Theatre Studies is a study of theatre in all its different aspects; pupils learn to approach it from the point of view of an actor, a designer, a director, as well as that of a audience member and a critic. Our course aims to supply two needs; firstly, to prepare young actors, directors and designers for further training and a career in the profession, and secondly, to enable other pupils to develop their interest in and enjoyment of theatre, through development of theatre skills within their own practice and through experience as informed audience members. Pupils learn how to improvise and devise, how to work with scripts, they study a range of plays and the work of major theatre practitioners; they also see a range of live theatre and write about these performances. The course is suitable for anyone who enjoys and is interested in theatre – onstage, backstage, or in the audience.
The Drama and Theatre Studies department at King Edward’s School teaches drama from Year 7 through to GCSE and A-Level, as well as producing one whole school play and several examinations throughout the year.
Years 7 and 8
The course, in accordance with Key Stage 3 requirements, involves all the pupils in the school in all three areas of dramatic work; making, performing and responding. They will learn to experiment with different dramatic styles, to develop skills necessary to improvise, devise, role-play and work with scripts, and to reflect on and evaluate both their own work and the performance of others. The examinations at the end of years 7 and 8 involve all pupils in the production of short plays, the best of which are showcased for parents and friends.
Year 9
This last year of whole-school teaching involves everyone in the art of film making; students learn how to create a treatment, a shooting script and a story-board, and how to shoot, edit and display their own films. The examination at the end of the year will showcase the best films for parents and friends.
This introductory course lays the foundation for more complex drama work at GCSE and A-Level, teaches pupils how to develop into critical and responsive audiences and above all, begins the emotional, creative and imaginative education which drama so uniquely provides.
Years 10 and 11
Board GCSE
Theatre Studies Edexcel 1699
GCSE Drama follows the new EDEXCEL syllabus, and consists of two papers.
Paper I: Drama Coursework 60%
Teacher-assessed practical work supported by a portfolio of documentary evidence
Unit I: Drama Exploration I:
Drama work based on stimuli of several different kinds, play-texts, other literature, articles, artefacts, music, art, etc, is assessed by a practical workshop lasting six hours and by a portfolio of work comprising essays, design-work, script-writing, based on the body of work done within the workshop. This workshop will take place at the beginning of the Autumn Term of Year 11.
Unit 2: Drama Exploration II:
Drama work based on in-depth study of one dramatic text, is assessed by a practical workshop lasting six hours and by a portfolio of documentary evidence of the way in which the play has been explored in the form of essays, design work etc. This workshop will take place in the last half of the Autumn Term of Year 11.
Paper 2: Drama Performance 40%
A devised or scripted full performance of a play, externally examined by a visiting examiner in March to May of Year II. For this paper students may choose to be examined either as actors or as costume, mask, make-up, set, lighting or sound designers.
In preparation for these assessments, students will spend the first two terms becoming familiar with dramatic strategies such as improvisation, devising, working with scripts, still images, thought-tracking, narrating, hot-seating, role-play, cross-cutting, forum-theatre, marking the moment etc. They will also be introduced to the use of costume, masks, make-up, sound, music, lighting, space, set and props, movement, mime and gesture, voice, and spoken language. They will learn to understand the mechanics of plot, dramatic forms, climax and anti climax, rhythm, pace and tempo, contrasts, characterisation, conventions and symbols in drama. In the course of this, they will be working with a wide range of stimuli. Although actual plays, taken from all areas of theatre, will be their main textural base, they will also be working with poetry, artefacts (photographs, pictures, masks, props, costume, sculpture, object d’art), music, videos, articles, and literary fiction.
They will also be given the opportunity to see at least two live performances a term. For the purposes of the course it is essential that they see as much live theatre as possible.
Year 12 and 13
The A Level syllabus is exciting, demanding and energetic, involving the study of at least six texts, three actual performances, numerous theatre trips and much original research, as well as practical workshops in design, lighting, sound, fight, movement, acting and voice. Training is fight is a highly unusual feature of this school’s course.
Year 12
Board AS
Theatre Studies Edexcel 8113
Term I:
Unit 1: Exploration of Drama and Theatre:
Resulting in a coursework portfolio of essays and design work internally assessed and externally moderated.
Students begin their practical drama lessons and are introduced to the forms, genres and conventions of drama. They begin their work on physical theatre, fight and movement, are briefed on the technical aspects of design and lighting, sound and set design by Mr Rendell, and study the two texts through a series of practical and academic workshops. They are examined on the basis of the Exploration Notes they create and on their work done during the series of examined practical workshops on each play.
Term 2:
Unit 2: Text in Performance 1: externally assessed one and a quarter hour performance.
Students are given the text of a play, chosen by themselves, which they produce under the direction of Mrs Curtis as an examined performance, acting as either performers or designers.
Term 3:
Unit 3: Text in context I: Two hour written paper.
Students analyse and evaluate the play they have performed in Unit 2, studying its social and historical relevance, the issues it explores, its structure, language and genre, and the efficacy of their own production. They also evaluate and finalise notes on the productions they have seen throughout the year which have already been analysed textually, studied from the point of view of directorial interpretation, design and performance and discussed in class as they were seen.
Year 13
Board A
Theatre Studies Edexcel 9113
Term 4:
Unit 4: Devising: Internally assessed, externally moderated performance 15 – 45 minutes in length.
Working as a group, the students devise their own original piece of drama in response to a stimulus set by the centre, exploring a different genre to that of the play performed in Units 2 or 5. They are encouraged to extend their knowledge of drama and theatre through research and experimentation, having been taught how to write, direct and design as well as organise and produce this piece. They are expected to make full use of the technical resources available in the school theatre. As well as the performance, they are expected to produce their own structured records of their contribution.
Unit 5: Text in Performance II: Externally assessed practical examination.
Students take part in a workshop production of a text working as directors, performers or designers, which they perform in front of a visiting examiner.
Unit 6: Text in Context II. Written examination (Two and a half hours)
Section A: Students will study The Trojan Women by Euripides or The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay looking at structure, language, stagecraft, social, historical and cultural background, contemporary significance, and the planning of a production of this play.
Section B: Students will study the production history of a Shakespearean text – The Winter’s Tale last year – analysing the text itself, and then considering the original performance conditions, a 19th century production, a 20th century production, and a contemporary live performance, doing their own background research on the performance conditions and the directorial interpretations. Choice of text will depend partly on what plays are being produced at the RSC and the National in any given year.
Enriched Curriculum
We take students to several theatre trips every term. Although some are aimed at specific year groups in the sense that they are tailored for the work they are doing that term, any student is, of course free to go on as many trips as he or she wishes.
The minimum is two trips per term for Years 10 and 11. This means that by the end of the course they will have experienced at least twelve evenings at the theatre.
This part of the course is vital to their development as drama students, as it gives them first hand knowledge of many different kinds of contemporary productions, and production methods, and shows them what can ultimately be done with techniques they learn themselves, such as working with masks and mime, devising, etc. It also, of course, keeps them aware of the excitement of live performance, and turns them into enthusiastic and discriminating audiences, having acquired a habit which will hopefully stay with them throughout their adult lives.
