Subject Lead for Drama: Ms Lucy Lungley
Lucy.Lungley@wyeschool.org.uk
Drama by Ms Lucy Lungley
I have always been passionate about drama from a young age from sitting in the audience of a theatre and being transported to another world or embodying a character on stage - there is something exhilarating about being able to step into another person's shoes, give a voice to the voiceless and pushing boundaries. I couldn't agree more with the director Peter Brook when he said, "Drama is exposure; it is confrontation; it is contradiction and it leads to analysis, construction, recognition, and eventually to an awakening of understanding." Drama enables you see the world differently.
Why Study Drama & Theatre?
Drama and Theatre offers students the opportunity to explore drama as a practical art form, in which ideas and meaning are communicated to an audience through choices of form, style and convention. Your communication skills as a performer, director and critic will be challenged and enhanced, through an exploration of the work of famous playwrights both in performance and as a script, which you must bring to life. To do this, you will need to master problem solving and co-operative learning.
Course Description
The subject content for A Level Drama and Theatre is divided into three components (one written exam and two practical pieces accompanied by written work):
Component 1 - Devising
In this component students will develop their creative and exploratory skills to devise an original performance. The starting point for this devising process will be an extract from a performance text and an influential theatre practitioner. In their creative explorations, students will learn how text can be manipulated to communicate meaning to audiences and they will begin the process of interpretation. They will gain an understanding of how a new performance could be developed through the practical exploration of the theatrical style and use of conventions of the chosen practitioner.
Component 2 - Text in Performance
Students will develop and demonstrate theatre-making skills, appropriate to their role as a performer or designer. They will explore how they realise artistic intentions in performance. The knowledge and understanding acquired though the study of one key extract from a performance text in Component 1 can be applied to assist in the interpretation, development, and realisation of key extracts from performance texts. Teaching and wider reading should address the significance and influence of social, historical, and cultural contexts on the chosen texts and extracts.
Component 3 - Theatre Makers in Practice
Theatre is a collaborative art-form, and it is important that students have a clear understanding of how different creative ideas are put into practice. This component requires students to consider, analyse and evaluate how different theatre makers create impact. Throughout this component, students will consider how production ideas and dramatic elements are communicated to an audience from the perspective of a director, a performer, and a designer. Students will critically analyse and evaluate their experience of live performance. As an informed member of the audience, they will deconstruct theatrical elements which will help inform their own production choices and develop their own ideas as potential theatre makers. Students will practically explore texts in order to demonstrate how ideas for performance and production might be realised from page to stage. They will also consider the methodologies of practitioners and interpret texts in order to justify their own ideas for a production concept. Students will research the original performance conditions and gain an understanding of how social, historical, and cultural contexts have informed their decisions as theatre makers.
Beyond A Level
Drama and Theatre Studies will be acceptable for most Arts, Humanities and Modern Language courses. Drama courses develop transferable skills which employers are looking for: communication, teamwork, negotiation and persuasiveness, time management and organisation, as well as analytical, critical and research skills. Most degree courses now require students to work in a team and to undertake presentations, and for these skills Drama is invaluable.
There are many careers, which are open to Drama & Theatre Studies students including management, personnel and social work, team management and jobs requiring analytical and presentational skills. The study of drama provides the ideal training for any position requiring quick thinking, self-reliance, creativity, teamwork, and the ability to organise both yourself and others.
Entry Requirements
Grade 6 in English Literature GCSE and Grade 6 in Drama GCSE. This subject calls for a commitment to teamwork, group participation and a lively interest in all aspects of theatre.
Technical Details
Exam Board: Edexcel
Qualification Type: A Level
Course Title: Drama and Theatre
Specification Code: 9DR0
External Exams (end of Year 13): 1 exam, 2h 30m, 40%
Devising and Text in Performance: 20% and 40% respectively
Link: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-a-levels/drama-and-theatre-2016.html