Year 12AS Drama & Theatre Studies

Unit 1: Exploration of Drama & TheatreYou will be expected to:

Take part in workshops to explore both texts practically.

Complete a page in the booklet for BOTH texts* for each of the following headings following on from the workshop: Language

Non-verbal communication

Vocal awareness

Characterisation

The social, cultural, historical and political context

The visual, aural and spatial elements of a production

Interpretation The response to a practitioner*

(*Practitioner is only for ONE text) Complete research and reading tasks related to the texts.

Use your blog to record and develop your ideas for the Exploration Notes

Overview of dates

Sep-Nov: Complete all workshops on both texts. Unit 1 booklet to be completed alongside Blog.

Oct/Nov: See a production to complete a theatre reviewDec: Controlled conditions to complete Exploration Notes (3000 words) and Theatre Review (1000 words)Jan: Final redraft of Unit 1 work. Final submission.

Unit 1 Overview: Exploration of Drama & Theatre

Being Ready

So much of the success of your A-level course is about starting off on the right foot. Make sure you:

Come ready to learn. We will be active so being bleary eyed or yawning is no use!

Come dressed to do drama. At A-level who knows what you may end up doing, so make sure you have suitable clothing. Nothing to tight or too revealing!

Have your equipment at all times pens and paper, drama folder, and BOTH your scripts.

Keep up to date with homework. If you have a problem make sure you see your teacher before the next lesson. Dont be tempted to bury your head in the sand!

What will I be assessed on?

1. Practical work in lessons on both texts. Ongoing assessment. Mark out of 25. 2. Exploration Notes. 3000 word document under 8 headings on both texts. Mark out of 20.3. Theatre Review. 1000 words. Mark out of 15. What will happen in lessons?

You will complete a number of practical activities using the two texts. These will focus on the 8 headings you will need to complete work on for your Exploration Notes document. These are:

Language

Non-verbal communication

Vocal awareness

Characterisation

The social, cultural, historical and political context

The visual, aural and spatial elements of a production

The response to a practitioner

InterpretationYou need to be aware that ALL lessons will impact on your overall mark out of 25 and you must be consistent across the activities and across the texts. The mark scheme is as follows:

Practical Exploration CriteriaMarks

Students practical exploration of the texts is outstanding. Involvement and creativity in all practical tasks is consistently committed and focused. They are able to demonstrate accuracy and comprehensive understanding of the themes and issues in both texts.17-25

Students practical exploration of the texts is excellent with sustained engagement in all practical tasks. Their detailed knowledge and understanding of the main themes and issues in both texts is communicated effectively through all practical activities.16-20

Students practical exploration of the texts is good with clear engagement in a range of practical activities. They are able to demonstrate a good grasp of the texts, main themes and issues through the confident application of practical activities.11-15

Students practical exploration of the texts is adequate with some engagement in practical activities. They may be stronger on one text than the other and may not always be able to demonstrate their understanding clearly in a practical workshop.6-10

Students practical exploration of the texts is limited. They often misunderstand the focus of a practical activity or are unable to communicate their intentions. Interaction and co-operation with others can be inconsistent.0-5

You must keep careful notes on ALL the work you complete in class. Teachers will set homework in the form of notes of questions, as well as research tasks and reading of the texts. Make sure you keep up with this. You will need all your notes to compile your Exploration Notes at the end of the practical study. It is very difficult to write about something you did weeks ago so careful note taking is very important. How will I complete the Exploration Notes?

There are 4 main stages to the exploration notes.

1. Keep all your notes from every lesson in the work booklet. You may also be asked to complete work on your Drama Blog. The better your organisation, the easier the process will be.

2. In December there will be some lessons and set times after school to complete the Exploration Notes in Controlled Conditions. The notes will be compiled in a word document and developed into a written evaluation. These can NOT be completed at home or outside of the allotted times.

3. Over Christmas your finished document will be comment marked by a teacher and returned to you for ONE final redraft in January.

4. There will be a deadline in early January for all Notes and Theatre Reviews, which must be submitted in the appropriate format and word counted.

Mark Scheme for Exploration NotesMarks

Students Exploration Notes show an outstanding knowledge and understanding of both texts explored. Practical observations are embedded in their notes, which are accurate, concise, analytical and well researched.17-20

Students Exploration Notes show an excellent understanding of both texts explored. There will be supported examples of the students own practical work and this will be shown in accurate, detailed comments.13-16

Students Exploration Notes show a good understanding of the texts explored. There will be a balanced response towards both texts with clear references to the students own practical work.9-12

Students Exploration Notes show an adequate understanding of the texts explored. There may be a tendency to regurgitate class notes and the work may be bland and repetitive. There will be very little sense of the students own practical exploration.5-8

Students Exploration Notes are limited in terms of content and understanding. There will be limited connection to the students own exploration work and possibly errors and inaccuracies.0-4

Someone mentioned blogging?

Yes we did! You will all set up a blog that will contain all your notes from the lessons. This way they will never get lost, your teachers can comment on what you are doing well and what you need to improve on and you can share ideas with the rest of the class.

It will be your responsibility to make sure your blog is secure and only shared with the class. We will show you how to set this up, but ultimately it will be down to you to keep your blog private.

And the Theatre Review?

You will have to write a 1000 word review on a piece of live theatre. There will be a performance we see some time in October/November. We will discuss and plan the review in class. You will draft a version for comment marking by your teacher. This will then be submitted alongside the Exploration Notes in December and an opportunity for ONE redraft will be available in January.

Theatre Review Mark SchemeMarks

Students evaluation of a live theatre performance is outstanding. They are fully aware of a wide range of production values and are able to analyse the effect this may have on an audience. Supported examples are detailed and reported with almost faultless accuracy.13-15

Students evaluation of a live theatre performance is excellent. Production values are clearly understood and their significance is both analysed and evaluated. Detailed examples are relevant and accurate.10-12

Students evaluation of a live theatre performance is good. They understand how production values contribute to the performance overall and are able to evaluate what theyve seen with clear, detailed examples.7-9

Students evaluation of a live theatre performance is adequate. They are able to distinguish between the play and the production and comment on some aspects of what theyve seen, making simple evaluative comments.4-6

Students evaluation of a live theatre performance is limited. They may have focused on the play rather than the production. It will be heavily reported with little, or no evaluation.0-3

And then what happens?

The reason we complete most of Unit 1 before Christmas is because it is worth 40% of the course. Unit 2 is worth 60% of your final grade and therefore we like to give Unit 2 60% of the teaching time.

We will expect you to choose and learn a monologue over the Christmas holidays to start rehearsal in January. The Unit 2 exam is normally split over two exam sessions depending of the class size. First session (February) this will be your monologue or duologue

Second session (May) this will be your group performance.

Traditionally Unit 2 is marked vigorously to allow it to have the same weight of qualification as a written exam. Although most students really enjoy Unit 2, and that is important, it is worth remembering that it is an exam and will be demanding. The work will be intensive, but almost entirely practical. You are expected to use all you have learnt in Unit 1 about exploring a text to apply to your performances in Unit 2.

How will I know I am doing ok?

Although the style of lessons will change at A-level, very little changes in terms of how we assess and feedback to you. Homework and class work may be graded OT or BT. You should look to rewrite or improve on BT work. You will receive formal written feedback for all 3 elements of the assessment (Exploration Notes, practical work and theatre review.) This will include targets to help you improve. There will be a lot of verbal feedback throughout lessons that will also help you.

As a word of warning A-level students are not immune to detentions and phone calls home. They are a sure sign things arent going as well as expected and should be avoided!

Unit 1: A02 Practical Exploration

NAME: Week Beginning: OutstandingExcellentGoodAdequateLimited

Enthusiasm and focus throughout the lesson

Evidence of secure understanding of the text

Evidence of wider reading to support work in class

Commitment to practical exploration though a range of tasks

Contribution to group discussions

Contribution to practical work is creative and insightful

Week Beginning: OutstandingExcellentGoodAdequateLimited

Enthusiasm and focus throughout the lesson

Evidence of secure understanding of the text

Evidence of wider reading to support work in class

Commitment to practical exploration though a range of tasks

Contribution to group discussions

Contribution to practical work is creative and insightful

Week Beginning: OutstandingExcellentGoodAdequateLimited

Enthusiasm and focus throughout the lesson

Evidence of secure understanding of the text

Evidence of wider reading to support work in class

Commitment to practical exploration though a range of tasks

Contribution to group discussions

Contribution to practical work is creative and insightful

Week Beginning: OutstandingExcellentGoodAdequateLimited

Enthusiasm and focus throughout the lesson

Evidence of secure understanding of the text

Evidence of wider reading to support work in class

Commitment to practical exploration though a range of tasks

Contribution to group discussions

Contribution to practical work is creative and insightful

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of practical and theoretical aspects of drama and theatre using appropriate terminology.

Week Beginning: OutstandingExcellentGoodAdequateLimited

Enthusiasm and focus throughout the lesson

Evidence of secure understanding of the text

Evidence of wider reading to support work in class

Commitment to practical exploration though a range of tasks

Contribution to group discussions

Contribution to practical work is creative and insightful

Mark Scheme

21-25Students practical exploration of the texts is outstanding. Involvement and creativity in all practical tasks is consistently committed and focused. They are able to demonstrate accuracy and comprehensive understanding of the themes and issues in both texts.

16-20Students practical exploration of the texts is excellent with sustained engagement in all practical tasks. Their detailed knowledge and understanding of the main themes and issues in both texts is communicated effectively through all practical activities.

11-15Students practical exploration of the texts is good with clear engagement in a range of practical activities. They are able to demonstrate a good grasp of the texts, main themes and issues through the confident application of practical activities.

6-10Students practical exploration of the texts is adequate with some engagement in practical activities. They may be stronger on one text than the other and may not always be able to demonstrate their understanding clearly in a practical workshop.

0-5Students practical exploration of the texts is limited. They often misunderstand the focus of a practical activity or are unable to communicate their intentions. Interaction and co-operation with others can be inconsistent.`

Teacher Comment:

Oedipus Notes Page use this for general notes taken from the lesson

A Streetcar Named Desire Notes Page use this for general notes taken from the lesson

Reading List

You will see form the assessment sheet that you will be required to do reading and research OUTSIDE of the lesson and homework that is set. This can often seem quite daunting as at GCSE almost all your work will have been directed by your teacher. We have completed a reading list with books that may be useful to you and suggestions for where to start.

Reading little and often is often more useful that trying to get through one complete book. With many books you often only need to one or two chapters to get the information you want. We are not expecting you to read all the books cover to cover!

When you make notes make sure you write which book they came from in case you need to refer back to it at a later date.

These are books owned by the Drama Department that you can borrow.

Greek TheatreTennessee Williams

Practitioners The Stanislavski Complete Toolkit The Complete Brecht Toolkit Other The Frantic Assembly; Book of devising theatre. Graham, Scott. Hoggett, Steven. (792)Furthermore you should be reading plays widely, both classic and modern. We also have a wide range of scripts to borrow this might help you prepare for Unit 2 and is a nice alternative to reading a novel (and often much shorter!)

CharacterNAME:

FORM:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Language OedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Non-Verbal CommunicationOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Vocal AwarenessOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

CharacterisationOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

S,C,H,P ContextOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Visual, Aural, SpatialOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

InterpretationOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

PractitionerOedipusDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Language StreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Non-Verbal CommunicationStreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Vocal AwarenessStreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

CharacterisationStreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

S,C,H,P ContextStreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Visual, Aural, SpatialStreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

InterpretationStreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due:

Give specific examples of what you personally and you as a group DID. Refer to SKILLS used and specific moments in the text.

What ideas did we have? What did we actually DO?

Key words:

What did I learn? How did it make me think differently about the text/characters?

What was the task set? What were my thoughts about it before the activity? What did I know already?

Practitioner StreetcarDate set:

Page/scene numbers:Date Due: