Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.

We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.

The intent of the Standard

Theatre Aotearoa is an expansive term encompassing a wide range of drama and theatrical performance that draws from, or is connected to, Aotearoa New Zealand through its content, creators, or context. This Achievement Standard provides ākonga with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the function of theatre and drama — to heal, educate, entertain, or transform — by participating in a performance from theatre Aotearoa and providing an individual reflection.

In theatre and performance, manaakitanga can be demonstrated by collaboration and support for each other and for the theatre process. Participants may show care for one another during the creation of the performance, for the characters being represented, and for the story being told. Participants may also show care for the audience of the performance, with the story they tell and the manner in which they tell it. Exploring and experimenting with drama components allows ākonga to understand how these components can be combined within a performance, and communicated through manaakitanga, to promote the function of drama.

As members of society, the audience is the conduit through which the function of drama can be realised. Society consists of specific communities that the audience may or may not be a part of. As such, audiences may represent a multitude of demographics, identities, and worldviews, and each audience member will experience a drama performance through their own unique perceptions and backgrounds. This is where channeling the wairua of a performance and establishing a connection with the audience is vital. The relationship between performer and audience is reciprocal and relies on the intellectual, emotional, and physical – ‘head, heart, and stomach’ – reactions to make meaning from the drama and create a successful performance.

Making reliable judgements

As part of the evidence provided, ākonga must demonstrate that they have shown collaboration and care for one another during the creation of the performance through manaakitanga. This includes showing care for the characters being represented and the story being told. They must also show manaakitanga for the audience of the performance by considering the potential effects the performance may have with the story they tell and the manner in which they tell it.

Through their participation in, and reflection on, a performance, ākonga will demonstrate their knowledge about different forms of drama. They will understand that different times, places, and contexts give rise to different types of drama and that there are protocols and conventions for drama that may be different in different contexts.

To explore the function of theatre Aotearoa, ākonga will use drama components to connect with the audience. They will be able to communicate the cultural, social, or historical context of the drama to the audience, who are members of specific communities, as well as the wider society. This allows exploration of how meaning is made and ideas are expressed through these components, which ākonga can then include in their reflection.

Establishing lines of communication with an audience through drama components is the first step towards fulfilling the function of drama to heal, educate, entertain, or transform society. Drama components are the tangible methods with which the performers connect with the audience and that allow the intangible essence of a performance to be felt and understood.

Drama components include:

• elements such as role, time, place, situation, action, tension, mood, focus, and symbol
• conventions such as freeze frame and spoken thought
• techniques such as body, space, movement, and voice
• technologies such as lighting, sound, props, and costume.

Within their reflection, ākonga will discuss the scene, or scenes, that they have performed. However, there may also be opportunity to extend their reflection to the entire play if appropriate to support their submission.

Kaiako observations of naturally occurring evidence must focus on how effectively ākonga demonstrate understanding and critical thinking around making choices about drama components to better communicate the dramatic context. A successful performance will clearly demonstrate the link between ākonga performance and the function of drama in this context. This will allow ākonga to reflect at a higher level on the connections between the performance and the function of drama, as well as the relationship the function of drama has to communities today.

Communities are the groups, cultures, and subcultures that make up society and exist as subsets of society. They are formed through shared identities, such as ethnicity, gender, religious beliefs, and others. They may also be formed through shared common interests and values that include fandoms, activist groups, performance troupes, and others.

Through this focus on performance, learning for this Achievement Standard could emerge from the preparation work for Achievement Standard 1.3 (Perform a scripted role for an audience using drama techniques) with potential for the two Achievement Standards to work alongside each other.

Collecting evidence

The internal mode of assessment for this Achievement Standard allows for the collection of evidence over a period of time as understanding of the function of drama deepens and becomes more complex. It also allows ākonga to present evidence of their understanding in multiple forms including performance, presentation, visual, verbal, or written.

All evidence statements must reflect that demonstrating understanding of the function of drama can either be from the performer’s perspective or the perspective of the audience. While ākonga should engage with multiple contexts of theatre Aotearoa within their learning, the evidence they provide for assessment can only be from one context.

To engage with the function of theatre Aotearoa, ākonga are required to participate in a performance that will consolidate, and provide evidence for, their learning. Evidence is best assessed through ākonga exploration leading up to the performance (where it will be naturally occurring), as well as conversations with other ākonga and with the kaiako.

Kaiako observations may include conference with ākonga, note-taking or recording, watching performances and rehearsals etc. They may also provide opportunity for the collection of supporting evidence.

Possible contexts

Theatre Aotearoa offers a significant and distinct contribution to global performance, shaped by the histories and performance practices of people connected to Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Whare Tapere is the indigenous performance tradition of the whenua and Māori theatre – theatre made by Māori, with kaupapa Māori and tikanga Māori – and is a taonga of theatre Aotearoa. Theatre Aotearoa has developed through an intermix of cultural identities, perspectives, and practices, including contributions by Māori, Pacific, Pākehā, and other practitioners. Theatre Aotearoa includes drama set in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as work made by New Zealanders with international settings. The term also recognises our place in the Pacific, allowing us to access the work of Pacific writers across the moana.

Standard Exclusions

This Standard has one or more exclusions, or Standards that assess the same or similar learning. These Standards are excluded against one another to prevent assessing the same learning twice. You can only use credits gained from one of these standards towards your NCEA qualification.

Find out more about the NCEA Level 1 Exclusions List.