Drama

We have high expectations for all our pupils and ensure that every learner is challenged and supported to reach their full potential.

Drama Curriculum

Drama is an artistic, practical and intellectual subject represented by performance. The term is derived from a greek word meaning “action”.

Drama enables the development of various skills and attributes, for example improvisation, interpretation, creativity, collaboration, performance, self-confidence, communication, evaluation and analysis.

Key Stage 3 Drama

The curriculum follows the Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Drama Objective Bank. It takes into account the three modes of activity:

  1.  Making (or creating)
  2.  Performing
  3.  Responding

Broad topics include:

  • Health and Safety
  • Role play – Developing confidence, putting yourself in other peoples shoes
  • Sustaining a role or roles using performance styles
  • Interpreting a role in a coherent way
  • Developing a character
  • Communicating with an audience
  • Creating atmosphere (using sound)
  • Developing Physical and Vocal Skills
  • Gestures
  • Movement
  • Use of space
  • Timing: Speaking and Listening appropriately
  • Levels/Tension/Atmosphere
  • Reading play scripts: Development of Critical Thinking through the understanding of text, sub-text, plot, themes, monologue, dialogue, scene structure and stage directions
  • Writing short play scripts from improvisation work: Character, Setting, Plot
  • Drama Techniques/Strategies – Still Image or Freeze frame, Thought Tracking, Narration
  • Working cooperatively with others in groups: expressing yourself in an active and exciting way, contributing ideas and respecting others
  • Analysis and Evaluation through Self and Peer Assessments

Stimuli include the use of: poetry, artefacts, music, play scripts, television, films, video/DVD, news and/or magazine articles and extracts from literary fiction or non-fiction.

Key Stage 4 Drama

The curriculum follows the Edexcel syllabus specification. The curriculum also references work done in Key Stage 3 above.

Broad topics

Broad topics include:

Practical exploration of change, chance, loss, wars, peace, celebrations, journeys and also involves annotating a play script, role-on-the-wall, writing monologues and dialogues.

Explorative strategies

This experience should help pupils gain a depth and breadth of understanding of the topic, theme or issue. Pupils should be able to evaluate how the strategies helped them gain greater insight into their enquiry.

Examples of explorative strategies are:

  • Still image
  • Thought-tracking
  • Narrating
  • Hot-seating
  • Role play
  • Cross-cutting (movement, mime, space, levels)
  • Forum theatre
  • Marking the moment

Drama medium

This will help pupils develop their explorations and give them the opportunity to see how the application of the drama medium can enhance the communication of the meaning of the topic, theme or issue when recreated in drama form.

Examples of the use of the drama medium are:

  • Costume
  • Make up and/or masks
  • Lighting
  • Sound
  • Space and/or levels
  • Set and/or props
  • Movement, mime and gesture
  • Voice
  • Spoken language

Elements of drama

Pupils should be able to recognise the elements of drama within their work and better understand how these can assist and clarify dramatic form.

Examples of drama elements:

  • Action/plot/content
  • Forms
  • Climax/anti-climax
  • Rhythm/pace/tempo
  • Contrasts/similarities
  • Characterisation
  • Conventions
  • Symbols

The forms of stimuli used include:

  • Poetry
  • Artefacts
  • Music
  • Play scripts
  • Live theatre performance
  • Television, films, video/DVD
  • News and/or magazine articles
  • Extracts from literary fiction or non-fiction

The curriculum follows the Edexcel examination board. There are three units:

Unit 1

Practical exploration of the following:

  • Forms of stimuli
  • Explorative strategies
  • Drama medium
  • Elements of drama

Unit 2

Exploring play texts:

  • Exploration of a character
  • Interpretation of the play
  • Design implication for the play
  • Review of a live theatre performance

Unit 3

Drama performance: Acting skills – pupils rehearse and perform a devised/scripted play performed to an audience including a visiting examiner.

Programme of study

The following explorative strategies help to deepen pupils’ understanding of ideas, character, scene structure and dramatic significance.

  • Still image
  • Thought-tracking
  • Narrating
  • Hot-seating
  • Role play
  • Cross-cutting
  • Forum theatre
  • Marking the moment

The following elements of drama introduce pupils to the grammar of drama, the underpinning structure of drama, forms of drama and methods of dramatic communication.

  • Action/plot/content
  • Forms
  • Climax/anti-climax
  • Rhythm/pace/tempo
  • Contrasts/similarities
  • Characterisation
  • Conventions
  • Symbols

The following drama medium introduces pupils to design forms of drama and how design can support communication of meaning in drama. The medium also introduces pupils to the physical nature of drama and the essential acting techniques.

  • Costume
  • Make up and/or masks
  • Lighting
  • Sound
  • Space and/or levels
  • Set and/or props

The forms of stimuli used include:

  • Poetry
  • Artefacts
  • Music
  • Play scripts
  • Live theatre performance
  • Television, films, video/DVD
  • News and/or magazine articles
  • Extracts from literary fiction or non-fiction