A2.D&TS.13/14
Guthlaxton College
A2 Drama & Theatre
Studies
Unit 3 and 4
Student Guide
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Unit 3
DEVISING
Overview:
This unit requires the creation of a unique and original piece of theatre in
groups of 3-6 that last between 15 and 30mins.
The knowledge and understanding gained in the AS units can now be applied
as you work collaboratively to produce a new performance.
You will be assessed on both the process of creation and the finished product
in the form of a performance to an invited audience.
You will be assessed on the following areas with a maximum mark of 15 for
each area.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Research and exploration
Development and structure
Performance
Evaluation
As well as practical observations by the tutor, you will submit Supporting
Written Evidence that will include the following sections:
1. How is the initial material being researched and developed at significant
stages during the process of creating drama?
2. How effectively are you personally exploring and developing your
role(s)?
3. How did you and your group explore the possibilities of form, structure
and performance style?
4. How did the work of established and recognised theatre practitioners,
and/or the work of live theatre, influence the way in which your devised
response developed?
5. How successfully did your final performance communicate your aims and
intentions for the piece to your audience?
6. How effectively did the social, cultural, historical/political context of the
piece communicate to your audience?
As a rough guide you should use 2 sides of A4 in response to each question.
To successfully document your work it is essential that you are conscientious in
keeping your logbook up to date. You should bring it to every lesson,
workshop and rehearsal and fill it in during the lesson or immediately
afterwards. Not only is this important for your assessment in this unit but it is
also excellent practice for your own development and shows good organisation
and personal skills that can be used in many other careers and jobs.
This will rely on your independent study skills and self discipline. Below is a
guide to what you need to do to achieve your grade.
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UNIT 3 CONTENT
1. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
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Within devising it is essential that you use a range of ways to
respond to the stimulus to be as imaginative and creative as
possible. For this you should use research into the stimulus and the
themes and issues it generates.
You should set clear aims and intentions for your piece of Drama with
rehearsal schedule and deadlines and objectives. Think about your
role within the process and what you take responsibility for.
Evaluate work as you progress both as a group and individually. Does
your role develop?
How to achieve this:
Students demonstrate outstanding depth of research that is far-reaching and
comprehensive. It is clear how the research has directly influenced
performance outcomes and practice for both self and others.
2. DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURE
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Work within a group to set a style and structure that consider how
you can communicate meaning to the audience.
Make creative and artistic decisions using your knowledge and
understanding to develop the Drama.
Refine and shape ideas that you have developed using further
research where necessary. Do you take inspiration from other artists?
How to achieve this:
Students demonstrate an outstanding involvement in the developmental
process with a creative and imaginative input that has a far-reaching benefit to
both their own work and the work of others.
3. PERFORMANCE
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Perform as part of an ensemble in a collaborative process.
Use a range of performance skills to communicate your chosen role.
How to achieve this:
Students demonstrate outstanding skills within the compass of their chosen
role or roles within the assessed performance. Their contribution to the
performance comprehensively communicates their intentions to the audience.
4. EVALUATION
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Evaluate your own contribution and that of others during the whole
process to the final performance.
Make links between your own research and the historical, social and
cultural context of your piece.
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Supporting Written Evidence
The Supporting Written Evidence (SWEDs) should address the following questions
and not exceed the 3,500 word limit. These questions are designed to offer some
guidance and do not necessarily imply a recommended structure. You can include
drawings, sketches, diagrams if appropriate.
Section 1: How is the initial material being researched and developed at
significant stages during the process of creating drama?
Section 2: How effectively are you personally exploring and developing
your role(s)?
You will complete both these sections as part of your first homework task. You
should use the work completed in the classroom to comment on and also your
own ideas and independent research.
For section 1:
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You should comment on how you and your group responded to the
stimulus and what creative ideas you had.
You must include research that you have done into the stimulus and also
the themes and issues you associate with it.
What did you do and what could you do to create drama from the
stimulus. This should include scenes you may have created and practical
activities you did to explore the stimulus.
You will come back to this question and add to it during the process,
particularly noting key developments.
For Section 2:
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You should talk about your role(s) within the Drama – what characters
first emerged in the process and how did you come up with them.
Discuss your character’s importance to the plot and/or style of the
piece. What do they bring to the creative process?
How does your character relate to others within the Drama and how
does your character change and how is the role developed in rehearsal
and discussion.
You should include your own work on the role and how others helped it
develop.
You should add to this section as appropriate as the Drama develops
using key moments in the process.
Section 3: How did you and your group explore the possibilities of form,
structure and performance style?
For this section you will need to draw on your knowledge and understanding of
theatre styles, techniques, structure and genre.
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What did you do practical in terms of style? Did you use drama to
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music? Physical Theatre, Mime? Split Scenes? Monologues? Episodic or
well made play structure?
Discuss in detail significant workshops and lessons – describe what you
did and relate it to the development of your piece.
Evaluate the effectiveness of any styles or techniques you used – do
they help you to communicate the intentions and aims your group have
set?
Section 4: How did the work of established and recognised theatre
practitioners, and/or the work of live theatre, influence the way in which
your devised response developed?
You will need to research the following areas using internet and the library
resources and also seeing live performances and videos of companies work.
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Current theatre companies such as Unlimited, Pilot Theatre, Improbable,
Coney, Frantic Assembly, Cheek by Jowl – you may also find others.
What is their style? Do they explore certain themes or issues? What is
their approach to creating work? Many now document their work on
their website and on twitter – use it!
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Practitioners such as Brecht, Peter Hall, Augusto Boal, Meyerhold,
Grotowski, Mike Leigh and writers such as Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard,
David Mamet, Caryl Churchill, Mark Ravenhill, and Sarah Kane. Again,
what are their styles, what social issues or themes do they discuss and
what has been their impact on the world of theatre and society in
general.
You should write your notes up including appropriate quotes and research with
evidence of where you found the research. You need to include your own
opinions and thoughts about how you might use the research in making your own
work.
Section 5 How successfully did your final performance communicate
your aims and intentions for the piece to your audience?
For this section you will need to have documented right from the start what your
intentions and aims are.
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What are your aims for the piece – what effect do you want to have on
the audience.
What were the intended effects of certain scenes or moments?
How can you evaluate the success of your piece? You should consider
using a feedback form and questionnaire for an audience to fill in. Could
you use a workshop performance to get an idea of well your piece is
developing?
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Section 6 How effectively did the social, cultural, historical/political
context of the piece communicate to your audience?
You should already have undertaken and documented your contextual research.
This section will look at how you planned get communicate context to the
audience and whether this worked.
You should consider using some of the ideas from Section 5 to help you
with this evaluation.
• Think in advance about how the context of other pieces have been
communicated to you and the effect they had.
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Assessment Deadlines.
Throughout the year deadlines have already been set and you should make sure
you have put these in your planner, diary, phone, wall chart to give you
something to work towards and a focus.
Keeping up REGULARLY with a journal diary is a must. Honestly. It will make
your life very easy and a high grade that much more likely. Bring it to each
lesson. If you find it easier to audio record your thoughts, do this then write it
up.
Monday 23rd September 2013
- How did you respond to the stimulus item? Include research you undertook
in relation to the stimulus and beyond. This will go into your logbook for
Section 1 of Supporting Written Evidence
- Individual plans for development of devised piece.
- What’s the piece about?
- What are your aims and intentions for the performance?
- What are the initial ideas for your role and what research have you done
for this role?
- Initial work you’ve done to help develop your role. (Accompanies Section 2
of Supporting Written Evidence)
- Research into theatre companies and practitioners. An outline of current
theatre practice and established practitioners relevant to your idea. See
below for help. (Accompanies Section 4 of Supporting Written Evidence
Week beginning Monday 2nd December 2013:
Practical performance.
Mon 16th December 2012:
First draft of Written work
FINAL Deadline TBC
Assessment criteria for Unit 3
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Assessment
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Unit 4
Theatre in Context
Overview:
This written exam is split into three sections.
For Sections A and B you will study Lysistrata and write about your view on the
play and how you would interpret it as a director. You will also describe how you
would work in rehearsals to develop this play.
For Section C you will see a live production of a Shakespeare and study the era
of Elizabethan theatre.
Sections A & B
You will work in small groups or individually to develop your own interpretation of
the play Lysistrata. You will identify the themes and issues within the play
considering the context of the play and how the playwright may have intended
his play to be seen in its original setting. You should consider how you are going
to make the play relevant for a modern day audience.
To make a successful production you will need to consider:
• the language
• themes
• structure
• form
• characterisation
• stagecraft to communicate ideas. (lights, sound, set)
You and your group should make a detailed rehearsal plan considering how the
play could be developed during rehearsal. Also how you can work with actors
both on and off the text to help them create their representation of character.
You should really annotate your script as much as possible after working on
rehearsal techniques for certain sections or scenes as you will questioned on this
directly in the exam. Complete your annotations to show your own individual,
directorial interpretation of the play in preparation for the exam.
This unit should be approached from the point of view of a director – pulling
together all of the knowledge you have acquired on the course.
Deadlines: TBC Early April 2013
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Exam Guide: Section B
Section B of the written exam will be about the play you have seen that was
written between 1575 and 1720. This will (most probably) be a Shakespeare
play and you will need to have seen a live production of that play.
You will answer one question and as you can see from the past questions
below, this question will ask you to compare theatre as it is now and theatre as it
was in a previous era. For you, this will mean comparing present day theatre
with the original performance conditions for your Shakespeare play. You will
need to compare and contrast how theatre may show themes and issues today
using set, props, video, lighting etc with the original performance conditions of
Elizabethan Theatre in the 16th Century.
You will compile your research notes and those on the performance you have
seen into a document of no more than 1000 words that you will take into the
exam. This can include sketches, diagrams, and should be in note form. It cannot
contain pre-published material; any quotes should be referenced.
This is a suggested guide for how you should set out your notes and also a
suggested essay plan for the exam itself. For each category you should have
notes regarding the play as performed today and as it was in Elizabethan era.
E.g You will have notes on what the performance style was like today and also
notes on the performance style of the 16th Century.
Intro:
This should outline the play you will be discussing, and your approach
to the question.
Context Place the performance you saw into context, where, when, what type
of venue. Talk about social and cultural context of the play today.
Themes & Issues
Detail how themes and issues in play might be viewed
today and in 16th Century by the different people in the
audience. Are some themes more relevant today than
they were in 16thC? Do we react differently to certain
issues now?
Performance Styles There is plenty of detail about this in your blue booklets.
You should consider the needs of the theatre then and
how theatres have since changed. Why might the style
needed to have been that way in Elizabethan theatres on
those type of stages? How has acting evolved since and
do we respond and expect different things as an
audience?
Overall Impact How might the impact of the play changed over the centuries?
How might a 16th Century audience have left the play feeling
compared to audiences now? You should again consider the
context of each performance conditions.
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Sample questions:
 “Theatre is a product of its time but its themes and issues are timeless”.
Discuss the play you have seen in performance in the light of this statement
and with reference to one previous time period.
 “Theatre in the 21st century is full of tricks and gimmicks.”
Comment on the play you have seen in production in the light of the above
statement and by reference to one previous time period.
 “Theatre should be about the way we live now, not the way we used to
live.”
Discuss this statement, in the light of the production you have seen, to show
your understanding of how you think the impact of the play has altered since
its original performance.
 “This is the age of the Designer, actors take second place.”
In the light of this statement, discuss the production you have seen in
comparison with its original performance conditions.
 Discuss the effectiveness of the performances in the production you have
seen. How might the acting style in the original performance of the play
have differed
 Discuss the way ideas were communicated to the audience in the
production you saw, comparing it to its original performance conditions.
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