IB Theatre Arts - Wellington College Intranet

IB Theatre Arts

IB Theatre arts consists of 4 core units which are studied over 2 years:

Theatre in the Making	In which you will explore the skills needed to create theatre
Theatre in Performance	In which you will work as both a performer, director and technician
Theatre around the world	In which you will explore a range of theatre traditions and cultural practices
The Independent Project	In which you will create and present an original piece of work which explores one of your own interests in drama

These units are not designed to be studied as separate blocks of work, one after the other, but instead will be studied simultaneously one unit supporting the work of another. Each of these units has a core task that must be completed and written up in a journal which must be compiled over the two years. It is worth noting that none of these tasks, as listed below, are assessed and neither is your journal, but they must be completed if you are to pass the IB truthfully

Theatre in the Making	Explore 2 texts and write up 2 action plans for how they might be performed, covering: voice, movement, ensemble work, rehearsal, technical skills, theory, design, social, cultural and historical influences. You also need to complete a review of live theatre
Theatre in Performance	Participate in at least 2 or 3 performances in more than 1 capacity (director, actor, writer, and technician). You must write self-reflectively about the process and consider what the spectators thought.
Theatre around the world	You must study 2 theatrical practices or texts from around the world. One must be a theory rather than a text. This work should reflect an exploration of different cultural practices and theories and should involve group work and individual work. You should consider the social, cultural and historical significance of the traditions as well as comparing them to theatre of your own culture.
The Independent Project	You must create and present an original piece of work inspired by anything you like. It is your chance to pursue a specialised interest and might involve you directing, writing, acting, designing, running workshops. Higher level candidates have a little less free choice as they are asked to either: Devise - in which you must devise an alternative interpretation of a performance. This might be scripted or entirely devised. Exploring Practice - in which you must critically compare different theories, forms and genres and create your own workshops or rehearsal systems based on these.

Remember all of these tasks must be completed and written up in the journal, but THEY ARE NOT FORMALLY ASSESSED. Instead your assessment will come in the form of 4 generic assessment tasks which can be adapted top fit the work of any unit. These are:

Year 1: Research Investigation. 25%	Students must research a theatre practitioner in relation to their study of one set text. You must set yourself a research question to focus which links practitioner and text and then write about how research into your practitioner might translate into a performance of the text. Higher level students also need to include an extra section in which they critically reflect on the sources they have used. Word length is 1500 - 1750 words for standard level and 200 - 2500 for higher level. This assignment is externally moderated by an examiner
Year 1: A practical performance proposal. 25%	This is another externally assessed unit in which you will be given a set study text by the exam board and will then have to come up with a director's concept. Perspective and a detailed description of how this text might be staged. The proposal should include written work, images and storyboards. Higher level students should also include a report on the wider theoretical context of the performance and text. The task is set in May and students then have 4 weeks to write their assignment before it is sent off.
Year 2; A Production presentation. 25%	This is a verbal presentation of 30 minutes in length given in front of the class in which you must reflect on your involvement in productions as an actor and a technician, as well as a spectator. The idea is to reflect on what has been learned over the 2 years. This presentation will be recorded and must also have a visual element in the form of no more than 10 PowerPoint slides. This presentation is internally assessed and must cove the following areas: What has been learned from the syllabus, your ability to devise and rehearse, your acquisition of technical skills, a critical response to your own work and that if others, the effect on the spectator, your ability to research and plan and make and justify choices, analysis of how concepts are realised, an ability to use and analyse theory in practice
Year 2; Independent project portfolio. 25%	You will be required to keep a record of work on your project which must show your: preparation, action, reflection and must have the following sections: A table of contents An introduction Clear sections on preparation, action and reflection A conclusion Visual material Attributation of sources The length of the report is 2000 words for standard length and 3000 words for higher level. It is internally assessed.

So remember, you are being asked to do a lot but only these 4 areas are actually assessed. Make sure that although you document everything in your journal, it is these 4 tasks that you complete to the highest level possible.

In terms of how the IB fits in with A level drama, although the core assessment is different the work covered on the AS will allow you to complete the assessment tasks for your journal. This table will make the overlap clear.

AS / A2 Drama

IB Theatre Arts

Must complete a 3000 word study of 2 texts and a theatre review of 1000 words

Must perform a monologue or a duologue

Must appear in a scripted performance

Must complete a research investigation on 1 text, focusing on an unfamiliar practitioner (research investigation)

Must show an ability to review theatre as a spectator (journal and production presentation)

Must perform in at least 2 or 3 performances (theatre in performance / production presentation)

As above

Devise an original piece of theatre

Devising an independent project

Hopefully you can see that there is lots of cross over and by completing the AS classwork you will be able to fill your journal pretty comprehensively. The overall shape of the combined course will therefore look like this:

Term One	Practitioner studies. Study of 2 texts resulting in AS coursework and IB practitioner study and review
Term Two	Performances. AS students to perform a full length script and a monologue to an examiner. IB students to perform the same tasks, but in front of an invited audience instead of an examiner
Term Three	AS students now finished. IB students to complete their practical performance proposal exam