Rationale
Drama Life Skills 11–12 provides opportunities for students to engage with a range of dramatic works and participate in devising and creating works to develop an appreciation and enjoyment of the arts. Students develop skills in receptive and expressive communication, self-advocacy and self-expression as well as collaboration skills which they meaningfully apply in a range of everyday contexts.
The rationale of the Drama Life Skills 11–12 Syllabus aligns with the rationale of the Drama 11–12 Syllabus for a common entitlement of learning, as described below.
Drama is the study of how people express and interpret individual and collective perspectives and experiences through creative and critical choices. Drama and theatre have existed and evolved as dynamic artistic, cultural, social and personal practices in every human culture.
Drama is an embodied and collaborative art form. Its study provides a means for exploring and articulating affective, critical and aesthetic perspectives and investigating how conventions, forms and styles shape dramatic meaning and audience engagement. Drama allows the staging of lived and imagined experiences and the interpreting and questioning of ideas, images and stories by practitioners and audiences.
In Drama 11–12 students learn how dramatic practitioners craft and communicate through the dramatic elements in embodied, collaborative, safe, creative and critical processes. Through this study, students learn about diverse stories, voices and perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners encouraging social and Cultural discussions to build and strengthen their understanding of the representations in these works.
The study of Drama 11–12 provides opportunities for students to become more informed dramatic practitioners, building their knowledge of dramatic conventions, forms and styles to extend and enrich their creative and critical works. The syllabus provides pathways to further study, education, vocational training and careers in drama-related areas such as performance, directing, scriptwriting, set, costume and promotion design. It also develops collaborative, creative skills, relevant to the wider creative industries, including, media, event management, arts administration and communications.