Theatre Research Investigation

Requirements

A personal dramaturgical research into an unfamiliar theatrical practice for the
production of a play or theatre piece.
External Assessment
25% of total DP Theatre marks
Formal analytical style essay which is based on an analyses of research and
draws conclusions regarding the staged action of the play/piece of theatre.
2,0002,500 words at HL plus visual documentation and/or textual references
1,5001,750 words at SL plus visual documentation and/or textual references.
The HL student is also required to write a critique of the sources used and cited.
This is not part of the essay word count. This critique will form a separate section at
the end of the research investigation. 25% of HL marks come from this critique.

More information on the requirements;
The research investigation must :
1. be titled with a clearly defined student created research question .
2. be a research into an unfamiliar theatre practice (meaning not a practice
covered in class in any depth)
3. be based on a play/piece of theatre appropriate to the chosen practice
(extremely important). This is the primary source on which to base the research
into the unfamiliar practice.
4. be in analytical essay style (think Science) - not a descriptive or a narrative
piece. Your question gives you the theme or argument, you find the information to
support your argument, then use this information and extracts from the selected play script
as evidence to support your statements.
5. have a question to focus the research on which comes from the
production of the selected play/piece of theatre in the chosen theatre practice.
(question needs to be narrow and specific and based on this theatre practice with
the play in mind)
6. includes useful, clear and relevant information to the reader on how the
unfamiliar theatre practice relates or informs the reader of an aspect of or the whole
of the play/piece of theatre selected. (make connections between the play and the
element you have chosen).


7. include a bibliography and in text citations. For HL - The sources
critiqued should be relevant to the specifics of the research and should indicate the
relevance and usefulness of the sources used and referred to. It is best practice to
keep an ongoing record of the usefulness of each source that has been consulted.
(keep a record of what you took frm each resource, did it help formulate your
question, did the information answer the question - how? (use evidence to back it
up), was the information unexpected ... why wasnt it as useful as others.

What you will need to complete this assignment :
1. a question
1. a play script in the theatre style & covers the element/aspect you wish to focus on
2. primary & secondary resources from a wide variety of places
3. Bibliography

Sources you can think about accessing :
Primary - (excellent to use!)
Primary sources are original materials.

The script of a play is a primary source.
Other primary sources you can consider:
Theatre posters, photographic stills, magazine covers, moving image resources
(youtube video), art galleries, newspapers, videos, CD-Roms, DVDs, interviews,
people, discussions, audio tapes, music. practitioners, audience members, experts,
professionals, members of the community, interviewing practitioners, cultural
centres, theatres, research centres, training schools, research papers.
Embassies.

Secondary Sources
A secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information
originally presented elsewhere.

Websites, magazine articles, books,









How to get the most marks ...

A) The research question :

i) Select an appropriate play that is a rich primary source on which to base
the research into the unfamiliar practice.
ii) The research question is clearly formulated and is a good question that is
narrow or specific.
iii) The research question is responded to with relevant and appropriate
evidence and illuminating discussion.
iv) The question focuses the research.
B) Using evidence :
i) Evidence of an understanding of the theatre practice thats been
researched and the application and connections of that research to a
specific play/piece of theatre.
ii) Consistently refer back to the play/piece of theatre, referring to the aspect
you have chosen as it appears in the play/piece of theatre.
iii) Make perceptive and accurate observations, which are supported by
research evidence. (make connections)
iv) The student provides accurate information that would be helpful to a
practitioner working on a particular play/ piece of theatre from the
unfamiliar theatre practice chosen.
v) All information is supported by research evidence. (and cited)
vi) A wide range of primary and secondary sources have been chosen
inventively and have been properly attributed.
vii) Resources and evidence reflects your understanding of what is useful to
a theatre practitioner.
viii) Ensure the structure of the essay is analytical, look at your practice/
element and apply it to the play/piece of theatre, examining possibilities
according to the range of sources you consulted.
ix) Show consistent initiative and perseverance in meeting the specific
requirements of the research investigation.
x) Visual and/or textual material is selected and presented in a way that fully
complements the formal essay style. It has been carefully selected and is
appropriate and relevant to answering the question.


xi) Include visuals especially in research investigations that focus on design.
xii) Make connections between your research and the play

C) Formatting :
i) Write the research investigation in a style that is consistent to the formal
essay style and subject matter.
ii) Sources are used, cited and attributed correctly through in text
referencing and correct bibliography styles.
iii) The bibliography or list of references should include only those works,
such as books and journals, that have been consulted and used.
iv) Each work consulted, regardless of whether or not it has already been
cited as a reference, is be listed in the bibliography.
v) Make sure every single piece of evidence and information presented is
attributed appropriately - this includes visuals
vi) HL - The bibliography critiques all sources, describing their usefulness,
relevance, what they cover and how useful they have been for the task.
Address both the nature and reliability of the source with thorough and
careful critiques in the way you have used it and its relevance to your
research.
vii) The word-count requirement has been met.

Directly from the IB Guides ....
The final essay should be the result of mature reflection upon the ideas and information
collected during the research process. Knowledge of the work of theatre practitioners,
already drawn from the rest of the course, will be invaluable. (ie read widely)
The research findings need to inform practice and should be relevant, specific and
focused.
The job of the investigation should be to provide the research to aid and inform the
realization of the chosen play/piece of theatre and not to describe how it should be
realized. In this respect the focus of this task is research based. It is not about the
creative interpretation of the play/piece of theatre.





What can Mrs Moran do when you have written your essay ?
As part of the learning process, teachers can give advice to students on a first draft
of the research investigation. Advice on improving the work can be given, but this
first draft must not be heavily annotated or edited by the teacher. Constant drafting
and redrafting is not allowed, and the next version handed to the teacher after the
first draft must be the final one.

Top Tips
The clearer the aspect and focus of the question the more the depth in the
response with less irrelevant material.
The creation of the question needs careful thought, attention and constant re-
drafting as more information is uncovered.
Think about the assignment in this way ....
put yourselves in the shoes of a theatre practitioner working on the selected play
and see how useful the research into the specific element would be.