Drama

Why study Drama? 

What is GCSE Drama all about? GCSE Drama provides the opportunity to explore the range of skills involved in creating and performing Drama which includes the creation of original work as well as looking at plays written by other people. You may wish to take a GCSE in Drama for its own sake, perhaps to form the basis of a future interest. Or you might wish to go into a job where it is useful to have had experience of Drama, or where some of the skills developed during this course are needed. We visit the theatre on several trips. This will incur an extra cost but is invaluable to help inform your understanding and appreciation of the theatre making process. 

What does the course involve? 

GCSE Drama follows on from Drama work in Years 7-9. You will develop your improvisation and acting skills to a higher level. You will also look at plays in more detail and look at different ways of bringing a script alive on stage. This course is for those who want to study a subject that is both practical and creative. To enjoy this course, pupils should feel comfortable working as part of a team because Drama involves a lot of group work. 

How is the course assessed? 

The course is in three parts: 

Component 1: Devising 40% (written coursework and practical) 

Devising allows for personal development and exploration. It allows you as a performer and/or designer the opportunity to stretch the limits of your creativity and imagination, while exploring a theme or topic of interest. You will consider the impact that you can make on an audience, as you develop the ideas that you want to communicate. 

Component 2: Text in Performance 20% (practical) 

Performance texts have been at the core of Drama since the inception of theatre. The need to hand down stories has been fundamental to human development and for thousands of years, people have written, performed, watched and enjoyed innumerable plays. Understanding a performance text is fundamental to the subject, as this provides you with opportunities to explore plot, structure, narrative and stories from around the world and from different time periods. It encourages you to develop empathy skills, as you consider different characters and develop methods of communicating ideas and themes. 

Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice 40% (written examination) 

You will explore practically how a complete performance text might be interpreted and realised from page to stage. This exploration will give you an insight into how texts may be brought to life for an audience and the creative roles within this process. You will also analyse and evaluate your experience of a live theatre performance as informed members of the audience. You will develop skills to recognise the meaning created in the theatre space in order to communicate ideas to an audience. This will give you a more critical and varied approach to your own work as a theatre maker. 

What can a GCSE in Drama lead to?  

Many employers are seeking the skills that you will develop in Drama. If you study Drama, you will develop skills in group work, research and negotiation.

What skills does the Art course develop?

Drama is an important tool for preparing you to live and work in a world that is increasingly team-orientated. Drama also helps you to develop tolerance and empathy. In addition to these invaluable skills. 

Drama can reinforce the rest of your school curriculum, helping you with transferable skills such as increasing your ability to think creatively, imaginatively and divergently. You will learn how to think outside the box. 

Drama teaches you how to become critical consumers, rather than just passive viewers. You are expected to question and critique your own and others’ processes and products. You will learn how to rethink, reconsider, replace, refine, redo, reaffirm, reprocess, rewrite and reconceptualise.