How do you shape devised material into effective original theatre?
Creating original drama: making deliberate choices about structure, style, characters and dramatic devices to communicate a clear intention to an audience.
Creating original drama for AQA GCSE Drama Component 2, covering deliberate choices about structure, style, character and dramatic devices, and how to shape devised material to communicate a clear intention to an audience.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
Once you have explored a stimulus and generated material, you need to shape it into effective theatre. This dot point is about the deliberate creative choices that give a devised piece form and impact: its structure, style, characters and the dramatic devices that communicate meaning to an audience. In Component 2 these choices are assessed in the performance and explained in the devising log, so being able to name and justify them is doubly useful.
Structure and style
Structure shapes how the audience receives the story. A chronological order is clear and builds steadily; an episodic order (separate scenes around a theme, as in much of Brecht's work) lets you show an idea from several angles; a non-linear order, with flashbacks or a withheld ending, can build mystery or dramatic irony. Style affects everything from acting to design: a physical-theatre piece tells its story through the body, while a naturalistic one asks for believable behaviour behind a fourth wall. Choosing structure and style on purpose, and keeping the style consistent, is what makes a piece feel coherent.
Character and dramatic devices
Build characters with a clear motive, what each one wants, and let conflict come from clashing wants. Devices then carry meaning economically: a monologue lets the audience inside a character's thoughts; multi-role lets a small cast show a whole world; symbolism (a repeated object, gesture or sound) lets a single image stand for the theme. The test for any device is whether it makes meaning clearer; if it does not, cut it.
Serving the intention
A useful test in rehearsal is to hold each moment up against the intention and ask, does this make the meaning clearer for the audience, or does it pull focus away from it. Moments that serve the intention stay; moments that are merely clever or entertaining, but that confuse the message, are cut. This discipline is also what gives you the best material for the devising log, because every kept choice has a reason you can explain and evaluate. A piece whose structure, style, characters and devices all visibly serve one intention reads as deliberate and controlled, which is exactly the impression the higher mark bands reward.
Try this
Q1. Name two dramatic devices you could use in a devised piece. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of still image, flashback, narration, monologue, direct address, multi-role or symbolism.
Q2. Why should the structure and style be chosen deliberately? [2 marks]
- Cue. So they suit and communicate the piece's intention and intended effect on the audience.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20184 marksExplain how two dramatic devices can be used to communicate meaning to an audience in a devised piece. (Component 1 knowledge of practical work)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark question wants two named devices, each with its effect on the audience. Marked on AO1 and AO2.
Markers reward naming a real device and what it does: (1) flashback, the piece jumps back in time to show a cause, so the audience understands why a character behaves as they do now; (2) still image or freeze-frame, the action freezes on a key moment, drawing the audience's focus and emphasising its importance. Narration, monologue, direct address, multi-role and symbolism are equally valid.
Two devices with their effect reach full marks. Naming a device with no purpose, or confusing a device with a plot event, stays low.
AQA 20216 marksDiscuss how choices about structure and style help a devised piece communicate its intention to an audience. (Component 1 knowledge of practical work)Show worked answer →
A 6-mark "discuss" rewards a developed argument linking form to intention. Marked on AO1 and AO2.
Method markers reward: (1) define structure (the order of scenes and moments, for example chronological, episodic or non-linear) and explain how a chosen order serves the intention (a non-linear order can build a mystery; an episodic order can show a theme from many angles); (2) define style (the overall approach, for example naturalism, physical theatre or epic theatre) and explain how a consistent style shapes the audience's response; (3) show structure and style working together to land one clear intention.
Top answers connect each formal choice to the intended effect on the audience and keep style consistent. Listing structures and styles with no link to intention caps the mark.
Related dot points
- The devising process from stimulus to performance: researching and exploring a stimulus, generating and shaping material, and developing it through rehearsal.
The devising process for AQA GCSE Drama Component 2, covering how to explore a stimulus, generate and shape original material, and develop a piece through structured rehearsal from idea to performance.
- The devising log: documenting and evaluating the creating, developing and performing of the devised piece across the three required stages.
The devising log for AQA GCSE Drama Component 2, covering how to document and evaluate the creating, developing and performing of the devised piece across the three required stages, and what each section must show.
- The vocal, physical and interpretive performance skills assessed in the devised piece and in the texts in practice, and how to realise a role or design for an audience.
The performance and acting skills for AQA GCSE Drama Components 2 and 3, covering the vocal, physical and interpretive skills assessed in the devised piece and texts in practice, and how to realise a role or design for an audience.
- The main genres and styles of drama, including naturalism, epic theatre and physical theatre, and how each shapes the way a play is written, staged and performed.
The genres and styles of drama for AQA GCSE Drama Component 1, covering naturalism and realism, Brecht's epic theatre, physical theatre and other styles, and how each shapes the writing, staging and acting of a play.
- The four design elements of set, costume, lighting and sound, and how each is used to create mood, atmosphere, place, time and meaning for an audience.
The four design elements for AQA GCSE Drama Component 1, covering set, costume, lighting and sound design, and how each creates mood, atmosphere, place, time and meaning for an audience.
Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Drama (8261) specification — AQA (2016)