Video transcript
Kia ora and welcome.
This webcast is intended to provide guidance on the requirements for Drama standards 91214 and 91513.
Specifically, this webcast will focus on the use of symbolism in devised drama. Moderation shows that symbolism is often described clearly in the Statement of Intention yet remains obscure in performance. For coherent drama, meaning must be communicated through the performance itself.
Symbolic use of props, costume, set, lighting, movement, and sound needs to be visible, activated, and purposeful for a new audience.
A common issue is that a symbolic idea stays at the level of concept. Here, ‘activated’ means it’s realised through what happens on stage through action, interaction, repetition, or focus.
Symbols should be discovered in performance, not decoded from the Statement of Intention. If symbolism remains conceptual, audiences are often unsure what it’s meant to communicate.
For example, a student might say, “My character wears a yellow scarf to show fading optimism.”
On its own, colour symbolism rarely reads clearly on stage. If the scarf is never noticed, handled, or contrasted, its meaning remains invisible. Without action that draws attention to it—adjusting it, passing it to another character, or discarding it at a key moment—the audience is unlikely to connect it to an emotional shift.
A suitcase representing emotional baggage becomes meaningful if the character drags it, struggles with it, or keeps returning to it during key emotional sequences.
A notebook representing secrets is clearer when the character guards it, refuses to let others see it, or tears out pages in a moment of crisis.
A ticking clock showing pressure is effective when the sound grows louder as tension rises or stops abruptly at a turning point.
A low drone symbolising fear works when actors respond physically, freezing, shrinking, or shifting their movement quality.
Symbolic use of space becomes clear through repetition, such as consistently moving to a higher level during conflict or returning to a corner of the stage to show isolation.
A pounamu pendant becomes meaningful when the character touches it during moments of doubt, holds it tightly when gathering courage, or removes it only when feeling disconnected from their ancestors or sense of identity.
Effective symbolism can be developed through repetition, by returning to the symbol at key dramatic turning points; through interaction, where the symbol shifts relationships, status, or power; through contrast and focus, using deliberate changes in light, sound, pace, or stillness to draw attention; and through integration, where the symbol is embedded within the action rather than relying on design choices alone.
A simple activity to develop symbolic clarity is the 60-second Symbol in Action challenge. This quick activity helps students test whether their symbolic choices are genuinely legible in performance.
Symbolism must be realised in performance to be understood.
Assessors can consider these questions.
Explanations in the Statement of Intention do not compensate for unclear stage action.
For more explanation and examples of what is required for this aspect, see the exemplars on the NZQA website.
Further assessor support for the internal achievement standards in Drama can be found in our assessor support catalogue, available on the NZQA website.
Thank you.
Effective use of symbolism in devised drama (04:34 mins)
This webcast focuses on the use of symbolism in devised drama and provides guidance on the requirements for Drama standards 91214 and 91513
Video transcript
Kia ora and welcome.
This webcast is intended to provide guidance on the requirements for Drama standards 91214 and 91513.
Specifically, this webcast will explore the requirement for the drama to realise its intention or concept solely through performance.
Moderation continues to indicate that devised drama performances often rely too heavily on the accompanying Statement of Intention or Concept to communicate key ideas. While teachers and peers who are ‘close to the work’ may already understand the intended themes and messages, these are not consistently realised to a new audience through performance alone.
To produce the coherent work required for Merit, the drama needs to ‘stand alone’ from the written statement and clearly realise the intended concept.
Students need to ensure elements such as role, time, place, and situation are communicated. Simple, early cues—such as spatial arrangement, projected image, props, dialogue, and action—help to anchor audience understanding.
So, what does this mean for classroom practice? Let’s look at how students can set up clarity early.
Students need to devise brief, targeted expository moments that establish the critical circumstances of the drama, especially when nonverbal or highly physical styles dominate. A possible activity is described here.
A concise opening exchange can quickly signal who the characters are, define their relationship, and hint at the central conflict. A ‘one-sentence wonder’ can work here—a one-line announcement that sets up the situation and characters. For example: “The shop girls knew that striking would not please Mrs. Roberts, but what choice did they have?”
This orients an audience unfamiliar with the devised drama with vital information at the outset.
Teachers can enable students to realise their ideas by using an ‘Intentions to Dramatic Action’ activity.
Sharing sequences with the wider group helps test the clarity of dramatic action for an audience coming in with no prior knowledge of the performers’ intentions.
Outside-eye feedback is also essential in strengthening coherence. Observers can help identify unclear character relationships and symbolic choices or transitions that disrupt pacing.
Firstly, are the drama elements clearly visible? We should be able to identify who the roles are and how space, mood, tension—whatever they’ve chosen—are developed as active tools to communicate meaning.
Next, does the performance stand on its own? In other words, can a new audience understand what’s going on without needing the written explanation?
It is also important to consider whether the exposition is purposeful. Do we get just enough setup to understand the situation?
Outside eyes help test whether the dramatic action is reading clearly and whether the intention is landing.
Some theatre forms, such as Artaudian techniques, can create powerful sensory or visual experiences. However, if style takes precedence over clearly communicating the ideas, the audience may find it difficult to grasp the intention or fully understand the concept.
Further assessor support for the internal achievement standards in Drama can be found in our assessor support catalogue available on the NZQA website.
Kia ora and thank you.
Realising an intention or concept solely through performance (4:02 mins)
This webcast explores the requirement in Drama standards 91214 and 91513 for the drama to realise its intention or concept solely through performance
Video transcript
Kia ora and welcome.
This webcast is intended to provide guidance on the requirements for the Devising and Scriptwriting standards.
Specifically, this webcast will focus on appropriate contexts for NCEA Drama assessment.
Moderation shows that drama often engages with complex and challenging subject matter. While this is a key strength, it also requires responsibility.
When considering stimuli for devising drama or discussing contexts for scriptwriting, teachers need to actively provide guidance to ensure the wellbeing of students, teachers, and audiences.
Devising and scripting invite students to explore human experience and conflict. Problems arise when contexts are sensationalised, insufficiently guided, or too close to lived experience.
Moderation evidence shows that trauma‑focused or shock‑driven work can compromise wellbeing and rarely strengthens assessment evidence.
Purposeful, well-chosen contexts consistently lead to stronger work.
From an assessment perspective, work centred on mental illness continues to raise wellbeing and quality concerns, even when informed by research. Theatre making at school is not therapy.
Unrelentingly bleak work limits dramatic impact and audience engagement.
Where sexual, violent, or deeply personal themes are proposed, teachers and students should consider what they are offering an audience, and whether secondary school drama is the appropriate medium.
Real-world issues can be explored successfully through distanced or stylised approaches that allow multiple viewpoints.
Epic theatre uses frame distancing effectively by using conventions that distance audiences from the societal issue, but still convey the issue.
An eyewitness shows how a car accident happened. The focus isn’t on emotion, it’s on understanding the causes and who’s responsible.
The actors don’t become the characters; instead, they present them in a way that keeps the audience aware and thinking critically, so they can make up their own minds.
Frame distancing is another useful tool when content is sensitive.
Frame distancing helps us think about how close or distant a role is from an event or issue.
More distanced roles often provide greater safety, allowing students to explore challenging ideas without being overwhelmed.
They can also show respect for culturally significant or sensitive subject matter.
As Gavin Bolton describes, students can be ‘protected into feeling’ – engaging ethically without emotional risk.
This is frame distancing – shifting roles, contexts, and perspectives so students explore ideas and themes for creating and scripting drama without characters being placed inside traumatic events.
Importantly, distance does not mean less emotional engagement, and closer is not necessarily better.
This table shows how the same conventions operate differently in separate assessments. In devising, they support exploration and wellbeing. In scriptwriting, they function as deliberate, assessable craft choices.
This often leads to multiple perspectives, clearer dramatic purpose, stronger structure, and more convincing evidence.
Moderation consistently shows stronger outcomes when contexts are culturally responsive, and stories are focused on transformation and hope and/or the overcoming of obstacles.
For guidance on culturally responsive assessment, please see the online short course available on NZQA’s Pūtake.
Please see the references below for more information on Frame Distance to keep our learners safe.
Kia ora and thank you.
Appropriate contexts for NCEA Drama assessment (4:50 mins)
This webcast guides teachers on how to help students with the Devising and Scriptwriting standards. This includes making sure that the subject matter is appropriate for and supports the wellbeing of students and potential audiences. It also addresses boundaries and balance for drama contexts.