DramaDrama is a vibrant and varied art form found in play, storytelling, street theatre, festivals, film, television, interactive games, performance art and theatres. It is one of the oldest art forms and part of our everyday life. Through taking on roles and enacting real and imagined events, performers engage audiences who suspend their disbelief to enter the world of the drama. Through drama, human experience is shared. Drama entertains, informs, communicates and challenges.
Dianella Secondary College offers an exciting Drama program. Students study all aspects of drama including life skills such as working as part of a team, self esteem and public speaking skills. Students also explore a variety of Drama forms and styles including mime, ritual and Western, Indigenous and Asian theatre influences Lower School In Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 students learn the basic principles of movement, voice and storytelling. This is mostly taught through theatre games and workshops. Lower School drama includes mime, ritual, realism as a theatrical style, melodrama, indiginous thatre and improvisation skills and how to put together simple stories using characterisation, plot and setting. Students learn and experiment with roles other than acting which include directing, set and costume design. Students also learn about a variety of performance spaces and audience theory. In Year 9, students begin working with script extracts and creating their own issue based improvisations. In Year 10, students study contemporary styles and forms. Students will be interpreting themes and issues through published scripts and creating scripts of their own. Some aspects of theatre history are also covered. Students produce works in a variety of forms other than acting. This ranges from set and costume design drawings to models and publicity posters. Short answer and extended answer forms are also assessed. Senior School General courses are offered. The course focuses on two plays per year, one Australian contemporary play and a play from a country other than Australia. Both realistic and non-realistic theatre is studied as well as extending theatre history which includes ritual, ancient Greek theatre, medieval theatre and contemporary theatre styles. Students become a lot more independent and work on tasks associated with these theatrical forms. There is also a focus on design and production team roles such as lighting, sound, set design, costume design and publicity. Upper School students also work towards creating their own monologue or duologue for performance. An integral part of Upper School is attendance at no more than three professional productions per year. Excursions/Partnerships An integral part of Drama courses is attendance at professional theatre productions and students are encouraged to attend. Dianella Secondary College has also run programmes in association with the Migrant Centre and “Filmbites” in conjunction with the City of Stirling. We have developed a partnership with The WA Youth Theatre Company (WAYTCo) who have provided our students with the opportunity to perform in the Fringe Festival of Perth in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and other productions outside of school. WAYTCo have also run extensive performance workshops after school. Dianella Secondary College is also part of the Festival of Perth Partner Schools Program and receive invitations to Festival of Perth performances and workshops. Drama courses enable students to experiment, use their imagination and try hands on skills that will prove useful in future career paths. |
HEAD OF LEARNING AREA
Mr James McPhail DRAMA TEACHER Ms Karalee Blake Mr Simon Robinson |