GCSE Guidance

7/23/2019 GCSE Guidance

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GCSE AQA

Drama Exam

Guidance and

preparation



The frst question is about the devised

work is broken into our components

In each section you must make clear that

you were an actor in the play and that all

choices made were with this in mind

Describe This section clearly asks for

clarication on the structure and design of your

play

Exp!ain – This section wants you to explain what

rehearsal techniques were used and how they

developed you character

Ana!"se – This section wants you to analyse an

issue that came from you preparatory work

(Rehearsal) specically describe the choice you

made to overcome the issue

Eva!uate – This section wants you to evaluate a

success from you nal performance – and

specically outline how you achieved this success



Describe

Describe what "our piece was about# state

the period# st"!e and $enre# "our tar$et

audience the perormance space and an"

technica! or desi$n e!ements used %&'

marks(

To gain the ten marks you must answer the

components of this question clearly and concisely using

!!"

The seven things that must be answered to gain the

marks in this section are#$

%$

&$

'$

$

$

$

)e" words – *hat will be essential to achieving your

marks+



Describe

!ynopsis – (What was it about? What were the key themes?

Imagine this a blurb for your play )

,eriod - (In what century is your plays set and why make thatchoice? Why was modern day important +)

!tyle - (Is it naturalistic or non-naturalistic? If its naturalistic

what Drama practitioner does it link to – and vice versa with a

non-naturalistic style+)



.enre - (Was it comedy, drama, thriller, try to give details if

the genre changed during as why this was important +)

Target /udience - (Who would be most aected by your

performance? !ge ranges, gender etc")

,erformance !pace - (What type of staging was your play

performed on, and why )



Technical0 1esign elements - (Did you use #ound and lights,

if so give brief outline of why$

Exp!ain

Exp!ain how "ou app!ied "our ski!! as an

actor in the ear!" sta$es o preparin$ thispiece o work to he!p create an en$a$in$

piece o drama $ive at !east one examp!e

%&' *arks(

To achieve the ten marks for this question you must

explain the initial choices you made for the play –

constantly referring back to your intent to create anengaging piece of 1rama given the stimuli

Remember as this is a performance based question you

should answer with !ub2ect !pecic "ocabulary

explaining in as much detail as possible as the dramatic

techniques you used to achieve your intent

To gain the marks you must answer the followingquestions



#$

%$

&$


marks+

Exp!ain

Research into character or storyline - (%&plain what

research you did and how it impacted upon your overall

performance or story structure)



Rehearsal techniques - (What rehearsal techni'ues did you

do and how did this impact on the performance of your

character – link to #tanislavskian skill where necessary?)

3mpact of rehearsal - ((ow you have described a rehearsal

techni'ue you must now make clear how this aected you )nal

performance" What did this rehearsal techni'ue do to your

portrayal of the character )



Ana!"se

Ana!"se how "ou deve!oped "our own ski!!

to tack!e prob!ems+ ,ou shou!d reer to at

!east one occasion in the preparation period

when "ou used "our actin$ ski!!s to



overcome at !east one specifc prob!em %&'

*arks(

To achieve the ten marks you must rst recognise a

problem that arose from your rehearsal problem – and

the give details about how you overcame this problem

using the skills you have attained





This question is split into two clear components

#$

%$


marks+

Ana!"se

,roblem –(*ow did you establish that there was an issue and



why was it a problem? Did it con+ict with your overall message,

character design, story structure, actors intent or not ful)lling

the criteria set out?)



Resolution - (ou must fully e&plain your steps in resolving

the problem that arose from your rehearsal process – What did

you do )rst? Dont .ust say you )&ed it" /sing the various performance skills you have, research or devising skills how did

you tackle the problem and eventually overcome it to put your

group and own dramatic intent back on track )



Eva!uate

Eva!uate "our success in creatin$ en$a$in$

drama or "our audience throu$h the

app!ication o "our specifc ski!! as an actor+

,ou shou!d support "our answer with

reerence to at !east one particu!ar momentrom the fna! perormance %&' *arks(

To achieve the ten marks for this question you must

clearly state how you achieved the goals set out in the

previous sections – it should explain in detail how you

were successful

Remember as this is a performance based question

you should answer with !ub2ect !pecic "ocabulary




#$

%$


marks+



Eva!uate

4reation of engaging drama – (Why were you successful in

you attempts to make engaging drama – *ow did you achieve

your intent" *ow do you know you achieve your intent based on

the audience?)



!pecic !uccessful ,art - (%valuate the success of the

speci)c part of the play – speci)cally 'uoting the performance

skills used in as much detail as possible?$



The second question is about the

scripted work is broken into two

questions ou must choose to which two parts to answer – DO NOT ANSWER ALL

FOUR "

5ust complete the following two questions – using

the script and quoting lines directly



Exp!ain This section clearly asks you to explain

the vocal and physical skills you used in creating

character$

Ana!"se – This section wants you to analyse how

using your performance skills you created a

relationship with another character in the play

Exp!ain

Exp!ain how "ou deve!oped both "our voca!

and "our ph"sica! ski!!s durin$ rehearsa!s to

create a character that was appropriate to

"our $roup-s interpretation o the p!a"

script+ Give c!ear detai!s o "our research#rehearsa! and other preparation work that

he!ped "ou understand and perorm "our

character %.' *arks(

To achieve the %6 marks you must rst establish how

you approached the character you were given and

follow that up with how they developed over time








#$%$


marks+

Eva!uate

7xperimentation of vocal and physical skills – (What

e&periments of vocal and physical skills did you do at )rst, and

how did it link to your groups interpretation of the play )



Rehearsal and development - (When you started

rehearsing properly what did you do to improve? *ow did you

continue to establish your version of the character during the

rehearsal up until you performed? *ow did rehearsals and

research help? )



Ana!"se

Ana!"se "our success in demonstratin$ "our

characters attitudes to and/or re!ationships

with other characters on sta$e at particu!ar

moments+ ,ou shou!d reer to at !east one



specifc section o the p!a" and $ive c!ear

support or "our answer %.' *arks(

To achieve the %6 marks you must rst establish how

you approached the character you were given and

follow that up with how they developed over time






#$

%$


marks+

Ana!"se

8ou characters relationship with another - (What in the

play or the storyline gives you this impression – how did you

interpret the lines of the play to develop this characteristic )



9ow the relationship was shown 0 (What performance

skills were used by you to achieve your intent? *ow did every



techni'ue used add to your interpretation of the te&t? )



To achieve the best possib!e $rade "ou

must use sub1ect specifc vocabu!ar" to

enhance "our answer+

Terms and defnitions

Body as prop – :sing your body to construct inanimate

ob2ects; using % or more people

Freeze frames – <ro=en action where the actors must remain

completely still; shows a specic moment in time

Choral Spea!"# – >ore than % people speak at the same

time for theatrical impact

Choral $o%eme"t – >ore than % people moving at the same

time for theatrical impact

&ocal 'ro(ect!o" – ?eing able to speak loud and clearly (@ot

!houting)

Fac!al E)press!o"s – :sing the face to demonstrate emotionssuch as surprise; grief; happiness

*esture – :sing your hands to emphasise a point or send a

message

'osture – The way in which someone stands to demonstrate

levels of condence

Le%els – 9aving actors on stage either standing; sitting; orlying down for dynamic eAect

Sta#!"# – *hat props or ob2ects are on stage to create a scene

$o%eme"t – The way in which an actor moves around the

stage in keeping with their characteristics

Body La"#ua#e – The way in which someone uses their body

to show their characteristics

+mpro%!sat!o" – >aking up the work as you go along



$!me – 3nstead of using words; using action and the body to

tell a story

Cl!mact!c E%e"t – / point in a play that has been worked

towards from the beginning; having huge impact

Themes – 4haracters; emotions; and situations explored during

the play

Structure – The design of the play 7$g ?eginning; middle; end

Sy"ops!s – a brief outline of the story of the play

Character B!o#raphy – /n 23 DE4T5 look at the past;

present; and future of a character$ 3ncluding all aspects of theirlife

S!lls – /cting techniques used by the performer to display

intent

Spoe" Thou#ht – 1uring the free=e frame a character voices

their opinions about a situation

Theatre of the A,surd - / piece of theatre that doesnBt followstructure; design; or character

$o"olo#ue – *here one character on stage speaks their inner

feelings to the audience; or out loud

Duolo#ue – *here two characters have a conversation on

stage – usually helps the story forward

*e"re – The diAerent types of story that can be used 7$.

9orror; Romance; Thriller; 4omedy

St!mul! – The stimulus used to help create the work; pictures;

stories; songs e$t$c

De%!sed -or – / piece of work that has been created using a

stimuli; theme; or topic$ This work is rehearsed

'rota#o"!st – The main character of a piece (:sually

described as the good guy)



A"ta#o"!st - The main villain in the piece (:sually described

as the bad guy)

Scr!pted 'erforma"ce – The performance of a script (*hole

play or a section)

No".L!"ear T!mel!"e – / piece of theatre; where the events

do not follow a chronological structure

Dy"am!c !"te"t – The eAect that the performers would like the

audience to experience

/u)tapos!t!o" – 9aving action on stage where the sound is

performed behind the audience; then vice versa

'ro)em!cs – Relationships on stage demonstrated through

distance in space

To"al!ty – :sing the various tones of the voice to demonstrate

emotions; anger; upset; 2oy or shock

'hys!cal Theatre – Theatre that uses the body to help tell the

story; usually using mime; body as prop; and choral movement

$a#!c +f – /sking how you would react to a certain situation;

and using that to help your performance

D!rect Aud!e"ce Address – *here an actor breaks the fourth

wall and speaks to the audience directly

Cathart!c E)per!e"ce – The emotional 2ourney that the

audience experience when they see a piece of emotional

theatre

6ther useu! 7ords



Documents

GCSE Guidance