VCE Theatre Studies (Year 12) · Foundations of Theatre Making · 12m read

Theatre Styles, Context and Dramaturgy

Before anyone stages a script, someone has to understand it. Dramaturgical research — into style, context and meaning — is the starting point for interpretation, and the 2025 study design puts it front and centre in Unit 4.

Learning objective: Research the context of a script and its theatre style, and use dramaturgical research to inform an interpretation.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• I can identify a script’s theatre style and its conventions.
• I can research historical, social and cultural context.
• I can explain how research leads to specific production choices.

Dramaturgy is the map before the journey. Knowing where and when a play comes from tells you which roads make sense — and where you can take a bold detour.

Theatre styles

• REALISM/NATURALISM — believable characters, detailed sets, fourth wall.
• EPIC THEATRE — episodic structure, placards, songs, direct address; aims to provoke critical thinking.
• ABSURDISM — illogical situations and repetitive dialogue that question meaning.
• EXPRESSIONISM — distorted, heightened images of inner emotion.
• CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN theatre — often eclectic, blending styles; First Nations theatre may embed storytelling, language, song and connection to Country.

Each style suggests conventions: a realist script suggests a detailed box set; an epic script suggests visible stage machinery and direct address.

Dramaturgical research

Research questions:
• When and where was the play written and set? What events shaped it?
• Who wrote it, and what are their concerns?
• What is the play’s production history?
• What do key images, symbols and repeated lines suggest?

Then ask: How will this research shape our choices? Will we stay faithful to the original context or transpose it to a new one (e.g. a 1950s play staged in present-day Melbourne)? Every choice should be justified by research and intended meaning.

Worked example (Medium)

A script is set during the 1930s Depression. Suggest how research could inform two design choices.

1. Costume. Research shows mended, faded clothing — costumes use patched, washed-out fabrics.
2. Sound. Period radio broadcasts and silence between scenes evoke scarcity and anxiety.

Answer: Faded, patched costumes and period radio sound with deliberate silences, both grounded in research into Depression-era life.

Common mistakes

• Listing research facts without linking them to choices Research only matters if it shapes the interpretation. Fix: Write "Because…, I/we chose…".
• Ignoring the playwright’s stage directions They are evidence of intended style. Fix: Discuss whether you follow or deliberately depart from them, and why.

Practice questions

1. Placards, songs and direct address suggest which style?

   1. Realism
   2. Epic theatre
   3. Naturalism
   4. Melodrama only

   (1 marks)

2. Explain one advantage and one risk of transposing a play to a new time and place.

   (3 marks)

Summary

• Identify the style and its conventions.
• Research context, playwright and production history.
• Turn research into justified production choices.
• Decide whether to stay faithful or transpose.