Drama and Theatre Studies

Course summary

A-level Drama and Theatre Studies allows students to pursue their interests in performance and theatre by developing their skills in a range of practical drama elements including acting, directing, costume, setting, mask and technical design. However, the requirements of the specification, with its 40% written paper weighting, also enables them to gain an entry qualification for courses in higher education, whether in the area of drama and theatre studies or in a host of many other subjects. The specification offers students the freedom to choose both the content and the form of their practical presentations at each level. At A-level, candidates devise drama on any topic to be performed in a theatrical style of their choice as well as performing three extracts from different plays. In addition to the practical units students will study live theatre; this includes understanding of how performers, designers and directors communicate meaning to an audience through a detailed consideration of how aspects of the presentation contribute to the total effect of the production seen. In the Lower Sixth students study one set text and in the Upper Sixth two further set texts, developing their own interpretation of each play from a performance perspective. They will adopt the viewpoint of an actor, director or designer and give consideration to the staging aspects as appropriate to the style and genre of the play.