OCR A-Level Drama and Theatre: live theatre evaluation (Section B) overview quiz quiz

The live theatre evaluation of one production you have seen (30 marks, AO4 dominant)

A comparative essay analysing two of the prescribed set play texts studied across the course

A practical performance of a devised piece assessed by a visiting moderator

An analysis of a previously unseen dramatic extract handed out in the exam

AO1 (create and develop ideas)

AO4 (analyse and evaluate)

AO2 (apply skills in performance)

AO3 (how theatre is performed)

Yes, OCR prescribes one single fixed production that every centre across the country must see

Yes, OCR sets a different prescribed production each year and announces it in advance

No, it is a free choice (usually made by the centre), provided it is genuine live theatre

No, there is no production at all, since Section B is answered on a printed extract instead

The sheer length of the answer, since the longest responses always reach the top band

The neatness and legibility of the candidate's handwriting throughout the answer booklet

The total number of separate staged moments that the candidate actually manages to cover within the time

Evaluation: judging how effectively choices worked on the audience, not describing the production

Select a specific moment, analyse the precise choice, then evaluate its effectiveness for the audience

Describe the whole scene in turn from its beginning to its end, in as much vivid detail as you can possibly recall

Summarise the plot of the production at length, and then offer a brief personal opinion

List everything you can remember about the production, one element after another in turn

Describe what the character felt and thought, treating the role as though it were a real living person

Name the actor's vocal, physical and interpretive choices and judge their effectiveness

Summarise the character's whole story arc from their first entrance to their last

Discuss the playwright's life, career and intentions in writing the original text

Simply say that the set looked realistic and convincing, without any further comment

List all the items of lighting, sound and staging equipment that the production made use of in the venue

Name a specific design state at a specific moment, say what it communicated, and judge its effectiveness

Describe the overall colour scheme of the costumes and set, and nothing beyond that

Covering as much of the plot of the production as you can possibly manage to fit into the whole answer

Using consistently longer and more elaborate sentences throughout the whole response

Naming the director and the designers of the production as often as you can manage to

Evaluating how choices changed across the production and how they integrated with each other

A sustained evaluative argument about how far the director's interpretation succeeded, with an overall judgement

A detailed and vivid description of the whole production, recreated exactly as you remember seeing it on the night

A clear summary of the central theme of the play and the message it sets out to convey

A thorough list of every design element used across the whole of the production, in order

It is entirely optional, and most candidates simply rely on their general memory instead

Section B is closed book, so you can only evaluate the specific moments and choices you recall in detail

The examiner provides a detailed set of notes about the chosen production right at the very start of the exam

Only the title of the production is actually needed, since the rest can be invented freely

With a general definition of what live theatre is and why it matters

With a full retelling of the plot of the production from start to finish

By naming the production, company and venue

With a lengthy quotation from a published professional critic's review

AO3 (how theatre is performed) and AO4 (analyse and evaluate a production)

AO2 (apply skills in performance) and AO3 (knowledge of how theatre is performed)

AO1 (create and develop ideas) and AO4 (analyse and evaluate a production)

AO1 (create and develop) and AO2 (apply skills in performance)