Our Year 12 VCE Theatre Studies students put several months of hard work into their exams on Saturday 20 October. Over 16 weeks, they have had to select, research, interpret, perform and produce a monologue from a collection of plays including Merry Wives of Windsor, A Dybbuk, Letters for Lindy, Woman in Black, The Ferryman, War of the Worlds, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and Love Loss, and What I Wore.
The students had to personally recreate their piece using their acting/performance and stagecraft design skills. To do this, they had to learn and apply the following skills:
- Researching playscript, playwright, context and theatrical styles
- Characterisation and intended meanings/themes
- Performance skills (acting/expressive skills, actor/directorial choices, actor/audience relationship, justifying their stagecraft design choices)
- Visual concept (design, justifying, sourcing and applying their costume, set, props, makeup skills to their selected piece)
- Rehearsal/workshopping their performance/design ideas.
The exam is worth 25% of their total year mark. For many, the day as much as the 'process' in itself was a significant learning experience and they did us proud. The students were mutually supportive and had great attitudes — even with all the nerves.
