L3 Drama

NCEA Level 3 Drama (3DRA)

Drama is for everyone. We all have kōrero, pūrākau, and stories to share. Drama helps us to understand diverse cultural perspectives and worldviews and connect with our community. It allows us to recognise the uniqueness of our place in the Pacific, the identity of Aotearoa New Zealand, and the rich cultural histories and traditions from all over the world that are expressed through performance.

Ākonga will understand that the function of drama is to heal, educate, entertain, or transform society. They discover how theatre can either challenge the status quo or reinforce it, gaining an awareness of how impactful the medium can be. Drama provides opportunities for ākonga to express their identities and heritages, and explore the heritages of others, creating empathy and understanding for the experiences and whakapapa of people from diverse backgrounds.

Through the relationships creators and performers make with audiences, Drama exists as a powerful medium to foster hauora – nurturing and maintaining both individual and community wellbeing in its ability to empower and inspire others. Ākonga engage with the ways in which Drama can uplift and sustain the mana of communities, groups, and individuals.

Ākonga explore and manipulate ideas and take creative risks. They share, rework, construct, and deconstruct work that is dynamic and evolving. The progression of ākonga in Drama is demonstrated through their increasing sophistication in storytelling, independence, and communicating their creative vision, as well as increasing comprehension and deeper understanding of the creative vision of others.

Curriculum Skills and Key Competencies

Thinking 

Students of Drama will:

• reflect on ideas and explore them physically and in the moment
• listen and respond to creative offers and feedforward to advance the drama
• put their own thought into action
• respond and adapt their whakaaro (thoughts and ideas) based on mahi tahi (working collaboratively)
• reflect on work and adapt based on feedback and self-assessment
• develop understanding and critical thinking about the context of work – historical, social, cultural, political, and economic – in order to create meaningful drama
• develop subject-specific research skills, including dramatic inquiry, when exploring the contexts of dramatic work
• explore their own and others’ ideas in work they experience and work they create
• investigate roles, worlds, contexts, attitudes, and themes in drama to build new knowledge (including cultural, historical, social, and political knowledge).

Using language, symbols and texts 

Students of Drama will:

• develop their use of language in rehearsal, scripting, directing, and devising processes
• discuss their work and experiment with language used in performance
• understand and use discipline-specific vocabulary and develop multi-modal literacies including audio, gestural, linguistic (verbal and written), spatial, and visual
• interpret texts, stories, and direction
• engage with and explore what can be expressed through props, costume, set, technologies, motifs (recurring symbols), text, dialogue, movement, gesture, and conventions.

Relating to others

Students of Drama will:

• negotiate, cultivate, and explore a variety of relationships, such as:
• the relationships between performers
• the relationships between characters
• the relationship between the performer and the role
• the relationship between the performer and the audience
• the relationship between the playwright, director, and designer.
• practice whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and vā in working with others with care and compassion
• explore the perspectives and experiences of others, increasing their cultural awareness, responsiveness, and acceptance
• understand and play to different strengths in order to uplift the work.

Managing Self

Students of Drama will:

• develop self-discipline and an understanding of their role as part of the group
• practise self-management in practical contexts – arriving to rehearsals on time, learning lines, being prepared, and taking responsibility for different aspects of production (eg props, costume etc), theatre, and performance protocols
• set goals
• self-review
• accept direction and feedback
• question and critique themselves and others
• follow the established kawa of their learning environment to create a shared relational space.

Participating and contributing

Students of Drama will:

• work together to contribute their own ideas and respond to the ideas of others
• establish kotahitanga in group work, value each other’s strengths, and improve the quality of the work
• build a kawa that will become established practice within their learning environment
• explore how to adapt and work in different environments with different people, and contribute to building a group dynamic that is responsive to the needs of the work and the participants
• develop courage and generosity in making offers to advance the drama and giving feedback as well as openness and humility in accepting feedback and extending the ideas of others.

Careers & Pathways

Ākonga in Drama enhance their interpersonal, collaborative, and communication skills, which will serve them well in all areas of learning and life. The ability to work with others, understand different points of view, and communicate ideas and information effectively is highly valued in any future pathway. Participating in, and responding to, drama allows ākonga to develop confidence in expressing their ideas as they seek to communicate with a variety of audiences.

Drama students demonstrate high engagement, empathy, and courage in their learning, as the subject allows them to have fun while taking creative risks within a safe environment. They quickly learn that they are responsible both for themselves and for others.

The collaborative, creative process of drama develops skills in giving and receiving constructive feedback. Drama students learn to share, develop, and extend ideas to realise a shared goal and serve the intention of the drama.

Drama examines and challenges established ideas and prejudices. It encourages critical and creative thinking and innovation. It generates new ideas and reflects on trends in society.

Studying Drama opens numerous pathways within the creative industries, particularly within theatre, film, and television. Careers include but are not limited to:

• performer
• director
• writer
• designer
• producer
• stage manager.

Beyond school, ākonga in Drama will have gained many transferrable skills and life experiences that help them greatly, both in tertiary education and the world of work. This includes:

• creativity
• innovation
• public speaking and performance skills
• idea generation and content creation
• self-reflection and analysis
• critical thinking
• lateral thinking
• communication
• collaboration and working with others
• relational empathy
• negotiation
• punctuality and time management
• reliability
• confidence and assertiveness
• self-esteem and self-efficacy
• delivering products to a deadline
• identifying target audiences and promoting work to them
• supporting the ideas of others and providing constructive feedback
• technical production skills, such as lighting, sound, and costume and prop design.

They will also understand the significance of whakapapa as they engage in the community, recognising and embracing diversity of cultures and perspectives. Whakawhanaungatanga and skills in relationship building will also be developed through their experience in forming, nurturing, and maintaining collaborative and reciprocal relationships (with performers, audiences, writers, designers, and directors).

SCHOLARSHIP DRAMA is available to L2 and L3 students. 

Scholarship drama is a practical exam. Students complete three performances a max of 7 students can be taken into the scholarship programme.