Download Theatre Performance and Production Presentation File

Theatre Performance and Production Presentation
The purpose;

The component represents an opportunity for you to put together and present
in speech and visual images the essence of what has been learned and developed
through the practical, performance and production aspects of the course.

Given the practical nature of this assessment it is worth remembering that the
presentation and the images that accompany it will communicate an experience
or experiences of learning by DOING.

The presentation must be exciting and dynamic as you discover a voice that will
reflect a sensibility, a way of seeing, of doing and of reflecting on theatrical action
through the course.

You must see this component as an opportunity to articulate your convictions
about theatre in practice. These convictions should have been tested and
disputed through the experience of doing and making theatre, of watching
theatre from your own and other cultures and applying it to your own practice,
and in the case of HL, of testing theory by the application of it to your own work.
The form;

Your aim to start off with should be to select one or two experiences from the
course that will act as a starting point to stimulate reflection on the entirety of
the course.

It is important that you are able to distinguish relationships between aspects of
the course and make connections between a role undertaken, a play seen, a
technical skill mastered, a play from another culture.

In understanding the nature and function of essential elements in the theatre
making process, you will need to think about the following ideas.
o How can a decision about lighting affect the presentation of a character
on stage?
o How can immersion in the world of Balinese dance-drama transform the
self conscious and stilted student of acting into a physical communicator
on stage?
o How can a production you have seen radically alter your perception of
what is possible in theatre?

The visual images reflect the importance of theatre as an act of visual
communication.

The images should not be merely decorative i.e. ‘here is a picture of me on stage in
the production of…’

The way of approaching this is to select images that illustrate the process or
experience being described in the verbal presentation.

Images are a powerful way of communicating feelings, thoughts and ideas.

They help to place what is being said in a wider context by illustrating,
juxtaposing or contradicting what is being said.

How the images are used in conjunction with the spoken word emphasises or
enriches a point that is being made, an idea that is being expressed or a feeling
that is being described.
o For example, images of specific aspects of theatre from other cultures
can be juxtaposed beside one another as a way of investigating
contrasting traditions.
o Counter pointing image to spoken word can highlight relationships that
through their startling contrasts, illustrate a complex concept or a
challenge encountered.

Visual imagery as an ABSTRACT PARALLEL NARRATIVE provides interesting
objective correlatives if you perhaps don’t see your journey as a linear narrative
but as a series of impressions or images.

HL student’s practice will be informed by research and you should always ensure
that the theoretical research passes through practical experience.

Theory as theory is merely a verbal exercise, I expect you to show in work
throughout the course how theory in practice can enhance theatrical experience
and open pathways to new and exciting discoveries. For example;
o You might experiment with different ways of using memory as an acting
stimulus, researching Stanislavski and Kantor’s ideas on memeory, which
may have been a feature of the course.
Preparation;

Your journal will be virtually complete and in it you will find a record of key
experiences that have engendered development over the two years of the
course.

You have not experienced a fragmented course. You should for be able to make
links and connections. Here is an example given by the IBO;
o See Death of a Salesman on stage; be encouraged to connect it to a
theory of acting, perhaps early Stanislavski, or to a body of ideas about
political theatre. Student may notice, in the actor playing Linda, mastery
in the delivery of emotion; then they may compare that to a later theatre
visit to see a Noh play where emotion is captured and registered by the
actor in an entirely different manner.
Final point;

You must be always cross-reference, make connections and fuse your learning
and experiences into new understandings.

This task offers freedom and responsibility in equal measures;
o Responsibility to make the best of what has been learned and
acknowledge in a mature way how it is shaped and changed you as a
theatre practitioner.
o Freedom to find the most appropriate form for the presentation that
communicates the discoveries, developments and challenges faced by you
during the theatre course.