Drama
Head of Drama: Mrs A Bishop
Drama is an optional subject at GCSE. It is an exciting course which gives you the opportunity to explore the subject from a range of perspectives. You will be expected to:
* devise your own original performance work;
* bring to life the work of established playwrights;
* review theatre, analysing performances and developing your own ideas about what makes theatre successful;
* work as a creative artist by building and bringing a character to life through exploration and rehearsal.
As you progress through the course, you will build an appreciation of the roles of a performer, designer and director and the impact they have on the creation of a performance. During your study, you will be expected to work from all 3 perspectives to help develop and shape drama. Your workshops will explore concepts and texts in a practical way. This practical approach to your studies will underpin the theory needed for examined assessment at the end of the course.
Course Content:
Component Three: 40% of Qualification
This component is a written examination which will be 1 hour and 30 minutes in length. It has two sections.
Section A
You will study a play and will be asked about the ways you prepared and performed it. Questions will ask you about the process of preparing a performance, working as a director, designer and performer as well as ways you developed a convincing character in performance.
Section B
You will be asked to review a piece of live theatre you have seen.
Component One:
Students create a devised performance in groups. The starting point for this piece will be provided by the exam board.
The performance will be 5 – 15 minutes long (depending on group size).
A written portfolio will be submitted. It will be a record of the devising process and can be made up from a combination of writing, images, observation notes and artifacts.
Component Two:
In this unit you will study a play. After practically exploring the text, you prepare and perform in two different extracts from the text. One of the performances must be as part of a group.
An accompanying concept document is required. This will outline your intentions for the performance.
Components one and two are worth 60% of your qualification.
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