

When students are preparing the ‘direction’ aspect of their interpretation of the monologue for the Stagecraft Examination, should they focus on ‘directing the actor who will perform the monologue’ or ‘on being the director of the complete production’? As students who select the Acting and Direction option are required to present an interpretation that includes the realisation of a unified directorial vision, they must consider all aspects of the performance in their interpretation. This would generally include delivery of the lines of the monologue, use of expressive and performance skills to enhance intended meaning, interaction between the actor and other stagecraft such as set or properties, for example blocking of movement.

Can Design be for a given audience/staging? The VCE Theatre Studies Stagecraft Examination Specifications indicate that ‘the audience for the interpretation is the assessors, who, in this context are fulfilling the role of ‘those the monologue interpretation is intended for’ (page 2). The specifications also indicate that the design concept presented in the examination should ‘be one that could be utilised by an actor when performing the monologue to an audience’ (page 3) and the Specifications: Design state that the design concept students develop to interpret the monologue is suitable for:

 A single clearly lit, relatively small space where no changes to the lighting grid are permitted  An actor performing the monologue to an audience according to the specifications of the task (page 4).

These specifications will influence the design and should be taken into account when arriving at the design concept for the interpretation. Together, these parameters establish a starting point for students to conceptualise a design to interpret the monologue they select from the available choices. The task for students is to study the monologue, prescribed scene and complete playscript and make decisions about the contexts, theatrical styles and theatrical possibilities for interpreting the monologue. They then apply their selected stagecraft to interpret the monologue and consider the relationships between acting, direction and design.

©VCAA, August 2014 What materials and equipment may students who select the Design option bring into the examination room? Students who select the Design option must select equipment and materials to support their Interpretation that they can safely, and, without assistance, bring into and remove from the examination room within the allocated time for set-up and bump-out. Depending on their stagecraft selections, students may bring in items such as a model(s), a mannequin to display costume(s), an easel to display images showing aspects of their design concept, set items such as furniture, properties, CD players or mobile devices they will use as playback equipment for pre-recorded sounds, musical instruments or other objects to create sounds They may use a trolley to move items. A power point will be available in the room but students must supply their own leads, connectors, adapters etc. Amplification devices may be used but students should remember that the examination rooms will be small and rehearse appropriate volume levels so that occupational health and safety is maintained for themselves and assessors. Information about materials that may be brought into the examination room and related matters is provided on pages 8-9 of the Stagecraft Examination Specifications.

Are there specific types of questions that might be asked in the Stagecraft examination? The 3rd (final) stage of the examination allows the assessors to ask the student questions to clarify and/or seek further information about points made in the Framing Statement or the Interpretation. Assessors will question the student for no more than 2 minutes. Examples of the types of questions that could be used in the examination are provided on page 8 of the Stagecraft Examination Specifications.

Will assessors receive specific training relating to the question section of the Stagecraft examination? VCAA assessors are appointed annually and as part of the appointment must demonstrate knowledge of the relevant curriculum, for example the current VCE Theatre Studies study design. For all assessments conducted by the VCAA, assessors must attend training before each assessment period. This approach ensures that assessors maintain up-to-date knowledge of the study design and assessment task they will be assessing. Training involves a range of activities relevant for the specific assessment task. Training materials and activities for the Stagecraft Examination will draw on material used in other studies over many years.

Is the School-assessed coursework audit part of VCAA’s monitoring of study implementation? The VCE School-based Assessment Audit program incorporates a review of both School- assessed Coursework and School-assessed Tasks (SATs) and is undertaken as part of the monitoring of VCE curriculum and assessment implementation. A cross-section of schools in each study is audited annually. Over about a five year period all schools offering a study can expect to be audited. As the assessment tasks are integral both to the determination of satisfactory completion of the VCE units and to the determination of scores that are used to calculate the study score, it is essential that students are given appropriate assessment activities. Information about the School-assessed Coursework audit purpose and process is available at http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/SBA_general.pdf

©VCAA, August 2014 The audit process begins with a survey which asks providers to supply information about their planned assessment program. Online submissions are considered by the VCE State Reviewer in conjunction with the relevant VCAA Curriculum Manager. Providers are then notified of one of the following three outcomes: Submission meets requirements This means that no immediate action is required. Some evidence may be requested in Stage 2. Further evidence required This means that the submission is incomplete or otherwise not satisfactory, indicating that there is an issue requiring follow-up by the VCAA. Providers will be contacted and further evidence will be requested in Stage 2. Further evidence may be required in the form of, for example, assessment tasks, details of assessment criteria or marking schemes, evidence of internal moderation practice or samples of student work.

Immediate follow up with the Curriculum Manager required. This means that the teacher/s must make contact with the relevant VCAA Curriculum Manager at their earliest convenience.

The Theatre Studies Monologue Examination material identifies editions of the playscript for each of the monologues. Do students have to use that edition for Outcome 1, Outcome 2 and the Stagecraft examination?

As advised in the 2014 VCE Theatre Studies Stagecraft examination materials copies of the monologues taken from the cited editions are available from the VCAA. To obtain a copy of these texts teachers should send an email request to [email protected]

If students are not able to obtain a copy of the cited edition of the complete play they may use another reputable edition for study of the scene and the play. Only the cited version of the monologue may be used in the examination.

In Monologue 3 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time adapted by Simon Stephens from the novel by Mark Haddon, Character: SIOBHAN (and JUDY), may students reference the character of Christopher?

In the monologue, the persona of Judy is portrayed by Siobhan and within the monologue Siobhan (Judy) reads a letter written by Christopher. When interpreting this monologue the actor/director may choose to also take on Christopher’s persona while she is reading his words. They may also choose to mirror Christopher’s actions. In doing so, the student will need to consider, as appropriate to their stagecraft and other interpretative choices, movement within the performance space, use of properties or set-pieces. The student may also take on Judy’s persona if they wish.

Why are students not permitted to use folios in the Stagecraft examination?

The examination specifications and the examination paper specifically state that students may not use multimedia devices such as data projectors or folios to present their interpretation of the monologue to the assessors.

Students may use, as appropriate to their stagecraft choices a dressmaker’s dummy, for example, to display costumes or costume items, an easel/s to display illustrations of make- up or costume designs. They may wear costumes, be made-up, use a property/ies to illustrate how an actor would do so in performance. Students are advised to bring in some well-chosen set pieces that illustrate their interpretation of the monologue.

©VCAA, August 2014 The study design refers to ‘Set pieces’ rather than ‘Set’ as the stagecraft option for this task. As students develop a design concept for specific set pieces relevant to their interpretation of the monologue they will consider the set pieces within a larger or complete set design. They may, in their Framing Statement and/or design presentation, make reference to the relationship between the set pieces and other components of the complete set design.

All material used in the interpretation should be of a size that allows assessors to view relevant detail. Assessors are likely to be seated at least one metre from the material. Students may not place items on the assessors’ table and should stand at least one metre from the assessors. Consequently items being used to illustrate the design concept need to be of a reasonable size. Students should not bring in an item such as a shoe-box model that is so small the assessors cannot see relevant detail.

Teachers should be mindful of workload considerations when advising or providing feedback to students as they develop their monologue interpretations. Development of a model for a complete set design is beyond the scope of the task and is likely to involve an inequitable workload for the student. As an alternative to making a model of appropriate size, the student might choose to talk about positioning of the set pieces within a complete design or use a printed diagram displayed on an easel to show the set pieces within the complete design. It may be relevant for students to mention whether the design concept they are presenting is specific to the scene in which the monologue occurs or could be used throughout the play. The design concept presented in the examination to interpret the monologue must be informed by the scene and the wider play.

What is meant by the instruction in the examination specification that students must ensure that the design concept they develop to interpret the monologue is suitable for a single clearly lit, relatively small space where no changes to the lighting grid are permitted and an actor performing the monologue to an audience according to the specifications of the task.

This information about details of the Interpretation stage of the examinations unpacks statements contained in the overall description of the examination task, Stage 2: Interpretation: the interpretation will draw on the knowledge and skills developed across Unit 4 Outcomes 1 and 2, and will present an interpretation of the monologues that is informed by and contextualised in relation to the scene within the play. (page 2).

As students develop their design concept they need to consider that:  their design concept must present an interpretation of the monologue  they will present their concept in an examination venue that is relatively small and clearly lit; that the lighting grid cannot change during their interpretation and that they must be able to get all materials into and out of the examination room relatively quickly and efficiently (i.e. the same conditions as for the acting/directing students)  their interpretation is the way that they convey their knowledge and understanding of the theatrical styles, the world of the play, the structure and content of the scene and the monologue possibilities to the assessors

In developing their design concept students must ensure that they will be able to present their ideas in the examination venue. They might visualise their design for another performance space (if so, this could be addressed when delivering the Framing Statement) but on the day of the examination they are required to get their materials into and out of the examination room and to communicate to the assessors how aspects of their design convey meaning and understanding of the monologue.

©VCAA, August 2014 Some potential hazards might be: if a set piece is too large, it might not fit through the door. If there are too many ‘items’ or ‘aspects’ to the design, the student may struggle to explain how and why each is part of the design concept. Some opportunities are: students might, in Unit 4 Outcome 2, develop a design concept for a theatrical space and then make judicious choices about which aspects of the design are most relevant to the monologue as it would be performed by an actor in the space specified in the specifications of the task. Careful choices regarding ideas students will include in each of the framing statement and the interpretation of content they will communicate across the Framing Statement will allow the students to communicate sophisticated thinking and design that reflects their understanding and imagining of theatrical possibilities in relation to the world of the play, the scene and the monologue.

This complex task builds on work from Outcome 2 and does require students to evaluate their design choices in relation to the text of the monologue. For example, including make- up or costume design for a character other than the monologue character is probably an inappropriate choice.

Students who select the acting/direction option need to be mindful of the examination space when they prepare their performance. This aspect of their work is consistent with requirements for the previous monologue performance examination. In the same way, the assessors will be the audience for these performances just as they were the audience for examination performances in previous years.

All students may choose to refer to other aspects of stagecraft in their Framing Statement, for example, they might briefly describe specific details that would be part of a ‘full’ realisation of their design concept or directorial vision. These might include references to how lighting, stage management or theatre technologies could be used to build or enhance the audience’s understanding of the world of the play, making it clear that these aspects are not part of their examination presentation. This type of statement might be useful for students to communicate their understanding of the world of the play or a theatrical style.

Why are students not allowed to discuss process in the Stagecraft examination?

The Framing Statement section of the examination allows students to communicate decisions and influences that inform their interpretation of the monologue. Their interpretation of the monologue through performance or presentation of a design concept also communicates these decisions. Students may, in their Framing Statement and or as part of their Design presentation refer to decisions they made after using processes such as research or experimentation. Students will use these references to communicate their understanding of the monologue, the scene and the world of the play and to describe the key influences on their interpretation.

The examination specifications preclude discussion of process per se. For example, in their Framing Statement, actor/directors should not refer to processes they used to memorise lines or develop skill in specific physical theatre techniques. The outcomes of this work will be evident in their performance. In the same way, students who select make-up are required to create a design concept, not to explain how the make-up will be applied and students who select costume are not required to explain how they constructed a costume.