Drama and Theatre Studies

Course summary

Drama and Theatre offers both a challenging and practically rigorous course, suitable for students with an avid curiosity about all aspects of drama and theatre. The course will afford students the opportunity to develop an informed understanding of drama and theatre practice through the study and practical exploration of plays, theatre practitioners, and theatre companies. Placing the development of their own practical work firmly within a secure knowledge and understanding of the historical development of theatre, students will be able to make intelligent and informed choices about form, writing, directing, and acting style, to shape and develop their own work, ready for examination. Students who have studied Drama and Theatre at A Level develop many desirable and transferable skills, which are highly valued in the professional workplace. Students have gone on to develop careers in Law, Business, Journalism, Advertising, Marketing, and Psychology, to name but a few. The course encourages learners to: • Develop an analytical framework for making, performing, interpreting, and understanding drama and theatre • Develop an understanding and appreciation of how the social, cultural, and historical contexts of performance texts have influenced the development of drama and theatre • Understand the place of relevant theoretical research in informing the processes involved in creating theatre • Understand the place of practical exploration in informing theoretical knowledge of drama and theatre • Develop the creativity and independence to become effective theatre-makers The first component in this full two-year course requires students to participate in the creation, development, and performance of a piece of theatre based on a reinterpretation of an extract from a text chosen from a supplied list. The piece must be developed using the methods of a theatre practitioner or theatre company; a creative log must also be produced. Component two is assessed by a visiting examiner and requires that students devise two pieces of theatre based upon a set stimulus and again, using the methods of either a theatre company or practitioner. An evaluation report must be produced after the examination. The final component is assessed through a written ‘open book’ examination. Questions are based upon the study of three set texts, studied and explored practically throughout the course