IB Theatre Extended Essay Topic Ideas (tight, dramaturgical, assessor-friendly)

In my capacity as an IB tutor with a deep appreciation for the performing arts, I’m excited to present a selection of Theatre Studies Extended Essay topics. These topics are chosen to inspire students to explore the multifaceted world of theater, encompassing aspects such as playwriting, directing, acting, and the historical evolution of theatrical forms. This undertaking encourages students to engage with theater not only as a form of entertainment but also as a powerful medium for cultural expression, social commentary, and artistic innovation.

IB Theatre EE Topic Ideas

Through this scholarly exploration, students have the opportunity to analyze the elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a theatrical production, examine the impact of cultural and historical contexts on theater, and consider the ways in which theater reflects and influences societal norms and values.

Here are 50 topic suggestions for IB Theatre Studies Extended Essays, categorized into five different areas. Each suggestion includes a potential research question to guide the essay.

How to frame a valid IB Theatre EE question (quick primer)

1. Object of study: a specific production, practitioner method, design element, space, or devising process, not “the text.”
2. Lens: performance choices (blocking, proxemics, gesture, tempo-rhythm, vocal qualities), design (light, sound, set, costume), or directing methodology.
3. Scope: one production (or a controlled pair) within a defined time/place. Avoid “history of…” or “impact on society…”
4. Evidence: production materials and practitioner sources; reviews support but don’t replace your own performance analysis.

Practitioner-led investigations (method in practice)

1. Brechtian Verfremdung in a named production
   RQ: To what extent did the director’s use of gestus, placards, and direct address in [Production, Company, Year] produce distancing rather than empathy?
   Evidence: rehearsal reports, cue sheets, programme notes, audience talkback, reviews.
2. Stanislavski objectives vs. physical score
   RQ: How did the lead actor in [Production] integrate units/objectives with a score of physical actions to shape beat changes in Scene X?
   Evidence: actor interview, prompt book blocking, video excerpts (if available).
3. Meyerhold biomechanics in an ensemble sequence
   RQ: How did biomechanical études inform tempo-rhythm and ensemble precision in the opening of [Production]?
   Evidence: rehearsal footage, director notes, metronome/tempo mapping.
4. Grotowski’s “poor theatre” economy
   RQ: How did removal of scenic spectacle in [Production] concentrate spectators’ attention on actor-audience encounter?
   Evidence: set plots, rehearsal notes, audience surveys.
5. Boal’s Forum Theatre mechanisms
   RQ: Which facilitation choices by the Joker in [Event/Date] most effectively moved spectators into spect-actors?
   Evidence: facilitator plan, post-show debrief notes, observation log.
6. Suzuki training footprints
   RQ: How did footwork and stillness (Suzuki) modulate power dynamics between [Characters] in [Production]?
   Evidence: blocking charts, floor tape maps, actor interviews.

Single-production performance analysis (tight, scene-level focus)

7. Lighting temperature and moral ambiguity
   RQ: How did changes in colour temperature and angle during Scene X of [Production] guide audience alignment with [Character]?
   Evidence: lighting cue list, designer statement, photographs.
8. Spatial power through proxemics
   RQ: In [Production], how did diagonal staging and height differentials construct dominance in the confrontation scene?
   Evidence: ground plan, blocking notes, sightline sketches from three seats.
9. Vocal timbre as character arc
   RQ: How did the actor’s timbre and resonance shift across beats in the final monologue to mark psychological descent?
   Evidence: annotated script, spectrogram snapshots (optional), director feedback.
10. Sound motifs as narrative glue
    RQ: What dramaturgical function did the recurring diegetic clock motif serve across transitions in [Production]?
    Evidence: sound cue sheets, QLab file prints, designer interview.
11. Mask work and audience focus
    RQ: How did half-mask vs. full-mask use in [Production] alter gaze, gesture amplitude, and comedic timing?
    Evidence: rehearsal photos, actor notes, cue-to-cue observations.
12. Fight choreography and character ethics
    RQ: How did the choreography’s measure, tempo, and targeting in the duel of [Production] construct each character’s code of honour?
    Evidence: fight captain notes, safety calls, video (if permitted).

Controlled comparative case studies (like-for-like, one variable)

13. Two stagings, one scene: blocking choice outcomes
    RQ: Compared to [Production A], how did [Production B]’s triangular blocking in Scene X alter audience sympathy?
    Evidence: ground plans, stills, reviewer contrasts.
14. Naturalism vs. stylization in the same text
    RQ: How did [A] (naturalistic detail) versus [B] (heightened physicality) affect tension building in the same climactic scene?
    Evidence: timing charts, gesture catalogues, audience notes.
15. Actor doubling strategies across productions
    RQ: What different thematic readings emerged from [A]’s vs. [B]’s doubling of [Roles]?
    Evidence: cast lists, programme essays, post-show talks.
16. Endings re-imagined
    RQ: How did [A]’s blackout vs. [B]’s direct address reframe catharsis in [Title]?
    Evidence: cue lists, director statements, exit-poll comments.

Design-specific inquiries (clear element, measurable effect)

17. Costume palette and status
    RQ: How did value/contrast in costume palette encode social hierarchy in [Production]?
    Evidence: swatches, renderings, quick-change plots.
18. Scenography as metaphor
    RQ: In what ways did modular, transformable units in [Production] externalize the protagonist’s fragmentation?
    Evidence: model box photos, scene-to-scene changeover notes.
19. Projection mapping and narrative time
    RQ: How did projection cue density and layer opacity mark temporal shifts in [Production]?
    Evidence: media server cue stack, storyboard.
20. Props and business as dramaturgy
    RQ: What narrative information was carried by repeated prop business with [Object] in [Production]?
    Evidence: props list, ASM reports, actor annotations.
21. Makeup/prosthetics and transformation rhythm
    RQ: How did the quick-change prosthetic workflow affect pacing and suspense in Act II?
    Evidence: change plots, timing logs, dresser interview.

Space, audience, and event

22. Theatre-in-the-round sightlines
    RQ: How did sightline compromises in [Venue] influence blocking solutions and audience engagement in [Production]?
    Evidence: seating map, director’s blocking alternatives, spectator notes from four quadrants.
23. Non-traditional venue dramaturgy
    RQ: How did staging [Production] in a found space (e.g., warehouse) change acoustic strategy and audience proximity?
    Evidence: acoustic tests, mic plots, floor plan overlays.
24. Immersive rules and consent
    RQ: Which consent protocols and route designs in [Immersive Production] balanced agency with narrative clarity?
    Evidence: front-of-house briefing, steward scripts, route maps.
25. Festival constraints, creative outcomes
    RQ: How did time/turnaround limits at [Festival] shape design economy and transition speed in [Production]?
    Evidence: tech schedule, cue-to-cue notes, changeover timings.

F. Devising, community & applied theatre (process, not opinion)

26. Devising workflow efficacy
    RQ: Which devising convention (image theatre vs. viewpoints) contributed most to generating stageable material for [Company/Project]?
    Evidence: rehearsal journal, iteration logs, running order evolution.
27. Community participants’ performance growth
    RQ: How did a six-week ensemble warm-up protocol alter presence and responsiveness in [Community Project]?
    Evidence: facilitator rubrics, rehearsal observations, before/after video snapshots (if consented).
28. Verbatim editing ethics and clarity
    RQ: How did editing strategies (ellipses, composite characters) affect authenticity and intelligibility in [Verbatim Piece]?
    Evidence: source transcripts vs. final script, director notes.
29. Young audiences and pacing
    RQ: How did transition duration and interactive beats in [TYA Production] maintain attention across age groups?
    Evidence: run sheet timing, house management incident reports, teacher feedback.
30. Accessibility choices as aesthetics
    RQ: In [Production], how did integrated captioning/BSL/audio description operate as dramaturgical elements rather than add-ons?
    Evidence: access scripts, cueing, audience feedback.

Actor craft: movement, voice, timing (micro but meaningful)

31. Gesture lexicon and status shifts
    RQ: Which recurrent gestures signalled status negotiation between [Characters] across Scene X and Scene Y in [Production]?
    Evidence: gesture catalogue, beat mapping.
32. Silence and pause architecture
    RQ: How did the pattern of silences (measured in seconds) shape tension escalation in Act I?
    Evidence: stopwatch logs across two performances, script annotations.
33. Dialect intelligibility vs. authenticity
    RQ: How did dialect coaching balance intelligibility with regional authenticity for [Character]?
    Evidence: coaching notes, audience comprehension samples, IPA annotations.
34. Chorus unison vs. canon
    RQ: What was the effect of unison vs. canon movement on narrative clarity in the chorus sequences?
    Evidence: choreography notes, video stills (if allowed).

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Directing choices and rehearsal ecology

35. Table work to staging pipeline
    RQ: Which table-work protocols (questions, paraphrases, image banks) most directly led to staging decisions in [Production]?
    Evidence: rehearsal agendas, director notebooks.
36. Notes delivery and uptake
    RQ: How did the director’s notes style (group vs. 1:1; written vs. spoken) affect implementation fidelity by next run?
    Evidence: notes logs, subsequent run comparisons.
37. Understudy integration
    RQ: What strategies enabled understudy to preserve beats while offering a distinct interpretation in [Date] performance?
    Evidence: understudy rehearsal schedule, performance report.

Technology & stagecraft workflows

38. Cueing philosophy (GO vs. auto-follow)
    RQ: How did the ratio of manual GO to auto-follow cues affect timing precision and performer breathing in transitions?
    Evidence: DSM calling script, operator interview.
39. Automation reliability and dramaturgy
    RQ: How did contingency plans for automated set pieces shape risk and narrative momentum?
    Evidence: safety briefings, backup sequences, show reports.
40. Microphone strategy and intimacy
    RQ: How did mic placement (headworn vs. boundary) alter perceived intimacy in [Venue]?
    Evidence: input lists, gain structure notes, acoustic measurements.

Intercultural practice (specific, ethical, documentable)

41. Noh principles in a Western staging
    RQ: Which Noh-derived choices (ma, kata, mask) were adapted and which were transformed in [Production]—and with what effect?
    Evidence: director research pack, movement scores.
42. Kathakali influence on villainy
    RQ: How did rasas and mudras inform the portrayal of the antagonist in [Production]?
    Evidence: coaching notes, gesture charts, audience decoding.
43. Commedia lazzi in contemporary comedy
    RQ: Which lazzi functions (interruptive, expository, relieve tension) appeared in [Production], and how were they timed?
    Evidence: run sheet, video timestamps, clown notebook.

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Ethics, safety, and consent (practice, not policy essays)

44. Intimacy direction outcomes
    RQ: How did intimacy choreography protocols affect actor confidence and narrative coherence in [Production]?
    Evidence: intimacy coordinator notes, actor reflections, rehearsal reports.
45. Fight call and injury prevention
    RQ: What was the relationship between fight-call duration and error rate during the run of [Production]?
    Evidence: daily reports, incident logs.

Festivals, budgets, and production management

46. Budget-driven design choices
    RQ: How did a sub-$X budget constrain/enable creative solutions in set and costume for [Production]?
    Evidence: budgets, purchase orders, repurpose logs.
47. Scheduling vs. ensemble fatigue
    RQ: How did the rehearsal schedule model (6×2h vs. 3×4h) influence line security and energy at first preview?
    Evidence: schedule, line-note trends, performance reports.

Documentation & dramaturgy

48. Prompt book as a living document
    RQ: How did the DSM’s prompt book evolve to capture emergent blocking and cueing solutions, and what patterns emerge?
    Evidence: versioned prompt books, change logs.
49. Programme notes as framing
    RQ: How did programme notes prime spectators’ reading of [Theme] compared to what staging actually delivered?
    Evidence: audience exit notes, content analysis of programme vs. staging.
50. Dramaturg’s role in revisions
    RQ: Which dramaturgical interventions between workshop and opening most impacted narrative clarity?
    Evidence: draft histories, rehearsal feedback memos.

What to cut or reshape (reflecting the professor’s feedback)

• Avoid: “The role of X in literature,” sweeping histories, or “impact on society” essays. These drift into literary/cultural studies and cost marks.
• Reshape broad ideas: Anchor them to one named production (or two comparable ones), one scene or element, and one practitioner lens.
• Name your evidence now: If you cannot secure a production to watch, prompt books, or designer/actor notes, choose a different question.

Mini-method template (drop-in to your EE plan)

Limits: note camera bias (if filmed), seat position, sample size.

Object: [Production, Company, Year], focus on [element] in [scene/timecode].

Lens: [Practitioner concept].

Data: prompt book, cue sheets, designer/director interviews, reviews (triangulated), observation logs from two seats in the house.

Analysis: beat mapping → design/performance choice catalog → effect on audience attention/emotion → triangulate with sources.

Wrapping Up

As we conclude our overview of Theatre Studies Extended Essay topics, I hope these suggestions have sparked your interest in delving into theater’s rich and dynamic field. Writing an Extended Essay in Theatre Studies offers a unique opportunity to combine analytical rigor with creative insight, enabling you to explore the complexities of theatrical art and its role in society.

As you refine your topic and conduct your research, consider this as an exceptional chance to deepen your understanding of theater as an art form and a cultural phenomenon. Your essay is an opportunity to showcase your ability to critically evaluate theatrical works, understand the intricacies of theatrical production, and articulate your findings coherently and engagingly. Let your work reflect your passion for theater and your commitment to exploring the depth and breadth of this vibrant art form.