DRAMA AND THEATRE STUDIES A LEVEL

‘There is that smaller world which is the stage, and that larger stage which is the world’.

Isaac Goldberg (American Writer and Critic, 1887-1938)

It may come as a surprise to note that Drama & Theatre Studies is increasing rapidly in popularity as an A level choice. However, given that it combines so well with many subjects and given also that it may represent an opportunity to develop skills and experience that could form the basis of an acting career, it is perhaps less surprising that this should be the case.

Ashbourne’s Drama Department

The Drama department is currently directed by James Wykes and Rob Crumpton. James originally graduated in English from Bangor (BA Hons) Has an MA in Comparative Literature (UCL) and a PGCE from Kings. Rob graduated with BA (Hons) from Oxford in English and History, and is a professionally trained actor holding an MA in Drama.

Examination Board

Ashbourne follows the AQA specification for Drama and Theatre Studies. This specification has been approved by the QCA for first teaching from September 2008.

Units

Unit 1 DRAM1 Live Theatre Production Seen and Prescribed Play

This unit is divided into two sections. Each section is taken as a separate paper with a time allowance of 45 minutes.

Section A requires candidates’ personal response to various aspects of live theatre seen during the course. Candidates must answer one question on a live production seen from a choice of four questions.

Section B requires candidates to answer one question on a set play from a choice of two questions on each of the set plays. Questions are focused on the interpretation of the play from a performance perspective. Candidates are required to answer from the viewpoint of an actor, director or designer.

Choice of set plays for the 2009 AS examination

Sophocles; Antigone
Shakespeare; The Taming of the Shrew
Ibsen; A Doll’s House
O’Casey; The Shadow of a Gunman
Littlewood and Theatre Workshop Oh What a Lovely War
De Angelis Playhouse Creatures

Aspects of presentation to be considered should include:

• the theatrical style and genre of the production
• directorial interpretation
• the choice of venue/staging form
• performance skills
• integration of movement and language in performance
• the stage setting and design
• use of space
• costume
• technical elements: lighting and sound
• creation of pace, mood and atmosphere/specific effects
• creation of specific effects for an audience
• the actor/audience relationship
• the perceived aims of the production and success in achieving them
• the creative contribution of the director, the designers, actors and production team
• the audience experience and response

For Section B, candidates should study their chosen play in terms of interpretation from a performance perspective.

• choice and use of staging form/performance space
• the actor/audience relationship
• casting and appearance of characters
• physical qualities/age/build/height/facial features
• movement/posture/gesture/facial expression
• vocal qualities – volume/pitch/accent/pace/timing/ intonation/phrasing/emotional range
• visual qualities – costume/make-up/mask/use of props
• character motivation and interaction
• development of pace and pitch/climax
• stage directions and practical demands of the text
• patterns of stage movement
• creation of mood and atmosphere
• design fundamentals – scale/shape/colour/texture
• use of scenic devices – revolves/trucks/ projections
• use of lighting – direction/colour/intensity/special effects
• use of sound – direction/amplification/music and/ or sound effects, both live and recorded
• other technical elements – pyrotechnics/smoke machines/flying

Unit 2 DRAM2 Presentation of an Extract from a Play

This unit is internally assessed and externally moderated by visiting moderator. Candidates are required to work in groups to present for an audience an extract from a published play of their choice. The group size is to be between 2 to 8 Acting candidates, plus, optionally, up to five candidates offering a design skill (costume design, mask design, set design or technical design (lighting and/or sound)), and/or one Directing candidate.

Each group is to be self-contained and totally responsible for all aspects of the presented extract which should realise clear dramatic intentions for an audience. Candidates have a free choice of play text, provided that their selection represents a different period
and genre from the play studied for Unit 1. The play chosen must also not be a set text for Unit 1 or for Unit 3.

Candidates will need to acquire knowledge and understanding of the practitioner’s significant
contribution to theatre practice, including, as appropriate, such aspects as:
• theatrical/historical context
• developing theatrical purpose
• innovative nature of approach
• theory and practice
• working methods
• theatrical styles
• intentions for the audience
• attitudes towards the role of the director
• attitudes towards the role of the performer
• attitudes towards the significance of design elements
• ideas about actor training
• ideas about the actor/audience relationship
• ideas about theatre form/configuration
• collaboration with others
• artistic ideals
• target audience
• political aims
• productions/projects
• influence upon other practitioners

Unit 3 DRAM3 Further Prescribed Plays including Pre-Twentieth Century

Candidates are required to answer two questions, one on each of two different set plays. One play is to be chosen from Section A: Pre-Twentieth Century Plays and one play is to be chosen from Section B: The Twentieth Century or Contemporary Drama.

Section A: Pre-Twentieth Century Plays

Middleton/Tourneur; The Revenger’s Tragedy
Molière; Tartuffe
Farquhar; The Recruiting Officer
Goldoni; The Servant of Two Masters
Wilde; Lady Windermere’s Fan
Chekhov; The Seagull

Section B: The Twentieth Century or Contemporary Drama

Lorca; Blood Wedding
Brecht; The Good Person of Szechwan
Miller; A View from the Bridge
Berkoff; The Trial
Wertenbaker; Our Country’s Good
Edmundson; Coram Boy

In Section A, candidates answer one question from a choice of two questions on each of the set texts. In Section B, candidates answer a single compulsory question based on their chosen set text.

Aspects of presentation to be considered may include:

• choice and configuration of stage space
• actor/audience relationship
• direction of actors, both physically and vocally
• interaction, delivery of dialogue, motivation, sub- text
• use of space; groupings, movement, use of levels
• the stage setting and design
• creation of period, style and atmosphere
• costume design
• make-up and/or mask design
• creation of pace, tension, comedy, pathos, mood (as appropriate)
• application of technical elements and special effects

Unit 4 DRAM4 Presentation of Devised Drama

This unit is internally assessed and externally moderated by visiting moderator. Candidates are required to work in groups to present for an audience a devised drama, performed in a
theatrical style of their choice. The group size is to be between 2 to 8 Acting candidates, plus, optionally, up to five candidates offering a design skill (costume design, mask design,
set design or technical design (lighting and/or sound)), and/or one Directing candidate.
Each group is to be self-contained and totally responsible for all aspects of the devised work
which should realise clear dramatic intentions for an audience.

Candidates should choose one from the following:

Directing (one candidate per group)
Acting (at least two candidates per group) Costume design (one candidate per group)
Mask design (one candidate per group)
Set design (one candidate per group)
Technical elements: Lighting and/or Sound

Candidates may choose to work, for example, in one of the following styles:

• comedy/tragedy/melodrama/farce
• commedia
• naturalism/realism/expressionism/symbolism
• epic theatre
• political theatre/feminist theatre
• theatre of cruelty
• creative adaptation (of well-known stories or poems; not plays)
• docu-theatre; verbatim theatre
• physical theatre

Possible University Degree Programmes Suited to A-level Drama & Theatre Studies

Drama and Theatre Studies combines well with many other subject choices including Art and Design, English Literature, Fashion & Media Studies. Any combination of these or a choice of a single specialism would be likely to arise from choosing Drama & Theatre Studies at A level. Universities and employers appreciate students who undertake courses which require high degrees of commitment and which allow for self- development, growth and the encouragement of creativity.