IB Theater HL and SL Sullivan

Introduction

Students at HL and SL independently choose a published play text, read the text and record their personal responses. They then:

• research and record the cultural and/or theoretical context of the play and identify ideas the playwright may be addressing
• explore the play and record their own ideas regarding how this play may be staged for an audience
• explain their directorial intention(s) and explain how this will inform their staging of two particular moments of the play; these can be moments of atmosphere, emotion or tension or which communicate the meaning(s) of the play; they must demonstrate an understanding of how performance and production elements function together to create these moments
• reference live performances they have experienced and how these have influenced, inspired or informed their directing of these moments. The live theatre performances must not be productions of the same play text selected for study in this assessment task.

This process is recorded and presented in the form of a director’s notebook (20 pages maximum) which is made up of visuals and words.

This is a theoretical exercise. The play text is not actually staged as part of the assessment task though a student may choose to work practically as part of the process of exploring the play or examining particular moments. Students are not permitted to edit, make additions or alterations to the play text selected for study. All sources must be acknowledged following the protocol of the referencing style chosen by the school.

Perspective—candidates should approach this task from the perspective of director.

Aim—the aim of this task is for students to explore the processes involved in transforming a play text into live action by developing a directorial vision for staging the play text.

Understandings—through this exploration students will understand:

• the importance of research into the context of a play text and how this can inform directorial intentions for staging the play text
• the artistic processes required to transform text into action
• how meaning is communicated on stage and how to create moments of atmosphere, emotion and tension
• how performance and production elements function together to create an intended impact for an audience
• how live performances they have experienced influence, inspire and inform their work as directors.