Drama

Curriculum Vision and Intent

Our Drama department curriculum focuses on communication, expression and exploration of identity.

We aim to:

• Help our students to develop confidence and autonomy through an inclusive and challenging curriculum grounded in collaborative learning, performing and providing feedback.
• Promote compassion and develop our students’ emotional intelligence through exploration of a variety of topics and characters from a range of cultures, religions and ways of life.
• Build our students’ cultural capital and encourage students to develop an appreciation of theatre through performing, watching, analysing and evaluating a range of texts.
• Promote curiosity and creativity in the classroom.
• Ensure students can participate in a wide range of opportunities beyond the classroom, including Drama clubs, productions, workshops and theatre trips.

KS3 curriculum and assessment

Year 8 Curriculum

HT1 – Introduction to Drama

An introduction to core Drama skills and terms explored through a series of workshops.

HT2 – Drama Festival: Devising (Roald Dahl)

Students work together as a whole class to create a new short play inspired by the work of Roald Dahl; this is then performed at our LMS Drama Festival. Students take on all creative roles, including performers and designers.

HT3 – Drama Festival : Devising (Roald Dahl)

Students work together as a whole class to create a new short play inspired by the work of Roald Dahl; this is then performed at our LMS Drama Festival. Students take on all creative roles, including performers and designers.

HT4 – Musical Theatre

Through this cross-curricular topic taught with the Music Department students explore the history of Musical Theatre. Students will develop their skills in creating believable characters, storytelling and acting through song. Students will work towards a performance in our annual school production.

HT5 – Improvisation

Students will develop an understanding of improvisation and character throughout this half term. The girls will develop confidence in creating material on the spot and create engaging characters with well-developed traits and motives.

HT6 – Mischief Theatre Company

In this topic students will explore the exciting world of Mischief Theatre. Over the half term the girls will perform extracts from a range of Mischief Theatre’s plays and develop skills in acting to create comedy. The girls will also develop their descriptive and evaluative writing skills in response to watching a range of performances by the theatre company.

Year 9 Curriculum

HT1 – Improvisation

Students will develop an understanding of improvisation and character throughout this half term. The girls will develop confidence in creating material on the spot and create engaging characters with well-developed traits and motives.

HT2 – Commedia Dell’arte

Students will spend this half term exploring the history of theatre, focusing on the impact Commedia Dell’arte has had on contemporary theatre. The girls will explore stock characters and ‘Lazzi’, developing their skills in comedy and exaggerated characterisation.

HT3 – Physical Theatre: Frantic Assembly

Students will explore the work and style of theatre practitioner Frantic Assembly through a series of workshops. The girls will develop confidence in creating abstract, movement based work and explore how this can be used to communicate effective narratives and meaning.

HT4 – The Post: Devising

Students apply their knowledge of Frantic Assembly to create a piece of devised work, inspired by a given stimulus. This topic is a taster of the devising component at GCSE.

HT5 – Text in Practice: Shakers

Students will explore the play ‘Shakers’ by John Godber. The girls develop their skills in multi-rolling, acting for comedy and clear characterisation through practical exploration of extracts from the play.

HT6 – Live Theatre Evaluation

Students will analyse and evaluate a piece of theatre, focusing on either an element of performance or design. The girls will develop an understanding of the role each member of the creative team has in putting on a piece of theatre and consider how effectively they achieved their intentions for the play.

Assessment at KS3

Students at KS3 are assessed in two ways – assessed performances and written work.

KS3 students are assessed on their:

• ability to create convincing characters, using a range of vocal and physical acting skills.
• ability to make creative choices in direction and blocking.
• ability to collaborate effectively and contribute effectively to the effectiveness of a piece of theatre.
• understanding of Drama terminology, which is key to success at GCSE and beyond.
• ability to evaluate the work of themselves and others.
• responses to live theatre and analysis of the performers’ intention and execution of acting skills.

KS4 curriculum and assessment

GCSE Curriculum

Drama is a subject that uses students’ knowledge, talent and imagination. Throughout the course there will be opportunities to act, devise, design, review and analyse. It is a creative subject that gives students the chance to employ a wide variety of skills and challenge their abilities. 

Throughout the course students will be exploring how they might perform certain characters or evaluating how others have performed them. Through regular trips to the theatre and detailed evaluation of what they have seen, students will gain a deeper understanding of the subject and use this to develop their own performance skills. Students will have the opportunity to perform extracts from a wide collection of plays, devise their own pieces and study ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller in depth.

GCSE Drama has three main components:

Component 1 – Understanding Drama (40%):

This is a written exam in three sections:

• Section A: Theatre roles and terminology: multiple choice.
• Section B: Study of a set play (‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Miller): Students will answer four questions on a given extract of the play.
• Section C: Live theatre production: Students will discuss the work of theatre makers in a production that they have seen during the course.

Component 2 – Devising Drama: NEA (40%):

Students will devise a piece of Drama, inspired by a given stimulus, which is performed to, and marked by, your teacher. Students will also complete a devising log in which they will analyse and evaluate their own work.

Component 3 – Texts in Practice (20%):

Students will perform two extracts from one play; this is marked by an external AQA examiner. This can be completed as a monologue, duologue or group performance.

Topics covered in Year 10:

• Section A: Students explore theatre roles and responsibilities, stage configurations and stage positioning.
• Section B, The Crucible: Students will explore context, design and performance interpretations.
• Introduction to Devising: Students participate in a mock devising project, introducing them to strategies for approaching devising.
• Component 2, Devising: Students devise a piece of theatre in response to a given stimulus. They will have completed their Drama NEA by the end of Year 10, which equates to finishing 40% of the course.

Topics covered in Year 11:

• Section B, The Crucible: Students will explore context, design and performance interpretations.
• Section C, Live Theatre Evaluation: Students will respond to a piece of theatre and reflect critically on its success in releasing performance aims.
• Component 3, Text in Practice: Students will perform two extracts from one play; this is marked by an external AQA examiner.

KS5 curriculum and assessment

What will I study?

Studying Drama and Theatre A Level is a fantastic opportunity to explore Drama in both a practical and academic context. Throughout the course, students will be given the opportunity to act, devise, review and analyse theatre. It is a creative subject that gives students the chance to employ a wide variety of skills, shape confidence and challenge their abilities. Students are encouraged to be curious about issues and ideas and will develop a creative instinct for communicating their views through Drama.

During the course students will study two contrasting set texts, which require them to articulate how they would perform certain scenes; this puts practical work at the heart of the specification. They will also be asked to demonstrate an understanding of the historic and social context of each play. Students will analyse and evaluate live theatre and apply this knowledge to their own practical work.

Devising and working with texts provides the main framework for

the course; students will participate in creating their own devised piece, implementing stylistic features of a range of practitioners and performing extracts from a range of contemporary and classic theatre texts.

How will I be assessed?

Exam Board: Edexcel

Syllabus:9DR0

A Level Drama is predominantly non-examined assessment (NEA), with 60% of assessment being completed throughout the course and 40% being the end of course written examination.

Component 1: Devising

Non-examined assessment = 40%

Devise an original performance piece using a key extract from a performance text and a theatre practitioner as stimuli.

Component 2: Text in Performance

Non-examined assessment = 20%

A performance/design realisation of two key extracts from performance texts.

Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice

Examined assessment = 40%

A practical study of two complete performance texts and a live theatre evaluation.

Topics covered in Year 12:

• Practitioner Exploration: Students explore the work of practitioners such as Frantic Assembly, Complicite, Steven Berkoff, Antonin Artaud, Pina Bausch and Konstantin Stanislavski.
• Component 3, Section B – Machinal: Students are introduced to the play ‘Machinal’ by Sophie Treadwell and approach exam questions focusing on performance and design.
• Component 3, Section A – Live Theatre: Students will respond to a piece of theatre and reflect critically on its success in releasing performance aims in response to a given statement.
• Component 1, Devising: Students devise a piece of theatre in response to a given play text. They will have completed their Drama and Theatre NEA by the end of Year 12, which equates to finishing 40% of the course.

Topics covered in Year 13:

• Component 3, Section A – Live Theatre: Students will respond to a piece of theatre and reflect critically on its success in releasing performance aims in response to a given statement.
• Component 3, Section B – Machinal: Students approach exam questions focusing on performance and design in response to the play ‘Machinal’ by Sophie Treadwell.
• Component 3, Section C – Woyzeck: Students are introduced to the play ‘Woyzeck’ by Georg Buchner and approach exam questions focusing on their concepts for performance in the style of Bertolt Brecht.
• Component 2, Text in Performance: A performance/design realisation of two key extracts from performance texts.

What are the entry requirements?

Candidates wanting to study A Level Drama and Theatre should have a creative mind and should be able to demonstrate their enthusiasm for live theatre.

GCSE Drama at Grade 6 or above is desirable, but not essential.

Candidates who have not studied Drama as a GCSE option but would still like to be considered for the qualification, must submit a letter of application outlining their past experience of Drama and reasons for applying for the course. All candidates who do not hold a Grade 6 in GCSE Drama must have achieved a Grade 6 in GCSE English Literature.

Combinations

Drama combines well with almost any other A Level subjects. Music, English Literature, RS, Psychology and Sociology are all subjects which will particularly enrich learning and will support students’ understanding of the topics covered

Extra and super-curricular opportunities

Lady Margaret School provides highly successful and well attended extra-curricular drama provisions. There are a wide range of opportunities for students to involve themselves in in our thriving extra-curricular programme, including junior and senior drama clubs, regular theatre trips for all year groups, and showcase evenings to celebrate our students’ hard work and talents.

Clubs

We offer a range of Drama clubs at LMS, open to students from all year groups. These include:

• LMS Theatre Society (LTS) – A theatre appreciation society, in which students watch a range of productions both live and streamed.
• Junior Drama Club – Students in from Year 7 -9 can take part in our weekly drama club, working towards a devised performance to be performed to family and friends.
• Senior Drama Society – Students from Year 10 – 13 take part in our weekly drama club, working towards a winter production.

Workshops and trips

Throughout the year we offer our students the opportunity to take part in a range of workshops run by visiting professionals from the industry. We also regularly take our students to the theatre, ensuring that they are exposed to a wide range of theatre in varied styles and from contrasting genres.

House Pantomime

Each year KS3 students devise and perform a Christmas pantomime as part of our House Drama competition, resulting in a day of performances for all of our KS3 students; this has become a much-loved tradition. Writing, design and direction are all independently led by the girls. Recent pantomimes have included a feminist take on Cinderella and side splittingly funny adaptation of Rapunzel.

Winter Senior Production

We offer our senior students (year 10 -13) the opportunity to perform as part of a Christmas production. Previous productions have included an adaptation of Charles Dickens, ‘A Christmas Carol’.

Summer Whole School Production

The Drama and Music department work together to produce an annual full school musical.

Past productions have included, ‘Daisy Pulls it Off’ by Denise Deegan, ‘Little Women the Musical’, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, with book by Allan Knee, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ by William Shakespeare and ‘Ordinary Days’ by Adam Gwon.

Our annual production takes place in June and tickets are available from the admin team. Our school production involves students from all year groups and we regularly have over 150 students participating. Students are given the opportunity to perform on stage, play as part of the orchestra, or to explore production and design elements.

Activities Week

The Drama and Music departments have run a theatrical Activities Week programme for the last two years. The week offers students the opportunity to see a series of matinee and evening productions over the course of 5 days, including trips to venues such as the historic Globe Theatre, glistening musicals on the West End, mystical open air theatres, the pioneering National Theatre along with other prestigious venues.

Students are also offered theatre-based workshops each morning, which gives them a chance to explore the diversity of theatre through hands-on activities. These have included improvisation, make-up and hair for the stage, acting through song, choral singing and musical theatre workshops. The girls then perform a final devised performance in front of their family and friends.

In previous years we have seen a total of eight professional productions over the course of five days, alongside taking part in backstage tours of London attractions and workshops held at school.

Facilities

The Drama department is fortunate to be housed in new, purpose-built accommodation. This comprises the drama teaching classroom and the Busby Auditorium, which boasts a full lighting rig, black box curtains and tiered seating to accommodate up to 180; this space is used for smaller extra-curricular performances and for exam pieces. Our main production is performed in the main hall, which has a large stage, a full lighting rig and a new sound system.

Future opportunities (careers, university courses)

Drama prepares students for a wide range of careers and can increase employability across many disciplines. It can lead to further study in Drama, Theatre Studies and Performing Arts at a Higher Education degree or HND level. However, it also adds breadth to university applications and demonstrates students undertaking a broad programme of study. A number of universities offer courses combining Drama with other subjects, such as English, History and Psychology.

GCSE Drama

GCSE Drama is not just about acting. The course covers many transferable skills that will be useful throughout life: communication, presentation/public speaking, group and leadership skills, problem solving, time management, initiative, empathy, the ability to work to a deadline and key interview techniques. GCSE Drama is a subject which demonstrates commitment, hard work, curiosity and creativity; qualities valued by all employers, sixth forms and universities. This is a subject which will strengthen a student’s CV, as the core skills learnt throughout the course can be used to support them in any future career.

A Level Drama and Theatre

Following the Russell Group Universities announcing the removal of their ‘preferred’ A Level list and encouragement of students to study Arts subjects, students holding an A Level in Drama are highly valued and

respected for the academic nature of the new A Level course and the extensive transferable skills it develops.

Career options

These include: acting, direction, stage management, theatre design, costume design, arts administration, cinematography, writing, performance art, copywriting, drama therapy, youth and community work, work in the social sector, teaching, marketing, business, journalism, law and politics.