Drama
CLASS DRAMA
Drama is taught to all girls from Upper III to Lower IV as a discrete subject for one period per week. In Upper IV, Drama is taught as a double period in rotation with Music, where both Performing Arts benefit from the extended time in which to explore and perform work.
Drama is offered as an option at GCSE and at AS and A level (Drama and Theatre Studies). Drama a very popular subject and benefits from close support from the English curriculum, where Drama is often used to deepen and broaden the understanding of texts and for Speaking and Listening exercises, and also from extra-curricular productions and activities such as the large number of girls who take LAMDA Speech and Drama lessons and take part in the Debating Society.
LOWER AND MIDDLE SCHOOL
Group Dynamics and Social skills
Girls are led to expect and adapt to a variety of working situations from individual work, through pairs, to small-group and whole-group activities. The most useful Drama work, in the broadest sense, usually occurs when girls are working in random, or teacher-determined groupings. There may well be times when girls are given the opportunity to choose a partner for a paired activity but then the teacher places those pairs with others to form small groups.
This can be particularly useful to help support any girls who seem to become easily marginalised, either through a lack of confidence or language difficulties, perhaps in the case of girls for whom English is a second language.
Process and Performance
Girls come to understand that drama work doesn't always culminate in a performance of every element; some exercises are for experiencing rather than showing to an audience.
They are also led to an understanding that presenting work to each other doesn't just involve the group who are performing but that critical awareness as a member of the audience is equally important. Girls are encouraged to understand the need for supportive and respectful audience discipline and to avoid unhelpful breaking of the concentration and belief of the performers at all times.
Continuing from Upper III, the lesson is used to introduce girls to a range of basic skills, both Drama/Theatre specific and the social co-operative methods of working that will lay the foundation for future development.
In the Middle School, the emphasis is on developing devising and performance skills which will be useful for future presentation work, and of particular value for those who take the subject at GCSE, particularly in Upper IV with the introduction of double periods.
GCSE DRAMA
Drama at St. Mary’s is an exciting, creative and rewarding subject which brings you many experiences and skills which not only improve your ability in and understanding of Drama but also help your confidence and progress in other subjects as well.
We follow the new AQA Drama specification. There are two main parts to the assessment of the GCSE:
Practical Work (60%)
Practical work is usually acting, though design skills, such as Costume, Make-up, Set, Lighting and Sound and many others can also be studied.
There are two main types of practical work that we do:
* Scripted work
* Unscripted work
Girls are encouraged to experiment with a range of theatrical styles as they develop their performances.
We normally manage two assessments in each category, with the best mark from each being put forward at the end of the course. Each assessment is marked for preparation/ development and rehearsal of the work (out of 15) and final performance (out of 45). Girls will keep a diary of the rehearsal process which, as well as helping them reflect on the progress, or problems in their work, also forms the basis for part of the written exam.
Written Exam (40%) 1 hour 30mins
You answer two questions, from a choice, out of three sections:
* Practical work completed during the course
* Study and performance of a scripted play or
* Response to 'live productions' seen during the course – we go on theatre trips and make notes on the acting and design skills that we see.
As well as developing confidence and acting skills, you also learn to operate the lighting and sound equipment for a more complete understanding of the production process. Group work is essential, so being able to get along with others when working under pressure develops tolerance and self-discipline.
AS AND A LEVEL DRAMA AND THEATRE STUDIES (AQA)
This highly creative course helps girls to get a real understanding of the skills required to
take a written play or a theme and produce it in an appropriate theatrical style.
At AS, we study one set play for part of the written examination(currently Ibsen’s A Doll’s House), concentrating on the interpretation of the play from a performance perspective, as directors, designers and actors. The second part of the exam is based on live productions seen during the course.
At A2, two set plays are studied for the written exam,(one pre-Twentieth Century
(currently The Recruiting Officer, by George Farquar), and one Twentieth Century or Contemporary Drama (Our Country’s Good, by Timberlake Wertenbaker), which work really well together, as ‘Our Country’s Good’ features rehearsals for a performance of ‘The Recruiting Officer’!The written exam is worth 60% of the marks at AS and A2.
At both AS and A2, one of the two units is assessed by a practical exam (40%). Here, the girls work in small groups and have complete responsibility for the shows that they present and are assessed on acting, design or directing skills, as they wish.
At AS, the presentation is from an existing published play; this helps build the skills and experience needed to create their own devised drama at A2. In both cases, the girls also submit production notes that outline the skills they have been perfecting and how they have been influenced in developing their theatrical style.
The girls are taken to a range of productions so that they can experience the rich diversity of theatrical styles in which they might wish to work.
In both years, as well as being the obvious choice for anyone interested in the Performing Arts or the Media, the benefits of taking this course extend way beyond the world of Drama and Theatre. Girls grow in confidence, not only in presentation and communication skills but also in problem solving and in working with others – excellent transferable skills of great value at university and beyond, as independent and confident individuals.
