That’s so interesting that your school regards theatre as an english course - there is definitely a large amount of writing, as for 3 of the 4 assessment tasks you would need to create a written portfolio alongside the performance aspect. I personally don’t find that it feels like an english course, because the style of writing is so different, and students are heavily encourages to include a lot of images / charts / diagrams / drawings of staging ideas within the portfolio, so I would say that it feels more like writing an IA for a math / science / humanities class rather than writing an english essay.
In my opinion, I find it easier than my other IB subjects just because you don’t have the element of learning content and then outpouring it in test conditions. For me, I find test-taking quite difficult so I really enjoy being in an environment where I don’t need to do that, and can really spend the time crafting each of the assessment tasks before submitting them. Although I find it an easier course in comparison, that DOES NOT mean it is less work. You will still have to be very engaged and work hard in the course, there is a large element of research and planning that goes into creating these assessment tasks.
Not sure how much you know about the course so just a short breakdown of the assessment tasks:
- Research Presentation (Present on an aspect one of the world theatre traditions, as a part of the presentation students will have to perform a short section of the tradition)
- Collaborative Project (Students work in groups to devise and perform an original piece + written portfolio outlining the process)
- Director’s Notebook (Students choose a play create a written portfolio discussing the process of how they would direct moments from said play)
- Solo Theatre Piece (just HL) (Student’s pick a theatre theory and performs an individual piece outlining said theory + written portfolio outlining the process)
I hope that this information helps you make the best decision for you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any more questions!