Drama
KS3 Study
We focus on subject-specific skills in acting, design, rehearsal and theatre analysis.
Year 7
- Group-forming – confidence building and teamwork
- Creating Characters and Telling Stories - exploring the building blocks of characterisation, developing our physical and vocal skills for performance.
- Live Theatre Analysis - analysing a scene from a play, explaining what the performers did to communicate meaning.
- Process Drama exploring bullying - using Drama activities to explore a real-life story that features bullying.
- Script work - exploring scenes from a published play text
Year 8
- Tension - the importance of tension in Drama
- Process Drama exploring refugees - a variety of different texts about refugees, exploring these practically.
- History of Theatre – exploring Greek theatre
- Script Work - exploring scenes from a published play and costume design
- Practical Exploration of Practitioner - the practices of Constantin Stanislavski, the ‘Father of Naturalism’.
Year 9
- Technical Theatre - how lighting and sound can communicate meaning to an audience.
- Script Work - students will choose to work as actors or designers on short script extract.
- Process Drama exploring Drink-Driving - the facts about drinking and driving as well as some of the potential consequences, explore scenes Too Much Punch for Judy.
- Devised Play - Students use all their knowledge and skills as actors and designers to create a final play to showcase their work.
- Mask / Physical Theatre Workshops - Students will learn some basic skills about working with masks and some physical theatre techniques.
Enrichment Offer
There are many opportunities for students to get involved in extra-curricular drama. Whole school production / musical production, Fear in the Forest - Halloween event at Dalby Forest, Drama Club, House Drama, Year 5/6 Transition Project, The Young Americans, Live Theatre Visits including a Drama residential to London.
Useful links:
Year 7 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z9bwjsg/articles/zd4np4j
Year 8 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zw8s2p3/revision/1
Year 9 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zddh7nb/revision/1
GCSE Drama
In GCSE Drama students’ study 3 components:
Component 1
Creation, development and performance or design of devised play (Practical). The exam board set stimuli that students must use as a starting point. Students devise a play in a group, choosing to work as actors or designers. The work must be performed in a recognised theatrical style or influenced by the work of a director or theatre company. We spend time in Year 10 exploring different theatrical styles.
Component 2
Students rehearse and perform two extracts from a published play text. Texts are selected by the teacher. Texts are selected to suit the student’s skills and can range from traditional plays like The Importance of Being Earnest or Journey’s End, to more modern, contemporary plays such as Girls Like That or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Students can choose to work as actors or directors.
Component 3
This is a written exam unit where students are examined on a set text and their analysis of live theatre. Students begin work on the set text in Year 10, exploring the text practically. Previous set texts include Hard to Swallow, Face and Dr Korczak’s. Students attend three theatre trips a year and spend time in class after each one, making notes and analysing the production. Most recently we have seen Blood Brothers, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Teechers Reunion 2022.
GCSE Drama Specification:
https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/drama-gcse/#tab_overview
Enrichment:
There are many opportunities for students to get involved in extra-curricular drama. Whole school production / musical production, Fear in the Forest - Halloween event at Dalby Forest, Drama Club, House Drama, Year 5/6 Transition Project, The Young Americans, Live Theatre Visits including a Drama residential to London.
Useful Links
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zbckjxs
A Level Drama and Theatre
Students study a range of texts, exploring a number of theatrical styles, practitioners and / or theatre companies. The course is an academic subject taught through a practical approach. Students can choose to work as actors or designers in Components 2 and 3.
Component 1
Section A: Set Text - Drama Through the Ages. Section A explores a pre-twentieth century text, students have a choice from two questions where they demonstrate their knowledge of the play as a whole, writing as an actor, director or designer. Our current text is Antigone.
Section B: Set Text- 20th and 21st Century Drama. In Section B, students are given an extract from the text and three questions - one writing as an actor, one as a director and one as a designer. Our current text is Yerma.
Section C: Live Theatre analysis. In Section C, there is a choice from four questions. We will spend time during the course watching a variety of live performances, giving students choice as to the production they will focus on in the exam. Most recently we have seen Blood Brothers, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Teechers Reunion 2022.
Component 2 - Students devise their own play from a stimulus of their choice. They work in a specific theatrical style or influenced by a director or theatre company. Students can work as actors or designers.
Component 3 - Practical exploration and interpretation of three script extracts. Students work on three extracts from different plays, two of these are ‘workshop performances’ but Extract Three is a polished performance in the style of a recognised style, director or theatre company. Past Extract Three plays include Metamorphosis, The Trial, The Crucible, The Glass Menagerie and Chaos. Again, students can work as actors or designers.
A Level Drama and Theatre
AQA | Drama | A-level | Drama and Theatre
Enrichment
There are many opportunities for students to get involved in extra-curricular drama. Whole school production / musical production, fear in the Forest- Halloween event at Dalby Forest, Drama Club, House Drama, Year 5/6 Transition Project, The Young Americans, Live Theatre Visits including a Drama residential to London.
Useful Links:
- Get Into Theatre
- https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/
- https://www.punchdrunk.com/
- https://www.franticassembly.co.uk/
- https://www.thestage.co.uk/
