Unit 3: Production Development

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this unit.

Scope of the unit

This unit focuses on an interpretation of a playscript through the four designated stages of production: planning, development, season, and evaluation. Students specialise in two areas of stagecraft, working collaboratively in order to realise the production of a playscript. They analyse the influence of stagecraft on the shaping of the production. They also attend performances selected from the prescribed Theatre Studies Unit 3 Playlist published annually in the VCAA Bulletin, and analyse and evaluate the interpretation of the playscript in the performance.

Area of Study 1
Students become members of a production team and develop an interpretation of a playscript. In this study, the production process is described as consisting of four stages: planning, development, season and evaluation. Students complete exercises and tasks and contribute to two areas of stagecraft across all stages of the process. Outcome 1 refers to application of stagecraft for performance to an audience and demonstration of understanding of the stages of a production process.

Area of Study 2
Students analyse the influence of stagecraft on the production of the playscript they interpreted in Area of Study 1. The analysis focuses on the nature and purpose of the four stages of the production process, contributions of individuals working in collaboration with others and techniques used in two areas of stagecraft.

Area of Study 3
Students analyse a production selected from the VCE Unit 3 Theatre Studies Playlist and evaluate the relationship between a written playscript and its interpretation on stage. They also evaluate ways people such as the dramaturg or the costume designer have contributed to the production through the application of stagecraft.

Production team
For Outcome 1 students form a production team to collaboratively interpret a playscript for performance to an audience. More than one student may specialise in each area of stagecraft, and schools may decide to only focus on some areas of stagecraft. These decisions will be influenced by the playscript selected for interpretation and/or the size of the class.

Assessment

Outcomes	Assessment Tasks (School-assessed Coursework)	Marks Allocated
Students will have satisfactorily completed this unit when they have demonstrated the specific set of outcomes listed below:
Apply stagecraft to interpret a playscript for performance to an audience and demonstrate understanding of the stages of the production process.	Demonstration of solo technical work and exercises; and unprepared performance of previously unseen material.	50
Analyse the use of stagecraft in the development of a playscript for production, incorporating the specifications appropriate for each stage of the production process.	A written analysis of the production processes.	25
Analyse and evaluate ways in which a written playscript selected from the prescribed playlist is interpreted in its production to an audience.	A test or written analysis.	25
Total Marks		100

Recent plays produced for assessment include Journal of the Plague Year, The Butterfly's Evil Spell and Freedom of the City. Students also attend performances by MTC, Playbox and Bell Shakespeare as well as having opportunities to workshop ideas with actors through the artist in residence program.

Note: School-assessed Coursework for Unit 3 contributes 30% to the final assessment.

Reproduced by permission of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, Victoria, Australia. Web Address www.vcaa.vic.edu.au