At St Mary’s, the move from GCSE to A level is carefully designed to ensure you are supported in taking the academic leap towards a more sophisticated level of knowledge and understanding.
Smaller class sizes enable staff to work alongside you; tailoring your learning needs and making your experience unique and bespoke. When it comes to performance work, we pride ourselves on ensuring that your technical and design elements meet you vision, using our expertise to guide you.
“One benefit of having a small class was that you got individual attention and help when you needed it, and we weren't afraid to voice our concerns in front of each other.” Drama and Theatre Studies student
Content
In this course you will study some incredible playwrights, such as Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck, written in 1836, yet still fresh and relevant with regard to social injustice in today’s society. We also take every opportunity to experience live performances from some of today’s best directors and performers, and Cambridge offers fantastic theatres with an exciting repertoire right on our doorstep.
A Level content
- Component 1: Devising
- Devise an original performance piece
- Use one key extract from a performance text and a theatre practitioner as stimuli
- Centre choice of text and practitioner
- Performer or designer routes available
- Component 2: Text in performance
- A group performance/design realisation of one key extract from a performance text
- A monologue or duologue performance/design realisation from one key extract from a different performance text
- Centre choice of performance texts
- Component 3: Theatre makers in practice
- Component 3: Theatre makers in practice
- Live theatre evaluation – choice of performance
- Practical exploration and study of a complete text – focusing on how this can be realised for performance
- Practical exploration and interpretation of another complete performance text, in light of a chosen practitioner – focusing on how this text could be reimagined for a contemporary audience
In the first year, you will explore modern theatre practitioners who are working at the forefront of cutting-edge drama; through the original works and plays of Frantic Assembly and Shared Experience. In addition, you will broaden your knowledge and understanding of theatrical elements enabling you to then apply your skills as theatre makers; covering important design aspects such as costume, hair and make-up design; sound and music elements and lighting design, which all bring layered meaning to productions.
Inspired by a play extract, you will create your own original piece of theatre in the style of one of these modern practitioners. You will stage this considering the historical, political, cultural and social research you’ve uncovered, whilst utilising all the design aspects of your production to create meaning and impact on your audience.
The performance component, which takes place in Year 13, offers you the freedom and opportunity to showcase your skills as either a performer or a designer. You will choose two contrasting extracts, from two different plays; both a group piece and then a monologue or duologue, which will be presented to a visiting examiner.