Drama

Component 1:
Devising Theatre

Name: _________________________________
________

Form:

Teacher:
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Component 1 Information
Devising Theatre Non-exam assessment: internally assessed, externally moderated

40% of qualification
60 marks

The unit is in three sections:

Devising Creating AND portfolio (30 marks)
Realising: Performance (15 marks)
Evaluating: Controlled Assessment (15 marks)

Creating and Performance:

You must devise a piece of theatre in response to the stimulus which demonstrates either
the techniques of a theatre practitioner or the dramatic characteristics of a specific genre of
your choice.
The stimulus materials will consist of:
a quotation
a song
a picture
a concept or statement

You must create and develop ideas to communicate meaning to an audience by:
researching and developing ideas using the techniques or characteristics of the practitioner
or genre
rehearsing, amending and refining the work in progress

You should consider the following when devising your piece of theatre:
structure
theme/plot
form and style
language/dialogue

You should consider how meaning is communicated through the following, as appropriate to
the piece of theatre:
performance conventions

 use of space and spatial relationships on stage (proxemics), including the choice of stage
(e.g., proscenium arch, theatre in the round, traverse or thrust)
relationships between performers and audience
the physical and vocal interpretation of character

Portfolio:
You must produce a portfolio of supporting evidence which demonstrates the research,
creation and development of ideas.
You must work on this during the devising process.
The evidence should focus on three stages which are significant to the development of the
devised piece of theatre. The three stages should demonstrate:
1. how ideas have been researched, created and developed in response to the chosen
stimulus
2. how ideas from the chosen practitioner/genre have been incorporated in the piece to
communicate meaning
3. how ideas have been developed, amended and refined during the development of the
devised piece
Your portfolio can be presented in a number of different ways and can include the following:
sketches
photographs
ground plans
diagrams
storyboards
mood boards
sections of script
digital media, including brief recordings of sections of a rehearsal or material appropriate
to the skill area, e.g., sound clips. These should be no longer than one minute.
The portfolio is intended to highlight the creative and developmental process of devising the
piece of theatre. It is not intended to be a full record of the rehearsal period, and you should
choose carefully the evidence which best supports the three significant stages of
development of your piece of theatre.
Evaluation:
You will evaluate the final performance under supervised conditions.
You will indicate your chosen stimulus and chosen practitioner or genre. There will be three
main sections to the evaluation:
1. analyse and evaluate your interpretation of character/role in the final performance
2. analyse and evaluate how your own performance skills contributed to the
effectiveness of the final performance
3. analyse and evaluate your individual contribution to the final performance, including
how effectively you fulfilled your initial aims and objectives (referring back to stimulus and
practitioner/genre)

You will have 1 hour 30 minutes to complete the evaluation.

You may have access to two sides of A4 in bullet point notes when writing the evaluation. The
notes must be handed in with the evaluation.
The length of the piece will depend on the number of actors in the group and should be as
follows:
Group of two actors: 5-10 minutes

Group of three actors: 7-12 minutes

Group of four actors: 9-14 minutes

Group of five actors: 11-16 minutes.

Practitioners
Physical Theatre:
movement
commedia dellarte

gesture and body language

mime

status

the use of masks

ensemble

proximity

physicalising emotional states.

Brecht:
direct address narrator
placards
fourth wall

multi-roling

music and songs

episodic structure

gestus

alienation

no

political message.

Stanislavski:
the fourth wall the magic if
and pauses

emotional memory

naturalistic movement

intonation

three dimensional characters.

role on the wall

relaxation and concentration
given circumstances

character motivation

rhythm

Berkoff:
stylised movement (slow motion/robotic)
direct address

exaggerated facial expressions

exaggerated vocal work

playing

tableaux

ensemble

minimalism

exaggerated and stylised mime.

Genres:
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Epic Theatre
Farce Comedy
Romance
War
Musical Theatre Pantomime
Oppressed
Documentary
Invisible Theatre -

Naturalistic Theatre
Abstract Theatre
Tragedy
Historical Theatre
Physical Theatre
Commedia DellArte
Theatre of Cruelty
Community Theatre
-

- Horror
- Verbatim Theatre
Biopic Theatre
Fantasy
Theatre of the absurd
Theatre of the

- Mime
Postmodern Theatre

Stimulus:
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What is it?
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Describe what it is in detail:
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What emotions/ feelings did you have toward the stimulus?

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What themes and issues did it make you think about?

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If you were to create an early piece of drama using this stimulus, what would you
want it to be about and why?
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Stimulus:
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What is it?
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Describe what it is in detail:
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What emotions/ feelings did you have toward the stimulus?

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What themes and issues did it make you think about?

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If you were to create an early piece of drama using this stimulus, what would you
want it to be about and why?
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Stimulus:
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What is it?
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Describe what it is in detail:
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What emotions/ feelings did you have toward the stimulus?

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What themes and issues did it make you think about?

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If you were to create an early piece of drama using this stimulus, what would you
want it to be about and why?
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Stimulus:
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What is it?
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Describe what it is in detail:

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What emotions/ feelings did you have toward the stimulus?

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What themes and issues did it make you think about?

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If you were to create an early piece of drama using this stimulus, what would you
want it to be about and why?
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Research
Below is a table that you will need to complete to show the kinds of research you have
carried out during the devising process
Research style:
(ie. I looked at
cities with high

Website/ title of
book/ name of
journal

What ideas did

you take away
from this?

What did you do

with this idea?
Where did you

numbers of
homeless people in
them and where
they sheltered in
the city)

apply it to your
piece?

Summarising your early ideas

When looking at all your stimuli, which one stood out the most and why?

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Which stimulus are your group going with?

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Why are your group using this stimulus?
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What are the groups early ideas for your devised piece set to be about?
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What are your groups aims and objectives with the piece?
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Which practitioner are you planning on using within your piece, give details
of which techniques you may use
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What genre would you say you are creating and why?
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You will be expected to carry out research regarding the messages and
themes within your piece, what are you going to research to help you with
your contribution?
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Role on the Wall

Create a Role on the Wall for (one of) your character(s)

Character profile:
Name: ____________________________________
Age: ______________________________________

Lives: _____________________________________
Parents:
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Siblings:
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Aims/ goals in life:
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Occupation:
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Hobbies:
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Dislikes:
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School life:
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Friends:
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Social Life:
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Further information:
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Throughout your devising process you will be expected to record any developments
throughout the process in order to discuss these moments in your portfolio.
Use the record sheet below to write notes on the scenes you have created and how
you have developed these during rehearsals

Scene

How have you

developed the
scene?

What skill have you

developed during this
time?

What is the aim/

objective of the
scene?

After developing the

scene, how have you met
your aim and objective?

Scene

How have you

developed the scene?

What skill have you

developed during this
time?

What is the aim/

objective of the scene?

After developing the

scene, how have you met
your aim and objective?

Evaluation

You will have 1 hour and 30 minutes to write your evaluation.

You will be allowed to make notes on 2 sides on A4 that you will be able to use during
the time.
There are three areas that you need to cover in your evaluation

1: Interpretation of your role

2: How have your own performance skills contributed to the effectiveness of the final
performance
3: Your individual contribution, including; how effectively you fulfilled your initial aims
and objectives (referring to the stimulus/genre/practitioners)

Use these questions to guide you on your notes.

You must NOT use this booklet in the controlled assessment section of the unit.

After you have completed your evaluation, you must hand in your notes on the A4
paper and also your evaluation.

Your sessions will be organised by your teacher and must be completed under
supervised conditions that must be done in exam conditions.

Within the three sections you must analyse and evaluate each section.
Analyse: to break down into components or essential features
: detailed examination of something especially by breaking it up into the
parts of which it is made up.
Evaluate: to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of;
assess

You are analysing and evaluating your own role within your devised piece.
You must write about your impact to the piece and relate this back to your initial ideas
and stimulus

F
How to analyse and Evaluate
This is just a guide of how you can evaluate your work.
These questions can help guide you through your piece.
Remember you can NOT take this into your controlled assessment so any notes must
be written on a different piece of paper and submitted with your final evaluation

Opening Paragraph: (3-4 sentences)

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Title of your piece, a brief summary of the piece

The aims, objectives, messages and themes within the piece
The practitioner and genre you were illustrating in performance and why?
(Referencing your stimulus and initial ideas)

Interpreting your role:

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What was your contribution to the piece?

What role did you play? Brief description of the character
How did this character become a creation? (Relate this to your aim/ objectives/
practitioner/ genre/ stimulus)
Contribution to the piece: techniques that you demonstrated that illustrated the
genre, practitioner
How did you use these techniques to show your aims and objectives?

Evaluating your role/ contribution:

WWW
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What moment was a success?

What was the aim of this scene?
What skills did you use that demonstrate your success?
How do you know their use was effective?

EBI
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What moment could you improve?

What was your aim for the atmosphere/ mood/ objective of the scene?
What could you do to improve this?
What skills would you use in order to improve? (link to aims and objectives,
practitioners and genre)
How would using these skills improve your performance?
Describe what you would do to improve this
How would it help you achieve your aim/ objective?