STUDY SUMMARY
VCE THEATRE STUDIES 2014–2018
Please Note: This study summary includes excerpts from the VCE Theatre Studies Study Design.
The summary is not a substitute for the VCE Theatre Studies Study Design. Users are advised to
consult the VCAA website http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/vce/studies/theatre/theatreindex.aspx
to view the full accredited Study Design and other resources.
Scope of Study
In VCE Theatre Studies students interpret playscripts and produce theatre for audiences.
Through practical and theoretical engagement with playscripts from the pre-modern era to the
present day, students gain an insight into the history and rich possibilities of playscript-based
theatrical production and develop understanding and appreciation of the role and place of the
practitioner in theatre. Theatre practitioners develop, create and craft productions through
research, contextualisation, visualisation and the application of stagecraft. The study covers
roles in theatre practice including actor, director, designer, theatre technologist and theatre
administrator/manager.
Throughout the study, students work with playscripts in both their written form and in
performance, studying various areas of stagecraft that can be used to interpret these playscripts.
Students study the contexts, that is, the time, places and cultures, of playscripts, as well as their
language and theatrical possibilities. They explore ways that meaning can be constructed and
conveyed through theatrical performance. They consider the audiences who will engage with
their productions and incorporate knowledge and understanding of audience culture,
demographic and sensibilities in their interpretations.
Students apply stagecraft to collaboratively and individually interpret playscripts and their
theatrical possibilities. Through study of playscripts, contribution to the production of plays, and
the application of stagecraft, students develop knowledge and understanding of theatre and its
practices.
Rationale
Theatre has been made and performed from the earliest times and is an integral part of all
cultures. Theatre exists as entertainment, education, an agent for change, a representation of
values and a window on society. Theatre makers have worked as playwrights, actors, directors,
researchers, designers, technicians, managers and administrators to produce theatre for a range
of audiences and diverse purposes. Theatrical practices has developed, and influenced culture
more generally, over centuries and through the variety of productions in a range of spaces and
venues.
VCE Theatre Studies develops, refines and enhances students’ analytical, evaluative and critical
thinking, and their expression, and problem-solving and design skills. Through study and
practice in theatrical analysis, playscript interpretation and engagement in theatrical production
processes, students develop their aesthetic sensitivity, interpretive skills, and communication,
design, technological and management knowledge.
The study of theatre, in all its various forms, is relevant to students who wish to pursue further
study in theatrical production, theatre history, communication, writing and acting at tertiary
level or through vocational educational training settings or to pursue industry or community
related pathways.
VCE THEATRE STUDIES 2014–2018
STUDY SUMMARY
Structure
The study is made up of four units:
Unit 1: Modern theatre
Unit 2: Pre-modern theatre
Unit 3: Playscript interpretation
Unit 4: Performance interpretation
There are three Areas of Study in each unit.
Entry
There are no prerequisites for entry to Units 1, 2 and 3. Students must undertake Unit 3 prior to
undertaking Unit 4. Units 1 to 4 are designed to a standard equivalent to the final two years of
secondary education.
Unit 1: Pre-modern theatre
This unit focuses on the application of acting and other stagecraft in relation to theatrical styles
of the pre-modern era. Students work with playscripts from the pre-modern era of theatre,
focusing on works created up to 1920 in both their written form and in performance. They also
study theatrical and performance analysis and apply these skills to the analysis of a play in
performance. Periods from the pre-modern era of theatre include Ancient Greek, Roman,
Liturgical drama such as morality/miracle/mystery plays, Italian and the Commedia Dell’Arte,
Elizabethan and Shakespearean, Restoration comedies and dramas, Neo-classical, Spanish and
French, Naturalism/Realism, and non-Western theatre such as Beijing Opera, Noh theatre,
Bunraku and Kabuki and other traditional indigenous theatre forms.
Unit 2: Modern theatre
In this unit students study theatrical styles and stagecraft through working with playscripts in
both their written form and in performance with an emphasis on the application of stagecraft.
Students work with playscripts from the modern era, focusing on works from the 1920s to the
present. They study theatrical analysis and production evaluation and apply these skills to the
analysis of a play in performance. Theatrical movements in the modern era include Epic
Theatre, Constructivist theatre, Theatre of the Absurd, Political theatre, Feminist theatre,
Expressionism, Eclectic theatre (contemporary theatre that incorporates a range of theatrical
styles), Physical theatre, Verbatim theatre, Theatre in Education.
Unit 3: Playscript interpretation
In this unit students develop an interpretation of a playscript through the stages of the theatrical
production process: planning, development and presentation. Students specialise in two areas of
stagecraft, working collaboratively in order to realise the production of a playscript. They use
knowledge they develop from this experience to analyse the ways stagecraft can be used to
interpret previously unseen playscript excerpts. Students also attend a performance selected
from the prescribed VCE Theatre Studies Unit 3 Playlist published annually in the VCAA
Bulletin VCE, VCAL and VET, and analyse and evaluate the interpretation of the playscript in
the performance.
Unit 4: Performance interpretation
In this unit students study a scene and associated monologue from the Theatre Studies
Stagecraft Examination published annually by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
Authority, and develop a theatrical treatment that includes the creation of a character by an
actor, stagecraft possibilities, and appropriate research. Students interpret a monologue from
within a specified scene
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VCE THEATRE STUDIES 2014–2018
STUDY SUMMARY
using selected areas of stagecraft to realise their interpretation. Students’ work for Outcomes 1
and 2 is supported through analysis of a performance they attend selected from the prescribed
VCE Theatre Studies Unit 4 Playlist published annually in the VCAA Bulletin VCE, VCAL and
VET.
Assessment
Satisfactory Completion
The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on a decision that the student has
demonstrated achievement of the set of outcomes specified for the unit. This decision will be
based on the teacher’s assessment of the student’s performance on assessment tasks designated
for the unit.
Levels of Achievement
Units 1 and 2
Procedures for the assessment of levels of achievement in Units 1 and 2 are a matter for school
decision.
Units 3 and 4
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority will supervise the assessment of all
students undertaking Units 3 and 4. In the study of VCE Theatre Studies students’ level of
achievement will be determined by school-assessed coursework, a performance examination
and a written examination.
Percentage contributions to the study score in VCE Theatre Studies are as follows:
 Units 3 and 4 school-assessed coursework
45%
 End-of-year performance examination
25%
 End-of-year written examination:
30%
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