Unit 4 – Area of Study 1: Researching and presenting theatrical possibilities

Outcome 1

Describe and justify a creative and imaginative interpretation of a monologue and its prescribed scene.​

Examples of lear​ning activities

• Explore dramaturgical influences on the playwright and the contextual background of the play from which your chosen monologue has been selected.
• Create a visual presentation using a tool such as PowerPoint or a social media bulletin board to show ways in which other theatre practitioners have used selected production roles to interpret the monologue.
• Develop different approaches to interpreting the scene, e.g. consider two variations of intended meaning that might be derived from your text; make lists of advantages and disadvantages of each approach.
• Annotate parts of the text that might assist with developing an interpretation, with specific reference to the elements of theatrical composition.
• 
  Act as a dramaturg for your chosen monologue using research, documentation and script analysis.
• Experiment with theatrical styles to determine which style, or which combination of styles, are most appropriate to your vision.
• Select production roles you will use to present your interpretation and describe how they could be applied; refer to each aspect of the monologue. For example, explore contrasting lighting effects on interpretation, such as using only white light or coloured gels, using points of focus such as front fill and/or back wash and/or side lighting to affect mood.​
• Develop a list of questions that will inform dramaturgical research of the scene and critically develop the creative vision for your monologue.

 

​​Detailed example

Developing dramaturgical skills

In order to gain a deeper understanding of the chosen monologue, students complete the following activities.

1. Research the contextual background of the
• setting of the text – historical, social and cultural
• time and circumstances in which the text was written – historical, social and cultural. ​
2. ​Document the main influences on the playwright and make a list of themes, images and/or ideas that are possibly conveyed within a scene.
3. Determine how these themes, images and/or ideas might be conveyed through production roles, focusing on acting and directing choices OR design areas.
4.  Choose the themes, images and/or ideas that are most practical and appropriate for the intentions of your interpretation.
5. ​Analyse the script by:
• ​making a list of all of the characters included or referred to in the text
• drawing up a graphic plan of the structure and plot of the text and including the list of characters in the graphic plan.​
6. ​Consider at least three different theatre styles and make a decision about the final style/s for the interpretation. Also consider how altering theatre style/s influences or changes the intended meaning.
7. Mark up or annotate the script for performance, noting how elements of theatrical composition apply in performance.​​