Task 2: Director’s notebook
Introduction
Students at HL and SL
independently choose a published play text, read the text and record their
personal responses. They then:
•
research and record
the cultural and/or theoretical context of the play and identify ideas the
playwright may be addressing and how these are
presented
•
explore the entire
play and record their own ideas, explorations and responses prior to forming
their directorial intentions
•
reference
live theatre performances they have experienced
as a spectator that have influenced,
inspired or informed them as directors. They explain how directors of
these productions have created moments of tension, emotion, atmosphere and/or
meaning. The live theatre performances must not be productions of the same play text
selected for study in this assessment task.
•
explain their
directorial intention(s) and intended impact
on audience for the entire
play supported by production and performance ideas
•
explain how they will
stage two particular moments of the play; these can be moments of tension, emotion, atmosphere or which communicate the meaning(s) of the play; they must demonstrate an understanding of how performance and
production elements function together to create these moments
This process is recorded and presented in the
form of a director’s notebook (20 pages maximum) which is made up of visuals
and words.
This is a theoretical exercise.
The play text is not actually staged as part of
the assessment task though a student may choose to work practically as part of
the process of exploring the play or examining particular moments. Students are
not permitted to edit, make additions
or alterations to the play text selected for
study. All sources must be acknowledged following
the protocol of the referencing style chosen
by the school.
Perspective—candidates should approach this task from the
perspective of director.
Aim—the aim of this task is for students to
explore the processes involved in transforming a play text into live action by developing a directorial
vision for staging the play text.
Understandings—through
this exploration students
will understand:
•
the importance of
research into the context of a play text and how this can inform directorial
intentions for staging the play text
•
the artistic processes required to
transform text into action
•
how meaning
is communicated on stage and how to create moments
of tension, emotion,
atmosphere how performance and production elements function together to
create an intended impact for an audience
•
how live performances they have
experienced influence, inspire and inform their work as directors.
Preparation process
In preparation for this task within the core syllabus
students at SL and HL must have had experience of:
THEATRE IN CONTEXT
|
THEATRE PROCESSES
|
PRESENTING THEATRE
|
||
SL and HL
|
Working with
play texts
|
Researching and examining the various
contexts of at least one published play text and reflecting on live theatre
moments they have experienced as spectators.
|
Taking part in the practical exploration of at least two
contrasting published play texts and
engaging with the process of
transforming a play text into action.
|
Directing at least one scene or section from one
published play text which is presented to others.
|
Each student chooses a play text
that they have not previously studied, and for which they can clearly identify
the potential for success in transforming it from page to stage. Once selected,
the chosen play text cannot be used by the student in any other assessment task
for this course.
Assessing the
task
Students then undertake the following process for
assessment.
Theatre in context
•
Each
student carries out research into the cultural context from which the play
originates and/or research into the
play text’s theoretical context, focusing on its style, form, practice or genre.
•
Each student
identifies the key ideas presented by the playwright in the entire play (such
as intended meanings, motifs, themes or throughline). As the author(s) of the
text, the playwright might be one person, more than one person or in some cases
a theatre company.
•
Each student documents this in their
theatre journal.
Theatre processes
•
Each student records
their artistic responses, creative ideas and explorations of the entire play
text prior to formulating their directorial
intentions.
•
Each
student makes links to
live theatre performances they have experienced as a spectator that have influenced, inspired or informed
them as directors. They explain how directors
of these productions have created moments of tension, emotion,
atmosphere and/or meaning. The live theatre performances must not be
productions of the same play text selected for
study in this assessment task.
•
Each student documents this in their
theatre journal.
Presenting theatre
•
To
what extent does the student clearly explain
their directorial intentions for the staging of the entire play text, supporting these intentions with a range of imaginative production and performance ideas?
•
To what extent does the student explain
their intended impact of the entire play on the audience and explain how their performance and production ideas
would together create
this intended impact
on the audience?
•
Each student explains
their directorial intention(s) for the staging of the entire play text,
supporting these intentions with a range of imaginative production and performance ideas, explaining performance space, performance style and
production elements (scenic and technical).
•
Each student explains their intended impact of the entire play on the audience and how their performance and production ideas would together
create this intended
impact on the audience.
•
Each student explains
how they would stage two specific moments of the play and explain how they
would use production and performance ideas in these two moments of the play to
effectively create tension, emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning for an audience.
•
Each student documents this in their
theatre journal.
 |
Task details
Selecting the play text
Students
choose a published play text that they
have not previously
studied, which they are interested in exploring as a director and
which would allow them to successfully fulfill the assessment requirements and criteria of the task. Students should
have little or no previous experience of researching or practically engaging
with the published play text they select for
study.
It is expected that students will consult and refer to a number of play texts prior to their final selection. It
is important for teachers to allow students to select their own play text. The
key to success in this task is for
students to select a text that excites
their imagination and that they
would be passionate about transforming
into action.
The play text must remain unaltered. Students are not permitted to edit, make additions or alterations to the
original printed work.
They may, however, in communicating their
vision for the staging of the selected play text, add as much additional action or introduce additional
elements of design if this will help them to
realise their vision for the staging. In every case this should be appropriate to the play text and students
must clearly identify and justify
these additions.
The play text does not necessarily have to be set within the
original practice or
style for which it was originally
intended. Students may wish to set the play in a contrasting practice or style
in order to bring out a particular
idea or theme appropriate to the work.
Students are permitted to work
with play texts written in any language. Any descriptions of plot or direct
quotations, however, must be translated into the language in which they are
being assessed.
Students must address the context,
ideas and staging of the entire play text and not just the selected two moments
of theatre.
Discussing live theatre performance
Students are required to discuss and
make links to live theatre performances they have experienced as a spectator during the theatre
course. Students should identify
performances that have influenced, inspired
or informed them and should pay particular attention to how directors employed
production and performance elements to create effective moments of tension, emotion, atmosphere or moments that communicated meaning in the
live theatre performance experienced.
The live theatre performances
identified must not be productions of the same play text selected for
study in this assessment task. Students
are not permitted to write about productions in which they have had
involvement, for example school plays in which they helped backstage or local
productions in which they performed.
Use of sources
As well as the more obvious
sources (books, websites, videos, DVDs,
articles) valid research may also include the student’s
own practical explorations of the play. Students are also required
to refer to theatre
experiences they have had as a spectator. All sources consulted must be acknowledged
following the protocol of the referencing style chosen by the school
and be presented in a bibliography and as footnotes, endnotes or within the body of the text of the director’s notebook.
The role of the teacher
Teachers must ensure that their
students are appropriately prepared for the demands of this task through the careful planning and delivery of the core
syllabus activities outlined above.
Teachers are required to meet with
students at each stage of inquiry, action and reflection to discuss the
progress made to date, and to verify the authenticity of the coursework being
created by each student. The key outcomes of these one-to-one interactions,
which might be formal meetings and/or informal discussions
in the classroom, must be summarized by the teacher on
the
DP theatre
Coursework authentication form (CAF), which is submitted to the IB as
part of the upload of assessment material. This form can be found on the
theatre page of the OCC.
While the student is working on the assessment task the
teacher should:
•
discuss each
student’s choice of play text; it is important that the play text selected is the student’s own choice
•
guide the students’ explorations and discuss their ideas, without
prescribing them; this process may involve questioning and encouraging
the students to expand on their vision and its feasibility, but should not involve making decisions on their behalf
•
ensure
that the students have access to
live theatre performances in which performance
and production elements are employed effectively
•
ensure that the students are
acknowledging all sources used and referencing them appropriately
•
give feedback on one draft of the
director’s notebook.
Structuring the director’s notebook
The director’s notebook, which can
be up to 20 pages in length, should be a combination of creative ideas,
presented in both words and visuals, along with detailed ideas and
explanations. The director’s notebook should be written in the first person and
present the student’s personal interpretations, responses, ideas, discoveries
and intentions for the proposed staging of their selected play text. Students
should be as precise and specific as possible when discussing performance and
production elements. The use of subject specific terminology may help to give a
sense to this precision.
Students may use any relevant
illustrations, annotated text, charts, mind maps, visuals, diagrams,
designs and so on. These must be clearly
annotated and appropriately referenced to acknowledge the source, following the protocol of the
referencing style chosen by the
school. When students include any of their
own photographs or images, these must also be identified and
acknowledged in the same way. There
is no lower limit on the number of pages that students can submit for this task
and teachers are encouraged to remind students that their work will be assessed
on how it best fulfills the assessment criteria for the task and not judged on how many pages are submitted.
The director’s
notebook should contain a table of contents (which is excluded from the page
count) and all pages should be numbered. The main body of the director’s
notebook should be structured using the following subheadings:
1.
The play text, its context and the
ideas presented in the entire play
2.
My
artistic responses, creative ideas and explorations for the entire play prior
to the forming of
directorial intentions
3.
My own experiences of
live theatre as a spectator and how directors use performance and production
elements
4.
My directorial intentions for the
entire play and the intended impact on an audience
5.
How I would stage two moments of the play
Students are required to submit a separate
list of all sources cited.
Formal requirements of the task
Each student submits for assessment:
•
a director’s notebook (20 pages maximum) which includes:
–
the student’s
research into the published play text, its relevant contexts and the ideas
presented in the entire play
–
the student’s artistic responses and
explorations of the entire play text as a director
–
the
student’s experience as a spectator of live theatre
performances that have influenced,
inspired or informed them
and an explanation of how directors have created moments of tension, emotion, atmosphere or meaning
–
the student’s
presentation of their final directorial intentions and the intended impact of
these on an audience
–
the student’s
ideas regarding the staging of two specific
moments from the play and how these would create the desired
impact on an audience
•
a list of all sources cited.
The size and format of pages submitted for assessment is not prescribed to enable students
to be creative with how they record and present their work. Submitted materials are assessed on
screen and students must ensure that
their work is clear and legible when presented in a digital, on-screen format. To ensure that examiners are able to gain an overall
and legible impression of each page without excessive scrolling, students are recommended to use common page sizes (such as legal, A4 or folio).
Overcrowded or illegible materials may result in examiners being
unable to interpret and understand the intentions of the work.
The procedure for submitting the
assessment materials can be found in the Handbook of procedures for the Diploma Programme. Students are
required to indicate the number of pages used when the materials are submitted. Where the submitted materials
exceed the prescribed page limit examiners are instructed to base their
assessment solely on the first 20 pages.
External assessment criteria—SL and HL
Summary
Task 2: Director’s notebook
|
Marks
|
Total
|
|
A
|
Theatre in
context: The play text, its context and the ideas presented
|
8
|
32
|
B
|
Theatre
processes: Artistic responses and live theatre experiences
|
8
|
|
C
|
Presenting
theatre: The director’s intentions and intended impact
|
8
|
|
D
|
Presenting
theatre: The staging of two moments of the play
|
8
|
|
Criteria
A.
Theatre in context:
The play text,
its context and the ideas
presented
Evidence: the
director’s notebook
•
To
what extent does the student research and
explain the theoretical and/or cultural context(s) from which the play text originates?
•
To what extent
does the student explain the ideas addressed by the play text and explain how
these are presented by the playwright?
(As the author(s) of the text, the playwright might be one person, more than
one person or in some cases a theatre company.)
Mark
|
Descriptor
|
0
|
The work does
not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
|
1–2
|
This work is limited:
•
the student lists the theoretical and/or cultural
context(s) from which the play text originates
•
the student lists the ideas addressed in the play
text but these are obvious or contrived.
|
3–4
|
This work is underdeveloped:
•
the student
presents their research and outlines the
theoretical and/or cultural context(s) from which the play text originates
•
the student outlines the ideas addressed in the
play text and how these are presented by the
playwright.
|
5–6
|
This work is good:
•
the student
presents their research and describes the
theoretical and/or cultural context(s) from which the play text originates
•
the student describes the ideas addressed in the
play text and how these are presented by the
playwright.
|
7–8
|
This work is excellent:
•
the student
presents their research and explains the
theoretical and/or cultural context(s) from which the play text originates
•
the student clearly
explains the ideas addressed in
the play text and how these are presented by the playwright.
|
B.
Theatre processes: Artistic
responses and live theatre experiences
Evidence: the
director’s notebook
•
To
what extent does the student present a variety
of artistic responses, creative ideas and explorations of the play text (prior
to formulating their directorial intentions)?
•
To
what extent does the student
make links to
a range of experiences of live theatre they
have experienced as a
spectator, explaining how directors have created moments of tension,
emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning?
Mark
|
Descriptor
|
0
|
The work does
not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
|
1–2
|
This work is limited:
•
the student lists their artistic responses, creative ideas and explorations of the play text prior to the
development of their
directorial intentions. This
is limited in scope
•
the student makes
little reference to live theatre experiences. The student lists how directors create moments of
tension, emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning. This work contains mainly
irrelevant information.
|
3–4
|
This work is underdeveloped:
•
the
student outlines their artistic
responses, creative ideas and explorations of the play text prior
to the development of their directorial intentions but these
are underdeveloped
•
the student makes some links
to live theatre experiences. The student outlines how directors have
created moments of tension, emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning in the live theatre they have experienced as a spectator.
|
5–6
|
This work is good:
•
the student describes their artistic responses,
creative ideas and explorations of the play text prior to the development of
their directorial intentions
•
the student makes
clear links to a range of live theatre experiences. The student describes how directors have created
moments of tension, emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning in the live theatre
they have experienced as a spectator.
|
7–8
|
This work is excellent:
•
the student
explains their artistic responses, creative ideas and explorations of the
play text prior to the development of their directorial intentions
•
the student makes
clear and effective links to a range of live theatre experiences. The student explains how directors have created moments of tension, emotion,
atmosphere and/or meaning
in the live theatre they have experienced as a spectator
|
C.
Presenting theatre: The director’s intentions and intended impact
Evidence: the
director’s notebook
•
To
what extent does the student explain their
directorial intentions for the staging of the entire play text, supporting these intentions with a range of imaginative production and performance ideas?
•
To what extent
does the student
explain the impact
they want the entire play to have on the audience
and how performance and production (scenic and technical) elements would together create this
intended impact on the audience?
Mark
|
Descriptor
|
0
|
The work does
not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
|
1–2
|
This work is limited:
•
the student lists their directorial intentions
for the staging of the play text with little or no consideration of
production or performance ideas. This is limited in scope
•
the student lists the impact they want the entire
play to have on the audience and lists
how performance and production elements would together create this intended
impact on the audience but this is limited.
|
3–4
|
This work is underdeveloped:
•
the student outlines their appropriate
directorial intentions for the staging of the entire play text. This is
partially supported by some imaginative production and performance ideas.
•
the student outlines the impact they want
the entire play
to have on the audience and outlines how performance and production elements would together create
this intended impact on the audience but this is underdeveloped.
|
5–6
|
This work is good:
•
the student describes their appropriate and
feasible directorial intentions for the staging of the entire play text. This
is well supported by an appropriate range of imaginative production and
performance ideas
•
the student describes the impact they want the
entire play to have on the audience and describes how their performance and
production elements would together create this intended impact on the audience.
|
7–8
|
This work is excellent:
•
the
student clearly explains their
appropriate, effective and feasible directorial intentions for
the staging of the entire
play text. This
is consistently supported by an appropriate range
of imaginative production and performance ideas.
•
the student clearly
explains the impact they want the
entire play to have on the audience and explains how their performance and
production elements would together create this intended impact on the audience.
|
D.
Presenting theatre: The staging of two moments
of the play
Evidence: the
director’s notebook
•
To
what extent does the student explain how they
would imaginatively stage two specific moments of the play ensuring the play
text is not edited, cut or altered?
•
To
what extent does the student
explain how they would use their performance and production
(scenic and technical) elements in the two
specific moments of the play to effectively create tension, emotion, atmosphere
and/or meaning for an audience?
•
Candidates who only address
one specific moment of the play will not be awarded a mark higher than
4 in this criterion.
Mark
|
Descriptor
|
0
|
The work does
not reach a standard described by the descriptors below.
|
1–2
|
This work is limited:
•
the student
lists how they would
stage two selected moments of the play.
This work is limited in scope
•
the student lists how they would use performance
and production elements in the two selected moments of the play to create
tension, emotion, atmosphere and/
or meaning for an audience. This work contains mainly
irrelevant or superfluous information.
|
3–4
|
This work is underdeveloped:
•
the student outlines how they would stage two
selected moments of the play. The
play text is not edited, cut or altered
•
the student outlines how they would use
performance and production elements in the two selected moments of the play
to create tension, emotion, atmosphere and/ or meaning for an audience, but
this is underdeveloped.
|
5–6
|
This work is good:
•
the student describes how they would stage two
selected moments of the play. The
play text is not edited, cut or altered
•
the student describes how they would use
performance and production elements
in the two selected moments of the play to effectively create tension,
emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning for an
audience.
|
7–8
|
This work is excellent:
•
the student explains how they would stage two
selected moments of the play. The
play text is not edited, cut or altered
•
the student explains how they would use performance and production
elements in the two selected moments
of the play to effectively create tension, emotion, atmosphere and/or meaning
for an audience.
|
