IB SYLLABUS OUTLINE

HIGHER LEVEL

STANDARD LEVEL

Consists of 5 compulsory parts Part I Performance Skills An introduction to: ensemble work performance techniques acting techniques and characterization Part 2 - World Theatre Studies Studies from an international perspective of selected texts and traditions study in detail of at least three contrasting practices a minimum of three play texts from more than one theatrical tradition and more than one culture Part 3 - Practical Play Analysis Active exploration of extracts and complete play texts as plans for action. practical engagement imagining a playscript from a director's point of view consideration of overall concept and ways of staging Part 4 - Theatre Production A practical study of the principles and practices of theatre production. involvement in at least two productions

Consists of 4 compulsory parts Part I - Performance Skills An introduction to: ensemble work performance techniques acting techniques and characterization Part 2 - World Theatre Studies Studies from an international perspective of selected texts and traditions study in detail of at least two contrasting practices a minimum of two play texts from more than one theatrical tradition and more than one culture Part 3 - Practical Play Analysis Active exploration of extracts and complete play texts as plans for action. practical engagement imagining a playscript from a director's point of view consideration of overall concept and ways of staging Part 4 Theatre Production A practical study of the principles and practices of theatre production. involvement in at least one production

Part 5 - Individual Project A project chosen by the candidate in consultation with the teacher, on a specific aspect of Theatre Arts.

It is also worth (regularly!) referring back to the Aims and Objectives of the Theatre Arts course, on page 5 of the Theatre Arts Guide

Year One I. Unit title: Improvisation Length 8 weeks Focal aspect of Unit Performance skills, Improvisation, mask, Character Course components addressed Commedia dell Arte, Lazzi Assessment 1) Perf. Skills 2)Improvisation (ongoing) Lazzi (one-off Assessment) Description: Students work practically throughout a series of guided improvisation exercises. Main emphasis on developing spontaneity and exploration of status. Students are then introduced to the stock characters of Commedia, and work through these practically. Finally students are given a variety of Lazzi to develop and perform. Reading: Improv (Keith Johnstone), The Essential Theatre (Brockett), Commedia (any and all up to date books on the subject!) 2. Unit title The Doll's House Length 8 weeks Focal aspect of Unit Practical Play Analysis Course components addressed Realism, Stanislavski, Set Design Assessment 1. Directing one section of text 2. Analysis of Stanislavski's work 3. Presentation of set design plans for The Doll's House Description: Indepth practical exploration of The Doll's House from a director's point of view. Students also work through a structured sequence of Stanislavski exercises, and analyse these in terms of character preparation.

Reading: The Essential Theatre (Brockett), Systems of Rehearsal (Mitter), All the World's a Stage (Harwood) 3. Unit title Theatrical Explosions Length 5 weeks Focal aspect of Unit World Theatre Studies Course components addressed Individual Project, Research Commission Assessment 1. Research Commission 2. Notes made as a result of watching videos, background reading, class discussions Description: Students watch the BBC series All the World's a Stage. They are asked to research various areas of theatre, using the video as a base. They are asked to present questions/areas for discussion, and all students lead these discussions at some point. They are encouraged to begin their own reading into one theatrical explosion that takes their interest and to record along the way possible areas for their Individual Project. One essay is set at the end of the unit, in preparation for the Research Commission. 4. Unit title Brechtian Theatre Length 14 weeks Focal aspect of Unit World Theatre Studies, Theatre Production Course components addressed Practical Play Analysis, Performance Skills(voice) Assessment I. Contribution to Theatre Description: Students are introduced to the main elements of Brechtian theatre, examples are given from selected Brecht texts. Students then practically explore ways of using Brechtian elements in non-Brechtian texts. Finally, students are asked to devise and then perform a piece of original theatre based on Brechtian techniques. Reading: The Essential Theatre (Brockett), The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht (Willett)

YearTWO 5 Unit title: The Three Lives of Lucy Cabroll Length 8 weeks Focal aspect of Unit Theatre Production Course components addressed Practical Play Analysis, Theatre Production (costume), Individual Study Assessment I. Contribution to theatre production 2. Performance skill (ensemble) 3. Chosen area of production Description: students are involved in all aspects of the "page to stage: process, including rehearsal schedules, directing, designing, improvisation etc. They are also, for this production, expected to select one chosen area of production ie lighting, publicity. 6 Unit title: Theatre of Indigenous Length 8 weeks Focal aspect of Unit World Theatre Studies Course components addressed Performance skills(movement), World Theatre Studies (Brook) Assessment I. Research into chosen area 2. Development of movement skills Individual Study Description: Students explore theatre practices fro selected indigenous cultures ie Native Americans, Australian Aborigines etc. A structured series of movement work is incorporated into the work. Alongside this they are introduced to the work of Peter Brook Reading: There Are No Secrets, The Shifting Point, The Empty Space (Brook) 7 Unit title: The Tempest Length 5 weeks Focal aspect of Unit Practical Play Analysis

Course components addressed Performance skills(Voice), World Theatre Studies (Shakespeare) Assessment I. Practical directing tasks 2. Development ofvoice skills Research Commission Description: Practical exploration of the play, from the perspective of directing. A structured series of voice exercises is included and used in relation to the set text. Reading: All homework tasks are spent on appropriate reading for the chosen Research Commission 8 Unit title: Practical Play Analysis Length 5 weeks Focal aspect of Unit Course components addressed Practical Play Analysis Assessment I. Oral assessment Description: This unit is based on revision skills for the whole of the course, and developing skills for Practical Play Analysis. Two year programme developed by Sally Robertson, between 1993-1995 at Danube International School, Austria

GUIDELINES FOR CREATING YOUR OWN PROJECT As we said in the introduction, an 18 theatre project is a way of (inking different parts of the syllabus - normally through practical work. The projects we have outlined in this book are ones which have worked for a particular teacher or group of students. As you begin the process of designing projects for your Theatre Arts course, the following guidelines may be of some help. Before you start..... The first challenge may be to choose a theme or concept for your project Your choice could be influenced by a number of things: Cross School Issues. What is going on in your school at this time or over the next few weeks and months? There may be a major school event such as health week which could lend itself to a devising project based around issues of health and welfare. There may be some events that are annual, and whens you can slot in a project on a yearly basis - wrth first and second year students taking on different roles within the project School Productions Is there a school play coming up? Can the IB students link up with it as performers, designers or stage management team? The IBO is always keen for students to gain experience of aspects of theatre production other than acting and says in the syllabus that 'besides performing, students should participate in (...) design and/or construction, technical work or stage management, administration and /or promotion' (IBTheatre Arts Guide page 14) The school community. What areas of school life can either support or be supported by an IBTheatre project? This could be the creation of a Children's Theatre orTI.E. project focussing on touring to the primary classes. Or perhaps you could link up with a CAS trip to another country by exploring that country's theatre culture. The local community Is there an aspect of theatre culture that is particularly strong in your local community and can this be the starting point for a practical project? Or perhaps there are resources or practitioners you can bring in.This could even be a teacher with a special interest As an example of this some years ago an IB group at the International School of Geneva worked with the school's Japanese teacher on a Kyogen farce. The IB Theatre Syllabus Where have your students got to in the syllabus and what have they covered so far? It may be that they have been doing a lot of character-based work and that therefore they need to be looking at a contrasting style of performing: shadow puppets or the stock characters of medieval farce for instance. Linked to this is the question of what your students overall experience of theatre is. This is the group's combined experience gained before, during and outside the course.You may want to create a project that addresses their strengths or one which aims to fill apparent gaps in their understanding. Letting the students decide. It could be that towards the end of the course you will feel confident in handing over to the students the choice of their

next (or final) project. Ask them where they would like to go next in their'IB journey'. Don't worry too much about them suggesting something with is outside your own experience. By this stage in the course, the journey can be a shared one between teachers and students. The IBTheatre Arts Guide talks about the students 'demonstrating the ability to develop ideas' (page 30) and showing'strong personal involvement, powers of organisation and leadership of the kind that encourages cooperation' (page 32). Encouraging students to make choices about their own learning can foster this approach. Once you've got your idea... Carefully structuring your project will help your students to understand the process they are going through. Group size. How many students are there in your group, and is it a combined year I and 2 group? This could have an impact on the way the . project is structured. For instance, the second years could be responsible for leading the first years through an aspect of the project - perhaps they could run a series of introductory workshops on the chosen theatre style based on their own research. Following on from this, the two groups could work together on a production using their combined knowledge and skills. Timetabling. Depending on how your IB Classes are timetabled, you may find that out of 6 periods a week you could have contact time with Grade 12's for all six, but for only four with the Grade I I s. This would leave you with 2 periods a week with the grade 12's for independent work on the Research Commission, or the Individual Project What is the intended outcome of the project? A project need not necessarily lead to performance. Other outcomes might include the creation of a class dossier or an exhibition. A project focussing on, say, shadow puppets, might well go no further than an in-depth look at the history and methods of construction. You may even want to leave the outcome more open ended and see where the students own interests lead. 2 ^bu may want to vary the way the project is tau^it and include practical sessions, research, peer-teaching, experimentation etc. There is no ideal or recommended timescale for an IB theatre project It could last a day (a 24 hour production for instance) or it could last 6 months. The important thing is that you are happy that by the end of the two years your students have been able to cover all aspects of the syllabus in sufficient detail. Here it might be useful for you to refer to Appendix IV where we have included a mapping chart to help you make sure you are covering all aspects of the course over the 2 years. Linking the syllabus In a way, this is a key area that defines the notion of a project-based approach. A practical project with a performance outcome will more than likely be able to include aspects of Performance Skills and Theatre Production and will almost certainly lead to the study of one or more texts or traditions (World Theatre Studies). Some Practical Play Analysis work based on texts linked to your project may also be appropriate, and there may even be the chance for one or more students to complete their Individual Project Ideally the areas of the syllabus which are included in a project will be a match of what you impose when you devise the project and the initiative of the students in the areas of research, individual study etc. Assessing the students' work... The way you assess your students' progress and learning through a project is likely to reflect the IB criteria themselves (see appendix...) although this may not be the case particularly in the early months of the course when you may want to use a simpler system, or even not assess them at all. However most practical projects will contain opportunities or your students to be assessed in the following areas; Portfolio There are many ways of keeping a portfolio. The day-by-day or week by week journal is useful particularly at the start of the course when the students are getting used to the concept of keeping a portfolio. As they become more confident they may want to experiment with other styles: rough notes, audio recording, interview, diagrams and sketches, first person character diaries etc. In response to the question: 'Do we have to write up everything we do in this project?', the answer would normally be No as long as by the end of the project students can be absolutely certain that they have recorded their progress and learning in a clear and meaningful way and that they have answered the course criteria. And one word of warning: it's easy to forget that students also have to evaluate external productions (we've all done it!). A group trip to the theatre in the middle of a long project can be a good way of taking a break, revitalising your students, and expanding their theatre horizons... Performance Skills and Theatre Production. You may want to assess each of your projects according the IB's criteria for Contribution and Participation in this area (syllabus pages 30 - 34). This would give you and the students an idea of their progress through the course. However,

some of the 4 sections A - D may not be appropriate to a particular project It may be best to discuss with the students which areas of their contribution and participation will be assessed. However, as with the portfolio, you may feel that sticking very closely to the IB criteria in the early stages of the course is too restrictive. The students themselves may well benefit from an assessment-free settling in period! Research Commission You may include elements of research in your project for everybody Before studying Theatre in the Round, for instance, the students may benefit from undertaking a short research project into different theatre shapes. The nature of the research can vary. It may be informal - ending in a sharing of information, or it can be more geared towards the written format of the Research * Commission. However it is also likely that a student will use a practical project as a starting point for his or her final Research Commission. It can be very rewarding when a student makes an informed and intelligent choice about his or her Research Commission based on a project undertaken earlier in the course Practical Play Analysis If your project is text based leading to performance there will be obvious links to the Play Analysis section of the programme and you may want to exploit this by suggesting that the students think up other ways of staging the text you are working on. Any project that approaches one or more theatre styles or practices will provide the students with ideas for their own play analysis work . In a sense this is the whole point of the project-based approach: by making links it can open up a wealth of opportunities for students to choose interesting and exciting Research Commissions, Individual Projects. Play Analyses etc. Other styles of assessment... Over a two-year course, you have the chance to use a variety of different assessment methods. Inevitably the main one will probably be teacher-led focussing on the IB cntena as outlined above. However; peer and group assessment in which the students evaluate each others work or even draw up their own criteria for a project can be a very useful way of helping them to take greater responsibility for their own learning. In the same way, self-assessment can lead to a greater understanding of the criteria themselves. But of course, there are as many different ways of creating an exciting IB project as there are teachers of IB Theatre......!