SECTION 2 is called PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Things to reflect on about the LIVE THEATRE PRODUCTION YOU SAW:
The exam question will ask you to consider areas such as the following:
· The GENRE, THEMES, SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT or the THEATRICAL CONTEXT of the piece.
· The Company who performed the play and their ‘success’ at achieving their goals
· The performance space
· The director’s intentions
· The acting and the development of the characters
· The design concepts and their effectiveness – set, costume, make-up, lighting, sound
· Audience REACTION
· Overall IMPACT
To provide an answer to these aspects of the question think about the following and try to plan around them:
CONTRASTS: A theatrical contrast involves elements of the plot/design/context etc. being strikingly different to something else so that it is either in juxtaposition or in close association. An example of this might be that bright costumes on a dark set would be in direct contrast. It could also be that two character’s personalities could be in direct contrast. There are many aspects of the play that might have contrasted with one another these could be in locations, characters, plot developments – think about the contrasts that occurred in the performance you saw.
THEMES: you should have already considered and prepared your thoughts about the underlying themes of A Streetcar Named Desire: Make sure you revise this so you can recall it in the exam.
AREAS, ISSUES, IDEAS: All of these are related to theme but the language could be used in the question… Issues are what comes about due to the themes, so if the theme is love the issues that arise might be about the breakdown of relationships, forbidden love, or infidelity. The IDEA of the play might be less literal than a theme and be more overarching to the entire plot.
SOCIAL, POLITICAL/RELIGIOUS CONTEXT: Think about the issues faced by characters during the specific time and place where the play is set. These might have an effect on the themes, changing them from the way they might be in a contemporary setting. Try to consider how these aspects are addressed in this performance.
MESSAGE: Is the play trying to communicate something to the audience?
PURPOSE: Similar to the MESSAGE, but more relating to the desired effect on the audience. Can you decide what the director was trying to highlight through their interpretation of the play? Was it to highlight a particular issue? To make people feel an emotion… To make people laugh or cry? To shock them? To entertain them?
GENRE/STYLE: Comedy, Tragedy, Naturalistic, Physical Theatre.
DIRECTOR’S INTENTIONS: Was there something you particularly thought the director or company were trying to highlight? This is linked to PURPOSE, maybe a production of Antigone set in a Big Corporation Boardroom trying to highlight the idea of corporate greed being more important than family… try to think about whether this production of Streetcar was trying to make a point.
THE MARKING: THINGS TO REMEMBER…
You will choose TWO of the four production areas to discuss from the question. For each area you will make FIVE detailed points. (See your revision booklet for the way to present your points)
You get one mark for each valid point and another for the depth of your analysis of that point. Always include some comments in each point about IMPACT that was made on you and/or the audience.
The Performance Analysis essay is marked out of 20 with 10 marks for each of the production areas you choose from the question.
The essay is marked positively which means you get marks for what you INCLUDE, rather than taken off for what you miss off.
Q: Should I take time to write an introduction?
A: Yes, keep it brief and make sure you give the relevant details. You can prepare some of this in advance and then add the part of the question you choose. Here's an example:
I saw the production of (Name of the play you watched) at (Name of the venue where you saw the play) in (Month/Year that you saw the play). In this production, the (name of theatre company) used (style of performance/use of space/type of set) to explore (whatever the themes and issues were). In this essay I will discuss how (whatever you have chosen from the question) were used to convey the story and themes of the play.
Q: How many key moments from the play we watched should I include in my answer? Can I write about 5 and use each one for both of the areas I choose?
A: It's best to include 10 key individual key moments to make sure that you cover everything and access all of the possible marks. So write about 5 key moments for the first area and 5 key moments for the second. That way you'll avoid repeating yourself.
Q: What if something I saw in the production can't be described using the drama terminology; will I lose marks?
A: It's always best to use the correct drama terminology. If something you saw on stage seems difficult to describe in that way, try to break it down so that terminology can be used, whilst adding in a description of what was happening.
Q: How many actors should I write about? Can I focus on just one?
A: Make sure you read the question - it should be clear from what you are being asked. For example, if the question is about relationships you might need to speak about both actors. Writing about proxemics for example would need you to discuss where both actors are in relation to one another on stage.