Course Description
Preliminary Course [Board Developed] 2 units
HSC Course [Board Developed] 2 units
Students study the practices of making, performing and critically studying drama and theatre. They develop skills and understanding of various dramatic forms and styles (such as physical theatre, black comedy and Australian theatre) through collaborative tasks and individual experiences. The course is characterised by learning that depends on students practically workshopping concepts and ideas, conventions and techniques, and challenges them to respond through enquiry, research, and higher order analysis and reflection. Core skills such as communication, problem solving and working with others are key elements taught in the course.
Main topics covered
| Preliminary course (Year 11) | HSC course (Year 12) |
| Improvisation, Playbuilding, Acting Elements of Production in Performance Theatrical Traditions and Performance Styles | Australian Drama and Theatre (core) Studies in Drama and Theatre Group Performance (core) Individual Project |
| In Improvisation, students learn to work spontaneously to create characters and situations, explore ideas and issues, and experiment with dramatic elements and structures. In Playbuilding, students collaborate to devise original presentations using dramatic elements, structures and performance styles, and learn to use acting skills, performance spaces and the actor-audience relationship appropriate to style and purpose. Students also learn to use production elements such as costume, sound and lighting. In Acting, students learn to use the voice and body, in conjunction with the mind and the imagination, to transform themselves into a character. Students record their experiences in logbooks as reflections, critical appraisal of their own work and that of others, research, analysis, drafts, character profiles, notes, extracts from scripts, reviews and director’s notes. | Australian Drama and Theatre and Studies in Drama and Theatre involve theoretical study through practical exploration of themes, issues, styles and movements, traditions of theatre, and relevant acting techniques, performance styles and spaces. Students engage in practical workshop activities and performances to support understanding, analysis and synthesis of material covered. The Group Performance (3 to 6 students, 8 to 12 minutes) involves creating a piece of original theatre. It provides each student with the opportunity to demonstrate their performance skills using a variety of playbuilding techniques and approaches. For the Individual Project students demonstrate their expertise in a chosen area. They complete one project from Critical Analysis, Design, Performance, Scriptwriting or Video Drama. |
Assessment (HSC course)
The external HSC examination consists of a written paper worth 40 marks, a Group Performance worth 30 marks and an Individual Project worth 30 marks. School-based assessment in Year 12 reflects the three mandatory components of Making, Performing and Critically Studying.
| External assessment | Mark | Internal assessment (school-based) | Weighting |
| Written paper Section I: Australian Drama and Theatre (one extended response, 20 marks) Section II: Studies in Drama and Theatre (one extended response, 20 marks) | 40 | Making | 40% |
| Group Performance (3 to 6 students; 8 to 12 minutes) | 30 | Performing | 30% |
| Individual Project (one of: Critical Analysis, Design, Performance, Scriptwriting or Video Drama) | 30 | Critically Studying | 30% |
| Total | 100 | Total | 100% |
Note on the new Drama 11 to 12 Syllabus (2025)
NESA has released a new Drama 11 to 12 Syllabus (2025) as part of the NSW curriculum reform. The first HSC examination based on the new syllabus will be in 2028. The current course described above (Drama Stage 6, 2009 syllabus) continues to apply for the HSC examinations through to and including 2027.
