hey there
im just finishing first year at the moment and ive done a drama subject both last semester and this semester.
in terms of content, in the performance faculty they put the practical subjects in 1st semester and the theory based in 2nd semester. (In first year though you dont get a choice as they only offer one subject each semester) i think it would be okay for someone who is a beginner, there were a few people who were in my tutorials who hadnt done it before, nothing wrong with that. theres no prior knowledge needed or anything like that. drama is a subject where i think its pretty easy to do well, as long as you put in the time in the prac group stuff (which can be annoying during assessment times) your marks general reflect what you put in.
dont know if that is much help at all, but if you have any other questions feel free to ask
ps. the faculty is really unorganised and dont like technology so they dont record lectures or post marks online or anything. so thats annoying too. but no reason not to do the subject!