Welcome to Drama

Congratulations on opting for the exciting and practical challenges of A Level Drama and Theatre.

You will be able to pursue your interests and skills in creating, performing and evaluating live theatre. Drama and Theatre is a practical course for those interested in performing and directing.

In Drama and Theatre, you will study;

• Two set text plays from the point of view of an actor, director and designer.

• Perform extracts from plays in workshop and full production formats

• Perform your own, original devised work reflecting a range of theatrical styles

• See and assess live and streamed theatre

• Create working notebooks detailing your rehearsal process

• Have the opportunity of a residential visit involving live theatre plus possible workshops and a backstage tours. 

Be prepared to start the acting based practical work straight away. Remember, be imaginative, take risks and create work that is professional and polished. 

Bridging Tasks

Week 1

Activity 1 – Subject Knowledge Audit

1. Create a Biography of your experience and knowledge of Drama and Theatre Studies under the following headlines;

• Plays I have read:

• Performances I have seen:

• Performances I have been in:

• Practitioners/Playwrights I Know:

• Specific Skills/Techniques I have:

• Specific Skills/Techniques I know I have to work on:

Activity 2 – Short Essay – 500 words (include 2 quotes)

1. ‘What is the difference between Drama and Theatre?’

Week 2

Activity 1 – Directing a monologue 

• Choose a monologues from list at the top of this page.  

• You must read the whole play that it comes from. By reading the whole play you will understand the context of the monologue, how the character is feeling at that moment in time which will inform your performance.

I have added the Too Fast script. You could either buy the other scripts or try to find them on line

https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com  has some of the scripts.

Username: jcs013

Password: Authentication

Activity 2 – Directing a monologue 

• Make a list of the "given circumstances" of the script for this character, at this moment in time of the monologue.  What information is given in the script about where the action takes place, what the character is like, how they are feeling at this moment in time. 

• Annotate the script in 1 colour with vocal directions for an actor: pace, pitch, tone, volume, inflection.  

• Annotate the script in a different colour with physical skills for an actor: stance, gesture, facial expression, stillness.  

Week 3

Activity 1 – Revision 

1. Brush up on your GCSE knowledge as this is all useful for the A Level.  Use BBC bitesize to go over the key terms and make notes. (Link at the bottom)

Week 4

Activity 1 – Performance Review Essay – 500 words

As part of the Drama and Theatre Studies course, students are required to attend live theatre performances to gain practical inspiration for their own performance work. The live theatre experience will also inform a ‘Live Theatre Review’ in the written exam.

Watch one performance of your choice.  Look on youtube for the National Theatre, RSC, The Globe, Frantic Assembly, Le Navet Bete, Geko, you can use musicals as well - lots of which are streaming free at the moment. 

Structure for your review.

Introduction: explaining which play you watched and a brief summary of the story.

1st paragraph: choose a particular actor that your liked and explain why you liked them. Give specific examples, their use of performance skills (vocal and physical)

2nd paragraph: how the production used staging and the performance space

3rd paragraph: how the production used technical design elements (set/lights/sound/costume)

Conclusion: overall did you enjoy the performance and would you recommend it to someone else.

If you have any problems with any of these tasks please contact me for help on abirkett@web.grammar.sch.gg