Drama
| Staff | Mr Martin Lewis | - Head of Drama, Director of Arts Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Lead Practitioner for Drama |
| Mr Tom Newman | - Teacher of Drama |
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Associate Teachers of Drama |
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| Miss Suzie West | - Dance | |
| Mrs Holly Molyneaux | - Music | |
| Miss Lucy Latchmore | - English | |
Drama Statement
Drama is a human need. It offers the opportunity to explore our world and the relationships and human behaviours in it from a structured and safe environment – our classroom.
The drama lessons at Kingsbridge Community College allow the students the chance to learn through imagined experience. This is often referred to as ‘process’ or experiential drama. In this type of drama, students take on roles within the context of the drama. The key element of the role is the opinion or point of view of that role to their situation and the situation of the other roles around them.
We then introduce into that work the theatrical element. The acting and skills based knowledge that allows the students to explore the medium of drama and theatre, the way that drama communicates meaning to the audience.
Curriculum overview
Key Stage 3:
The lessons we teach in drama are not dictated by the National Curriculum. There are links within English, but currently drama exists outside a nationally accepted framework of study. The drama curriculum at Kingsbridge Community College reflects excellent current teaching practice and is informed at a national level and at a local level and is reviewed and adapted to reflect our students needs, provide challenge, rigour and engagement and support the cross-curricular and holistic nature of teaching at Kingsbridge.
We review our schemes of work trebly and introduce new modules where necessary. Currently the KS3 curriculum is under review to cater for, and provide a more focussed approach to, providing a foundation for GCSE and beyond. This is a reaction to the new specifications exam boards are currently introducing and to reflect our commitment to brand new qualifications such as the 14-19 Creative and Media Specialised Diploma.
By establishing this approach at an early stage and exploring the way sets are created in Year 9, we may well begin to precipitate exam work earlier than Year 10.
The following focuses are taken from Edexcel’s GCSE Drama course.
| • exploring the dramatic potential of a range of ideas and issues • responding to a range of texts from different times and cultures • making comparisons and connections between texts • shaping ideas to communicate meaning through the medium of drama • selecting appropriate drama forms in the structuring of a piece of drama • recording ideas for drama in the form of scripts, scenarios and/or story boards • gaining a practical understanding of a range of drama forms • evaluating the effectiveness of the individual’s drama work and that of others • developing performing, devising and improvisation skills • developing and realising ideas within a group • using the language of drama to communicate ideas to others. • interpreting a complete and substantial play text • recognising the ways in which playwrights, directors, designers and/or performers communicate meaning through the medium of drama • selecting appropriate elements of drama to interpret a complete and substantial play text • gaining a practical understanding of the medium of drama through the exploration of a complete and substantial play text • evaluating the effectiveness of different interpretations of a complete and substantial play text • developing performing skills and rehearsal techniques • developing and realising ideas in response to a play within a group • using the language of drama to communicate ideas to others • recognising the ways in which playwrights record their instructions in a script • applying drama skills in the realisation of extracts from a complete and substantial play text • approaches to developing characters and/or roles • exploring different staging methods • understanding the social, cultural and historical context of a complete and substantial play |
Year 7 – an example of some of the schemes currently being delivered
The Old Man and his Grandson – allegory – skills and performance baseline
The Apothecary – whole group role play
Mr Fox - whole group role play and morality tales
Year 8
Michael’s Story – Brecht and the Caucasian Chalk Circle
Private Peaceful – based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel of the same name
Urban Legends – narrative and story-telling
Year 9
Runaways
Displaced People
Dilemmas
Key Stage 4 - GCSE
Students follow the Edexcel GCSE Drama course
1 Drama Coursework (60%)
Unit 1: Drama Exploration (30%)
Exploration of creative and structural aspects of drama:
forms of stimuli
explorative strategies
drama medium
elements of drama.
Controlled assessment: six-hour practical exploration, centre-devised based on the Programme of Study.
Documentary evidence – maximum 2000 words
Unit 2: Exploring Play Texts (30%)
Exploration of a play text chosen by the centre involving:
exploration of character
interpretation of the play
design implications of the play.
Visit to a live theatre performance
Controlled assessment: six-hour practical exploration, centre-devised based on a play text and the Programme of Study.
Documentary response – maximum 1000 words
Written response to live theatre – maximum 2000 words
2 Drama Performance (40%)
Externally assessed practical examination of ONE of a range of options including performing a scripted play, a devised play or a design element. This paper is concerned with the skills needed to perform work to an audience.
The assessment activities for this unit are set by Edexcel in an assignment brief that will be issued to centres in the autumn term of each year for the life of the specification.
Key Stage 5
Currently the drama department offers AS and A2 in Drama and Theatre Studies (Edexcel)
Unit 1: Exploration of Drama and Theatre *Unit code 6DR01
Internally assessed
Content summary:
This unit introduces students to the content of plays written for the theatre. They will learn how to analyse plays in a variety of ways so that they become familiar with the way written plays can be interpreted for realisation in performance.
Assessment:
This internally assessed unit requires students to explore two contrasting play texts, chosen by the centre, in a practical and active way. At least one of the plays must be explored in the light of a recognised theatre practitioner. A video/DVD of one session of the practical work must be made available for use in moderation. A set of Exploration Notes must be submitted. Students are also required to experience a live theatre performance and submit an
evaluation.
Unit 2: Theatre Text in Performance *Unit code 6DR02
Externally assessed
Content summary:
This unit offers students the chance to demonstrate skills in a performance environment. The knowledge and understanding gained during the study of two plays in Unit 1 can now be applied with a view to delivering a performance to an audience.
Assessment:
This is an externally assessed unit. The first section requires students to offer either a monologue or duologue. The second section requires students to contribute to a performance of a professionally published play by a known writer. Students may offer either acting or a design form and must also provide a concept of the interpretation of their chosen roles or designs.
*See Appendix 5 for description of this code and all other codes relevant to this qualification.
Unit 3: Exploration of Dramatic Performance *Unit code 6DR03
Internally assessed
Content summary:
This unit requires the creation of a unique and original piece of theatre. The knowledge and understanding gained in the AS units can now be applied to a created production. Students will be assessed on both the process of creation and the finished product in the form of a performance to an invited audience.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed on the research and development of their work as well as the final performance in front of an identified audience. They are also required to complete an evaluation on both the process and performance of their work.
Written evidence will be required reflecting the research and development work as well as a video/DVD of the final performance.
A2
Unit 4: Theatre Text in Context *Unit code 6DR04
Externally assessed
Content summary:
This externally examined written unit requires the detailed study of one set play text and one prescribed historical period of theatrical development.
Assessment:
This externally assessed unit takes the form of a 2-hour-and-30-minute written paper in three sections. Sections A and B require students to explore one play, from a choice of three set play texts, from the point of view of a director in both an academic and practical way.
In Section C a selection must be made of one from a choice of three historic periods of theatre history. A live performance of a play from the chosen period must be experienced and evaluated and a comparison made with the original staging conditions of the play.
Extra Curricular Activities
The drama department has an extremely rich and varied extra-curricular timetable. There is always something going on. As projects are completed, others come on board to replace them. We endeavour to keep everyone up to date with all performances, clubs and opportunities as they develop.
Currently some of our students are involved in the Shakespeare Festival in association with the Nation Theatre.
Other ongoing projects are the Academy, a theatre skills based workshop run after college where students can take LAMDA drama exams, The Core workshops that happen throughout the term and of course Smarts – the Saturday Morning Arts initiative. Students can also join in with a lighting master class run by an ex-student and lighting maestro Ben Britton.
Link to Events and Performances 
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