Drama & Theatre
Drama and Theatre is a vibrant, creative, and stimulating subject to study at A-Level, offering you the chance to explore a wide range of performance styles while developing confidence, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
Drama and Theatre is a vibrant, creative, and stimulating subject to study at A-Level, offering you the chance to explore a wide range of performance styles while developing confidence, collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
While GCSE Drama is not essential, what matters most is your enthusiasm and drive.
What will you learn?
This course is perfect for students with a genuine passion for theatre and a curiosity for how powerful stories come to life on stage. Whether your main interest lies in performing or designing, everyone must be ready to step into the spotlight at some point and collaborate creatively with others - teamwork is at the heart of this course. Maybe you’ve been involved in school productions, joined a Youth Theatre group, or discovered a love for plays through English lessons, whatever your journey, if theatre excites you, this course will give you the perfect stage to shine. Youth Theatre group and/ or a developed interest in how plays are studied in English.
Course Components
The course emphasises both practical performance and a deep understanding of theatrical theory and styles, particularly those of key practitioners, such as Brecht and Artaud. Students can choose to follow the course as either performers, focusing on acting, or as designers, concentrating on theatrical elements such as lighting, set design, and costume design.
Skills you will develop
Performance Skills
Developing acting techniques such as voice, movement, and characterisation.
Collaborative Working
Creating and performing theatre as part of an ensemble.
Creative Interpretation
Exploring different ways to stage and interpret plays.
Critical Analysis
Evaluating live theatre and dramatic texts.
How will you be assessed?
EdexcelComponent One
PerformanceAn inspiring and creative journey that focuses on devised performance, giving students the chance to explore and push the boundaries of theatre. They will dive into the world of influential theatre practitioners, such as the thought-provoking techniques of Brecht or the visually stunning style of Kneehigh, while also engaging with a chosen play text. Drawing on these influences, students will devise their own original piece of drama or create an imaginative design realisation. This exciting process is captured and reflected upon in a written portfolio, where students document their creative journey, development, and evaluation.
Component Two
PerformanceAn exciting opportunity for students to showcase their creativity and performance skills. Students take on two dynamic challenges: a group performance or design realisation of a powerful extract from a chosen performance text, and a captivating monologue or duologue performance. With the freedom for centres to select the texts, students can truly bring material that inspires them to life.
Component Three
Written ExaminationAn opportunity for students to showcase your understanding of live theatre and their ability to bring dramatic texts to life. In Section A, students evaluate a live theatre performance they’ve experienced, crafting an extended response that analyses and critiques the production in light of a given statement. Section B, Page to Stage, invites students to step into the shoes of both performer and designer as they respond to unseen extracts from a studied play, demonstrating how they would realise it in performance. Finally, Section C, Interpreting a Performance Text, asks students to reimagine a chosen play for a contemporary audience, inspired by the work of a renowned theatre practitioner.
Who will teach you?
Mrs S Rowntree
Head of Drama and Teacher
Mr S Lane
Teacher of Drama
Students who study this subject, often get accepted at...
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