Theatre IA ideas: how do you choose one?
Choose an idea that fits the subject criteria and can be answered with evidence, a method, and resources you can access.
A strong Theatre IA production proposal frames a clear directorial or design concept for a specified extract and explains how it is realised through staging, design and performer choices, rooted in the script and at least one theatre tradition.
Which research questions fit Theatre IA?
The questions below are starting points to adapt to your own variables, evidence, and assessment task.
How could a Brechtian staging of a realist domestic scene make the audience aware of class power?
Approach · Propose distancing effects, placards and episodic structure; justify through Brecht and compare with a naturalist alternative.
How could a minimalist design concept foreground language over spectacle in a Shakespearean scene?
Approach · Propose a stripped set, exposed lighting and actor-centred staging; justify through Grotowski's poor theatre.
How could a promenade staging change the audience's sense of power and surveillance?
Approach · Map audience movement, propose sightline and proximity choices, and evaluate immersive theatre's ethical implications.
How could a feminist staging rewrite female characters' power without cutting the original words?
Approach · Propose directorial and design interventions; justify through feminist theatre and GYMN.
How could physical-theatre approach reveal subtext that dialogue alone conceals?
Approach · Use Frantic Assembly or Lecoq-based movement, propose staging that contrasts text and physical action.
How could multimedia projection in a site-specific scene collapse time and memory?
Approach · Propose layered video and sound design; link to memory theatre and evaluate audience attention fragmentation.
How could naturalistic blocking reveal secrets the script never states?
Approach · Analyse the script for unsaid information, propose blocking and pause choices, justify through Stanislavski.
How could documentary theatre make a recent political event feel ethically present?
Approach · Use transcripts or interviews, propose direct-address and framing choices, evaluate truth claims in verbatim theatre.
How could a queer-coded staging reframe desire without changing the original text?
Approach · Propose design, casting and staging choices; justify through queer theory and contemporary performance practice.
How could a workshop-derived ensemble staging make the text feel physically discovered?
Approach · Document devising choices, propose how movement and object work generate meaning, evaluate fidelity vs invention.
How could lighting design alone transform a scene across three contrasting productions?
Approach · Compare three lighting plots, analyse colour, angle and focus, argue what lighting contributes beyond dialogue.
How could a child-audience adaptation preserve complexity without condescension?
Approach · Propose staging, tone and casting choices, evaluate dramaturgical cuts, justify through theatre-for-young-audiences practice.
Find questions that fit your resources
Filter the Theatre ideas by time and equipment. This is a practical shortlist, not a judgement about the quality of a research question.
12 of 12 starting points match these time/equipment filters
- 01How could a Brechtian staging of a realist domestic scene make the audience aware of class power?
- 02How could a minimalist design concept foreground language over spectacle in a Shakespearean scene?
- 03How could a promenade staging change the audience's sense of power and surveillance?
- 04How could a feminist staging rewrite female characters' power without cutting the original words?
- 05How could physical-theatre approach reveal subtext that dialogue alone conceals?
- 06How could multimedia projection in a site-specific scene collapse time and memory?
- 07How could naturalistic blocking reveal secrets the script never states?
- 08How could documentary theatre make a recent political event feel ethically present?
- 09How could a queer-coded staging reframe desire without changing the original text?
- 10How could a workshop-derived ensemble staging make the text feel physically discovered?
- 11How could lighting design alone transform a scene across three contrasting productions?
- 12How could a child-audience adaptation preserve complexity without condescension?
Items with unspecified equipment or time remain visible. Check safety, ethics, available evidence and the current assessment guide before choosing.
Research question feasibility test →Sources & verification
Primary-source references used to verify key assessment facts on this page. Last source check: September 22, 2026.
These Theatre ideas are original iBacalao starting points, not official IB research questions. Check the current Theatre subject guide, your assessment session and your school's safety/ethics rules before committing to a question.
- IB: Diploma Programme assessment and examsOfficial overview of criterion-related assessment and internal assessment in the Diploma Programme.
- IB: current curriculum updatesOfficial hub for current and upcoming subject/assessment changes and subject briefs.
Picked a question? Check your draft before you submit.
iBacalao reviews your Production Proposal (IA) criterion by criterion using the configured Theatre criteria for this assessment session. Start with 60 Shells.
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