1 Drama

Level 1 NCEA Drama is a subject that will require you as an actor, performer and director to define and understand drama techniques and conventions. In this course you will need to develop your own understanding of improvisation, characterisation skills, devising and script writing to bring an act or play to life. There is an element of collaboration throughout this course for students to develop connections with other students throughout the year.  

Who is drama for?
Drama is for everyone.
We all have kōrero pūrākau and stories to share.

Drama helps us to understand cultural perspectives and worldviews and connect with our community. It celebrates and explores te ao Māori, Pacific, and European whakapapa and helps us to prepare for the future by challenging us to explore the attitudes and beliefs of characters in drama from Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.

Through drama, learners explore the lives and worlds of others and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and empathy for others. They will engage with the ways in which drama can uplift and sustain the mana of communities, groups and individuals.

Drama is for the learners of today who will be the adults of tomorrow – adults with an appreciation of who they are in relation to others, where they come from, and what kind of world they would like to live in.

Why study drama?

Drama explores who we are, where we have come from, and where we could go.

Drama draws on the richness of diverse cultures to create new dramatic works.

In drama, learners can make connections between the real world and imagined worlds. Creating characters and situations grows learners’ ability to comment on, challenge, and ultimately transform society. They can use online platforms to explore their ideas and access worldwide audiences.

Drama students demonstrate high engagement, empathy, and courage in their learning because it allows them to have fun while taking creative risks within a safe environment. They quickly learn that they are responsible for themselves and for others.

The collaborative, creative process of drama develops learners' skills in giving and receiving constructive feedback. Drama students learn to share, develop, and extend ideas to realise a shared goal and serve the intention of the drama.

Drama examines and challenges established ideas and prejudices. It encourages critical and creative thinking and innovation. It generates new ideas and reflects on trends in society.

Through participating in and responding to drama, learners develop confidence in expressing their ideas as they seek to communicate with a variety of audiences and thereby influence society.

What is valued knowledge in drama?

Drama is a collaborative art form. Through the practice of ako, learners and teachers support and develop each other’s ideas and practice.

In Drama, learners tell stories and express their identity. They discover how drama can challenge and/or reinforce the status quo. Drama provides opportunities for learners to explore and express Māori, Pacific, and other indigenous heritages. Learners explore and manipulate ideas and take creative risks. They share, rework, construct, and deconstruct work that is dynamic and evolving.

Learners investigate, explore, and practise different ways of creating and structuring drama through using:

- linear, thematic, cyclical, episodic, or non-narrative storytelling

- the elements of drama (role, place, time, situation, action, tension, mood, contrast, focus, symbol)

- a range of dramatic conventions to develop characters and deepen the audience’s engagement

- production technologies (lighting, sound/music, digital projection, properties, makeup, costumes, the set) to create and develop mood and settings (place and time)

- characters and situations brought to life in an imagined world.

In addition, drama students refine and craft the tools of the actor (drama techniques) by learning to:

- use their body (gestures, facial expression, stance and posture, movement) to create and recreate the physical representation of characters, relationships, and situation

- use their voice to communicate convincingly the thoughts and feelings of the characters they portray

- engage with the performance space to develop the audiences’ understanding of character and situation.

Learners’ progression across Levels 6 to 8 is demonstrated by increasing independence and creative vision. They grow their ability to collaborate constructively and serve the intention of the drama.

Drama is influenced by whakapapa and is a way to respond to and share identity, culture, and perspectives. Drama is a collaborative, creative process. Drama weaves wairuatanga through storytelling, communication, and expression. Drama is an act of whakawhanaungatanga; meaning is created through the reciprocal relationship between the drama and audience.

5 Key Competencies in Drama:

1. Thinking

- explore ideas physically and in the moment

- respond to creative offers to advance the drama

- put their own thought into action

- respond and adapt their whakaaro (thoughts and ideas) based on mahi tahi (working collaboratively)

- reflect on work and adapt based on feedback

- develop understanding and critical thinking about the context of work; historical, social, cultural, political, and economic, in order to create meaningful drama

- develop research skills in exploring the contexts of dramatic work

- explore their own and others' ideas in work they experience and work they create

- investigate roles, worlds, contexts, attitudes, and themes in drama, using their own prior cultural knowledge.

2. Using language, symbols and texts

- develop their use of language in rehearsal, scripting, and devising processes

- discuss their work and experiment with language used in performance

- understand and use discipline specific vocabulary and develop multi-modal literacies including audio, gestural, linguistic (verbal and written), spatial, and visual

- interpret texts, stories, and direction

- engage with and explore what can be expressed through props, costume, set, technologies, motifs (recurring symbols), text, dialogue, movement, gesture, and conventions.

3. Relating to others

- negotiate, cultivate, and explore a variety of relationships; the relationships between performers, the relationships between characters, the relationship between the performer and the role, and the relationship between the performer and the audience

- practice whanaungatanga and manaakitanga in working with others with care and compassion

- explore the perspectives and experiences of others, increasing their cultural awareness, responsiveness, and acceptance

- understand and play to different strengths in order to enrich the work.

4. Managing self

- develop self discipline and an understanding of their role as part of the group

- practise self-management in practical contexts; arriving to rehearsals on time, learning lines, being prepared, and taking responsibility for different aspects of production (props, costume), theatre and performance protocols

- set goals

- self-review

- accept direction and feedback

- question and critique themselves and others.

5. Participating and contributing

- work together to contribute their own ideas and respond to the ideas of others

- establish kotahitanga in group work, value each others' strengths, and improve the quality of the work

- explore how to adapt and work in different environments with different people and contribute to building a group dynamic that is responsive to the needs of the work and the participants

- develop courage and generosity in making offers to advance the drama and giving feedback as well as openness and humility in accepting feedback and extending the ideas of others.

Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa - Artistic excellence makes the world sit up in wonder