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Name: …………………………………………………………………………………

CEDARWOOD COLLEGE

Grade 12

Dramatic Arts

Preliminary Examination

3 hours

Date: 15 September 2016

Mark Allocation: 150 marks

Assessor: Mr. K. Barnard & Mrs. A. Hicks

Moderator: N. Nyabeni

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Read the questions carefully.

2. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS RELATING TO YOUR PLAY

3. You have 180 minutes (3 hours) to complete this test - use your time wisely.

4. You need to write the answers clearly.

5. Think critically when answering the questions.

6. Pay attention to the mark allocation when answering.

7. Answer all the questions to the best of your ability.

8. Write neatly.

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INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION

1. ANSWER ONLY THE QUESTIONS ON THE DRAMATIC TEXTS YOU HAVE STUDIED.

2. You have been allocated TEN minutes’ reading time before the start of the examination.

3. This question paper consists of FOUR sections:

SECTION A (30 Marks)

SECTION B (40 Marks)

SECTION C (40 Marks)

SECTION D (40 Marks)

4. SECTION A consists of ONE question:

QUESTION 1: THEATRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY

Section A is COMPULSORY.

5. SECTION B consists of TWO questions:

SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: PRE- 1994:

QUESTION 2: Woza Albert!

QUESTION 3: Sophiatown

Answer only ONE question from SECTION B.

6. SECTION C consists of THREE questions:

SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: POST- 1994

QUESTION 4: Nothing but the Truth

QUESTION 5: Groundswell

QUESTION 6: Missing

Answer only ONE question from SECTION C.

7. SECTION D consists of ONE question:

QUESTION 7: APPLY PERSONAL RESOURCES AND REFLECT AND EVALUATE

Section D is COMPULSORY.

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SECTION A: THEATRE IN THE 20TH CENTURY

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE PLAY YOU HAVE STUDIED: EPIC

THEATRE, THEATRE OF THE ABSURD OR POST-MODERN THEATRE.

Refer to the play text you studied and its relevant 20th Century Theatre Movement. Indicate the

play text you have studied at the top of your essay.

QUESTION 1

Discuss in an essay the innovation and creative choices as reflected in the play text you studied. Refer

to the quote and pictures above and the play text you have studied this year. [30]

TOTAL SECTION A: 30

Twentieth Century Theatre is all about

innovation and creative choices.

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SECTION B: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: 1960-1994

QUESTION 2: WOZA ALBERT! BY PERCY MTWA, MBONGENI NGEMA AND BARNEY SIMON

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

PERCY Hey! Beautiful audience, hey? Beautiful musician, ne? Okay, now let us see how beautiful his pass-book is! (To appalled Mbongeni) Your pass!

MBONGENI (Playing for time) Excuse my boss, excuse? What? PERCY (Smugly, to audience with his back to Mbongeni) Okay,

I’ll start again. You know that you are a black man, don’t you?

MBONGENI Yes, my boss. PERCY You live here in South Africa? MBONGENI (Attempting to sidle off-stage behind Percy’s back) Yes, my boss.

PERCY So you know that you must always carry your pass. MBONGENI Yes, my boss. PERCY Okay, now what happens if you don’t have your pass? MBONGENI I go to jail, my boss. PERCY Okay, now what happens if your pass is not in order? MBONGENI (Nearly off stage) I go to jail, my boss. PERCY (Wheels on Mbongeni) H-E-E-EY! Your pass!!!

2.1 Explain the original idea that sparked the creation of this play. (2)

2.2 Describe the various ways the creators of this play obtained material to develop the

performance. (4)

2.3 There are twenty-six scenes in this play and only two actors. How did the actors manage to

portray the various characters? Use examples from the play to support your answer.

(5)

2.4 What is a ‘pass’? (1)

2.5 Why does Woza Albert! use comedy in a production that deals with serious subject

matter? (4)

2.6 Describe how you would stage this scene to emphasise the comic elements. (8)

2.7 Discuss the themes as portrayed in the play. Refer to examples from the whole text. (10) 2.8 Explain how you would perform this scene maximizing vocal and physical

impact. (6) [40]

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QUESTION 3: SOPHIATOWN BY THE JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY

Study the extract below and then answer the questions that follow.

Ruth: What's going on Jakes?

Mingus: You're a bloody good-for-nothing! You whites, you're breaking down all our

houses.

Ruth: I'm doing no such thing!

Mingus: Well, who's doing it?

Fahfee: They came three days early, like tricksters, conmen. They're loading

people onto trucks and nobody's doing a thing. It's pitiful – families

everywhere. They went for the leaders.

Mingus: Ja, white girl – it's your fault!

Ruth: My fault? How can you say a bloody stupid thing like that?

Mingus: What are you doing to stop them?

Ruth: What are you doing? Jakes, tell him to lay off.

(Ruth finds protection behind Jakes, Mingus moves in on her.)

Mingus: Don't cry to Jakes, it's your fathers and uncles and brothers who are

doing this to us.

3.1 The extract highlights the forced removals and final destruction of the once vibrant

Sophiatown. In a paragraph of approximately 200 – 300 words discuss the theme

of forced removals and the effect they had on Mamariti, Fahfee and Charlie.

Refer to examples from the play as a whole. (20)

3.2 Describe Mingus' and Fahfee's reactions to the forced removal as highlighted in the extract.

(4)

3.3 How would you react if you were forcibly removed from your home? (2)

3.4 Discuss whether Mingus is justified in blaming Ruth (line 9) and all whites

(lines 2 – 3) for the forced removals. Motivate your answer. (4)

3.5 Explain and give reasons for the choice of language used in the play by the Junction Avenue

Theatre Company, the creators of Sophiatown. Give examples from the play as a whole.

(6)

3.6 Jakes decides not to continue his relationship with Ruth. Explain how you,

as a teenager living in post-apartheid South Africa, view Jakes' decision. (4)

[40]

TOTAL SECTION B: 40

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SECTION C: UNDERSTAND AND ANALYSE

SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: POST 1994

QUESTION 4: Nothing but the Truth

QUESTION 5: Groundswell

QUESTION 6: Missing

Answer only ONE question from SECTION C.

QUESTION 4: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH BY JOHN KANI

Read the extract below and then answer the questions that follow.

Thando It's funny, every time I try to make you talk about Uncle Themba you change the

subject. All I know about him is what everybody else has told me.

Sipho I've told you everything there is to know.

Thando Were you close?

Sipho With whom?

Thando Uncle Themba.

Sipho He is dead.

Thando I mean before, before he left.

Sipho He is my brother.

Thando He must have been very close to Grandpa. Uncle Themba, that's all he talked about

Sipho Of course my father always talked about Themba. When Themba left the country,

at first my father blamed me for not stopping him.

Thando Really? I never knew that Grandpa felt that way. To me he said he loved you very

much.

Sipho I wish he had told me too.

Thando You mean Grandpa never said he loved you?

Sipho We African men don't find it easy to say that to our sons.

It's taken for granted that we do.

Thando Was Uncle Themba close to Mom?

Sipho What do you mean?

Thando People say they got along very well.

Sipho Who are these people saying these things to you?

Thando Well everybody …

Sipho I suppose they were close, very close. He was my brother.

Thando Why did Uncle Themba go into exile?

Sipho HE LEFT THE COUNTRY! Leave it at that.

4.1 State the relationship between the two characters in the extract. (1)

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4.2 Sipho says he has told Thando 'everything there is to know' about his brother Themba.

What has he told her? (1)

4.3 Using your knowledge of the play as a whole, describe the experiences of love and caring

(family, friendship and romantic love) that Thando and Sipho have had. (8)

4.4 Sipho is speaking specifically about his culture. Motivate whether you think that his

statement can apply to other cultures. (4)

4.5 Sipho clearly has ‘issues’ relating to his childhood. Describe TWO specific incidents in the

play that justifies his feelings. (4)

4.6 Describe TWO specific incidents in the play and explain how BOTH the apartheid and post-

apartheid government failed Sipho. (6)

4.7 Nothing but the Truth is categorised as a Realist play. Examining the structure, dialogue and

staging explain how we can recognise aspects of realism in these dramatic principles.

(12)

4.8 Discuss how Theatre of Reconciliation can help build a better world for all of South Africa.

(4)

[40]

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QUESTION 5: GROUNDSWELL BY IAN BRUCE

Study the sources below and answer the questions that follow.

SOURCE A: A scene from a production of Groundswell

You have been chosen to direct a school production of Groundswell.

5.1 Advise the actor performing the role of Johan in SOURCE A above on how to portray the anger

and aggression required, both vocally and physically. (6)

SOURCE B

GROUNDSWELL – World premiere directed by Heinrich Reisenhofer On the barren, diamond-diving West Coast of South Africa, Johan and Thami, an ex-cop and a gardener from starkly contrasting backgrounds, maintain a beachfront guest lodge during the off-season while looking for a way out. When Smith, a retired businessman, shows up one foggy night, the two men think they've found an ideal investor for their scheme to buy into a government-run diamond concession. Soon, these ruthless men find themselves in a power struggle fuelled by greed, desperation and entitlement. Groundswell is a psychological thriller about hunger and hope and the glittering promises of a transforming society.

[New York Times]

5.2 Using your knowledge of the play and line 2 of the extract describe the 'starkly contrasting

backgrounds' of Johan and Thami. (4)

5.3 Analyse the differences in the characters of Johan and Thami by paying close attention to their

goals, ambitions and hopes for the future. How might this contribute to the dramatic tension

in the play? (6)

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5.4 Explain why the characters and action make this play a 'psychological thriller'. (A psychological

thriller is a story with elements of mystery, drama, action, horror and characters with unstable

emotional states.) (8)

5.5 Give TWO reasons why this play would appeal to an international audience. (4)

5.6 Discuss the statement that Groundswell is a play 'about hunger and hope and the glittering

promises of a transforming society'. Refer to TWO themes in the play to support your answer.

(12)

[40]

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Audience Audience

Audience

Stage

A B C

Audience

Audience

Audience

Stage

Apron

Audie

nce

S t a g e h o u s e

Stag

e

Audie

nce

QUESTION 6: MISSING BY REZA DE WET

You have been chosen to direct a production of Missing for the annual Arts and Culture Festival in

your town.

Study the sources below and answer the questions that follow.

SOURCE A [Source: Oscar E Brockett]

6.1 Name the genre of the play. (1)

6.2 Identify the THREE types of stages labelled A, B and C in SOURCE A above. (3)

6.3 Motivate the stage type you would choose for the theatrical demands of the play.

(6)

SOURCE B

MEISIE: CONSTABLE: MEISIE: CONSTABLE: MEISIE: CONSTABLE: MEISIE:

I ... planted rose trees outside my window. (Silence.) And that's why no one comes to visit. The smell is so terrible. Who would want to drink tea? The flies have got dung all over them. They walk over the cakes and fall in the milk. (Short silence. She smiles.) Last year, Danie Venter came to visit. One Sunday. The wind was blowing the right way, you 5 see. It blew away all the flies and the whole house smelled of roses (Interested.) Yes? And then? (Sadly.) Then the wind changed. (Silence. MEISIE works on her sack.) But don't you go out? The town's not very far away? My mother needs me here. She's only got me. And is there really so much to do here? Yes. I never get all the work done. There's always dust all over everything. The walls are thin and full of cracks, so everything outside comes inside. I dust and sweep, dust and sweep, but it doesn't help. And every day I have to wash and iron, because our clothes smell of dung. And the windows have to be cleaned every day ... Because the flies leave dung-tracks on the glass ... Food, slops-bucket! Sacks! My hands were soft once. Now I've got calluses on my fingertips.

6.4 Describe and motivate the costume you want Meisie to wear in this scene. Explain why this

costume would change at the end of the play. (6)

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6.5 Advise the actor playing Meisie on how to achieve the most effective vocal and physical

performance of her lines in SOURCE B above (lines 12–18). (6)

6.6 As the director, describe the character of Constable to the actor to assist him in playing this

role effectively. (6)

6.7 Missing may be described as a complete play. It takes the audience on a journey of realism,

fantasy, ritualistic elements and, eventually, magic.

Discuss the validity (truth) of the above statement and refer to specific examples in the play.

(12)

[40]

TOTAL SECTION C: 40

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SECTION D: THE HISTORY OF THEATRE, PRACTICAL CONCEPTS, CONTENT AND SKILLS

This question is COMPULSORY.

QUESTION 7

Write a brief explanation of each of the following terms used in theatre.

7.1 Tableau

7.2 Symbolism

7.3 Tab

7.4 Rising Action

7.5 Thrust Stage

7.6 Flat

7.7 Traverse

7.8 Unities

7.9 Fourth Wall

7.10 Vaudeville (10)

Supply definitions for the following:

7.11 Relaxation (3)

7.12 Resonance (2)

Answer the following questions

7.13 Describe how theatre served as social and political commentary in post-apartheid South

Africa with reference to plays being staged. (10)

Write explanatory notes on the influence that the following persons had on twentieth century

theatre.

7.14 Friedrich Nietzsche (3)

7.15 Sigmund Freud (4)

7.16 Carl Jung (4)

7.17 Albert Einstein (4)

[40]

TOTAL SECTION D: 40

GRAND TOTAL: 150