Drama

All pupils should be enabled to participate in and gain knowledge, skills and understanding associated with the artistic practice of drama. Pupils should be able to adopt, create and sustain a range of roles, responding appropriately to others in role. They should have opportunities to improvise, devise and script drama for one another and a range of audiences, as well as to rehearse, refine, share and respond thoughtfully to drama and theatre performances. 

What is expected for GCSE? And A Level? 

Component 1 Devising/reinterpretation of a script with links to practitioners 

Component 2 study of a set text for performance 

Component 3 written paper study of a text/live theatre performance 

 

At Harris Chafford Hundred 

 

1. To perform various roles in relation to different genres of theatre, for example Pantomime yr7, Melodrama year8, Frantic assembly in year9. (Not Shakespeare as they study this in English) 

2. To devise work based on a stimulus and topics for example Conflict in year7, Fair trade in year 8, Nature v Nurture in year9 

3. To watch professional performance work and analyse key features of Performance skills, movement, costume design, stage design, lighting design, use of music. 

4. To develop written work to prepare pupils using key terminology that is required for the written paper at GCSE and A Level 

5. They always consider their Target audience. 

6. They start to learn about Practitioners in year 9 in preparation for exam work. 

Year by Year 

Year 7  

This year group do basic skills of performance working on confidence, teamwork, co-operation, and improvisation, into script work where they use their basic skills, followed by genre (Pantomime) looking at the historical context. They study three texts Ernie’s incredible illucinations, The tree, and white feather. They finish the year enabling all learners to contribute to the class study of Matilda the musical creating physical movement work as a whole class. 

Year 8 

This year group does a similar pattern to year 7 only starting with a genre of Melodrama instead of basic skills, (but all year groups constantly re-visit skills/keywords throughout the year) 

They begin with Melodrama because it has links to pantomime and can be compared. Then they do a script called Trainers looking at Fair Trade. In term 2 they do an extended project on, The old Vic version of A Monster calls based on the novel by Siobhan Dowd looking at a professional production to study use of chorus sound lighting and staging. They study character relationships and the role of the Monster. They finish the year looking at a comedy play called The government inspector and finish studying Hairspray as a musical theatre style study which looks at the historical story of segregation in America in the late 1950’s early 1960’s. 

Year 9 

This year group start the year with studying DNA a past GCSE text about peer pressure. In term 2 they study Everyman a performance by Splendid which teaches pupils about the practitioner Brecht, Abstract concepts of performance, which enables pupils to compare their work with a professional company like splendid. They do re-visit devising/movement work by Frantic assembly, another company that is useful knowledge should pupils choose GCSE, by studying the performance of Things I know to be true. Then like year7/8 re-visit devising work by writing scripts based on the topic Nature V nurture, with links to the true-life story of Let Him Have it. At the end of the year, they study the musical Billy Elliot studying the historical story of the miners' strike during Thatcher times. 

Year 10 

In year 10 pupils begin the course studying drama practitioners from Stanislavski use of realism to Frantic assembly, DV8, Brecht, Berkoff and splendid. They will work to create interesting performances through devising a performance based on a stimulus such as a picture. Song, poem, or statement. They will study the text an inspector calls by priestly developing knowledge of exam style questions to expect in the written paper.  

Year 11 

In year 11 pupils finish devising their work for component 1 and learn their script performance for the visiting examiner and continue to develop writing skills for the written paper. They will use a variety of texts for component 2 work as a contrast to An inspector calls, which enable students to learn about different time periods of texts with different key themes. They will continue to develop their use of Drama mediums and conventions. 

They will continue to study the use of costume, lighting and sound and will be visiting the theatre to see Ocean at the end of the Lane by the national Theatre on the 22nd November to help them study profession use of staging lighting and sound and acting moments.