Drama and Technology

In the Drama and Technology area of study, students research and analyse how technology is being used by dramatic artists, and how it has the potential to be applied creatively to enhance dramatic meaning and expression of ideas in theatre and/or screen products. Use of technology in drama can be accessed through online sources or live sources, where available. Technology plays an ever-increasing role in contemporary dramatic practice, and relationships between dramatic artists, audiences, and technologies are in a constant state of reinvention. 

Students research and analyse contemporary drama that includes innovative technology. They explore possibilities and provide creative ideas as cultural leaders for the application of innovative technology in a hypothetical (or actual) dramatic product. Technologies for exploration may include, but are not limited to:  

• projected scenic design 
• creative relationships between live performers and video projection 
• live on-stage filming and projections  
• use of smartphones by performers and/or audience members within performances 
• using YouTube and/or social media to promote and publicise a production 
• creating a new script that applies technology in innovative ways 
• online streaming of live performance 
• innovative use of sound, including individualised experiences for audiences provided through headphones and smart devices 
• engineered moving-parts set design 
• real-time global performance 
• intelligent lighting 
• interactive multimedia 
• special effects in film 
• on-stage robotics.  

Students conceive, describe, and justify their own original, hypothetical dramatic product that uses innovative technology, with the aims of stimulating an audience’s imagination, enhancing the audience’s engagement with the meanings of the work, and conveying relevant artistic ideas creatively. 

The relationship between content and assessment is shown through the following diagram.