Drama

This course aims to develop your confidence and group skills and explore ideas through speech, movement and performance. You will play many parts in different imaginary situations. You will create your own work as well as looking at plays written by other people. There is a strong emphasis upon group work and commitment along with an excellent attendance record. drama

What will I learn?

As well as developing your improvisation and acting skills to a higher level, you will also study a play in more detail and look at different ways of bringing it to life on stage. The course is in three parts:

You will use drama to express your feelings and ideas about a range of issues.
You will study a play to see how a playwright expresses their ideas about a theme or topic and how the play works on stage.
Performance. You can perform an extract from a published play or create your own improvisation in a group to perform. Or you can take the technical option from either lighting/sound set design or costume and makeup.

What sort of homework will I be set?

As in Year 9, you will be set practical homework and written homework. A practical homework might be developing a role, attending an extra rehearsal, or learning lines. For a written homework, you might be asked to evaluate a piece of work or use diagrams and writing to explain how you used a specific drama skill in the lesson.

What coursework will I need to do?

Practical work makes up the majority of coursework and is supported by a written portfolio of work. In your final year you will be examined in the lesson on two different workshop sessions lasting approximately 1/2 a term each. In one workshop you will explore a play and take part in a number of exercises to enhance and develop your understanding of the play. In another workshop, you will explore an issue using a variety of texts. For both of these, you will be examined on your practical work and your written portfolio. You will also take part in a performance to an external examiner.

How will my work be assessed?

The examination for GCSE Drama is a practical performance that is worth 40% of the final grade. The workshop sessions, as outlined above, account for 60% of the final mark.

Your final GCSE grade will depend on:

Paper 1	Using Drama to explore issues	60% - Both practical and written
	Study of a published play
Paper 2	Performance / technical	40%

What qualification will I gain?

GCSE: Drama - Exam Board: EDEXCEL (Syllabus 1699)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION–ASK YOUR DRAMA TEACHER