Drama and Theatre Studies

Course summary

If you are considering taking Drama, it is important that you are interested in gaining a greater understanding of how theatre and plays work and that you are keen to be involved with performances and prepared for the rigorous demands of a written paper. The course demands practical and theoretical skills in almost equal measure. You will be required to write analytically about drama and to develop your powers of analysis to become an informed critic. The concise writing technique you will be trained to use is an excellent acquisition in itself. The course will involve taking part in drama productions, as well as studying plays, playwrights and theatre practitioners. The A Level is a two-year course with practical assessments taking place across the two years and the written exam taking place at the end of the second year. Recent students who have taken this course have gone on to study a variety of courses at university and have been offered places at Oxbridge. The subjects include Drama, English, Languages and Geography. It is a fully recognised and valued subject by all universities. It complements a wide variety of subjects and is useful in building confidence and improving presentation, communication and team work skills. At A Level, the specification provides candidates with the opportunity to develop skills and extend knowledge across two years. Candidates will demonstrate a more advanced level of performance and/or production skills alongside the ability to think independently, make judgements and refine their work in the light of research. They will also demonstrate the ability to analyse the ways in which different performance and production elements are brought together to create theatre.