Drama
Drama
Head of Department: Ms Waine at: SWaine@woolwichpoly.co.uk
A successful Poly Dramatist is someone who can interpret the world through someone else’s eyes. He can decipher a text and will be able to reason why the playwright has made the decisions they have. He understands how to portray emotions and current affairs as well as being able to analyse why his character feels and acts the way he does. He understands that he must be able to write about his ideas as well as perform them, he can evaluate and justify decisions made both in performance and rehearsal. He works well in a team and can support others through the decision-making process, drawing on ideas from a range of practitioners and genres which will challenge and stretch him as a dramatist.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum
At KS3 we study many different styles and genres of theatre including Greek Theatre, Shakespeare, Physical Theatre and Commedia D’Ell Arte. We try to give our students as broad a range of practitioners and styles as we can, which lead them well if they choose to study GCSE Drama. We encourage students to make links between the past and present through Drama as well as showcasing their hopes for the future. Students are encouraged to use peer feedback as much as possible and work independently as well as in groups. Students will learn a range of skills that they will use in other subjects such as English, History and EBC. We focus on building confidence and engaging students in a creative and imaginative curriculum.
support materials and useful links
BBC Bitesize has some really useful content and clarification of terms. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/drama/
Key Stage 4 Curriculum
Eduqas GCSE Drama
We follow the Eduqas exam board. Our students usually choose the acting skill to work on however in recent years we have entered candidates as set designers and lighting technicians. The course is a combination of written and practical Drama which includes two performances of contrasting styles, a creative log and a written exam in the Summer. Our aim is to showcase our student's talent and imagination, allowing a space for them to express themselves creatively and be rewarded for it. Boys have gone on to join the National Youth Theatre of GB as well as studying A Levels and ultimately University.
Assessment
There are four elements to assessment for GCSE Drama
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Create a devised performance from a stimuli (stimuli has recently been a quote from Charles Dickens, ‘Best day of my life’ by American Authors and the question “Who am I?”). This has also has to be performed in the style of a theatre practitioner i.e. Brecht or a theatre genre i.e. Physical Theatre.
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Create a performance log about your development and refinement of the performance, as well as an evaluation of the final piece. This can take the form of videoed rehearsals, a blog, annotated photos or an essay for example.
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Prepare a scripted performance from a published text for an external examiner (recent scripts have been ‘Slow Time’, ‘The Pillowman’, ‘Bouncers’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’).
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Take a 1h 30m written exam in the summer where you study one text and answer questions as an actor, director and set designer. (2023 onwards – set text is Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah)
Support Materials & Useful Links
Refugee Boy (GCSE Set text) refugee-boy.pdf
WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Drama book by Garry Nicholas (Illuminate Publishing 2016)
New Grade 9-1 GCSE Drama Revision Guide (CGP GCSE Drama 9-1 Revision)
For KS4 and KS5 students should be reading a range of practitioners such as Brecht, Artaud, Stanislavski and Berkoff.
Eduqas Syllabus
https://www.eduqas.co.uk/media/abtjz5rx/wjec-eduqas-gcse-drama-specification-pdf.pdf
Department Information
Any specialist equipment required?
Pen; paper; scripts
Enrichment opportunities
National Theatre Connections
National Theatre New Writers Programme
Old Vic Stage Business programme
Regular visits to see professional work at some of London’s biggest venues
Clubs or Interventions
KS3 Drama club
KS4 students delivering workshops to Year 5 & 6 students
Future careers/uni courses
There are many careers that find Drama a useful tool. Students have gone on to study Law, Journalism and Business at University. Drama can be a versatile tool that allows you to work with others both in creative fields and academic fields.
Typical University courses are BA Acting, BA Drama and Theatre Studies, BA Set Design, BA Costume and Make-Up or a combined degree such as BA English and Drama.
Future careers include:
Actor; designer; director; lawyer; journalist; TV producer; marketing.
Social, Moral, Social, Cultural (SMSC) and British Values
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Y7 and Y8 look at the history of theatre which includes Shakespeare, Greek Theatre, Commedia Dell ’Arte and Pantomime
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Y10 scheme of work on protest which includes references to suffragettes, mining strike, Tiananmen square protest and Black Lives Matter.
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Y9 Students study a range of scripts from playwrights of all races, religions and gender. Students are encouraged to read plays outside of lesson time and use the perspectives of others to refine their own scripted work
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At Key Stage 3 and 4, students interrogate and create Drama work based on a variety of stimuli of their choosing.
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All lessons include peer feedback which is founded on mutual respect. All lessons are differentiated and students work with others of all abilities.
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Y9 work looks at homelessness within the UK and in particular teenage homelessness within the UK
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Y11 GCSE Set Text of Refugee Boy gives students the opportunity to research refugee numbers coming to Britain as well as the reasons why. Research into war, poverty and asylum is also covered in this unit.
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Students are encouraged to join Drama Club after school to widen their frame of reference as well as participating in Prize-Giving Performances to a large audience
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Students are taken to the theatre in KS3 and KS4 and are shown a wide range of styles as well as having workshops from visiting practitioners
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Students are encouraged to develop empathy through themed collaborative work which requires them to look at a variety of different lifestyles and circumstances from a range of viewpoints. There is a strong mutual respect between students across the department based on a shared desire for success within drama and beyond.
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Student groups are alternated regularly to ensure all students work with all other students within the classes, regardless of race, religion, background or sexuality. Students will learn how to be respectful of the opinions of others,’ in addition to learning the skills required to successfully lead a group in a supportive and sensitive manner. Problem-solving is a huge element of Drama and students will be encouraged to communicate and cooperate effectively, to ensure progress is made each lesson