OCR GCSE Drama presenting and performing texts overview quiz quiz

A written exam paper marked by OCR examiners away from the centre after the exam

A single live performance marked by a visiting OCR examiner

A written portfolio of evidence marked by the teacher and then moderated by OCR

A teacher-only assessment with no external input or visit from the exam board at all

Exactly the same play as the set text studied for the written exam paper

An original piece devised by the group from a stimulus given by the teacher

A published play different from the set text and the devised piece

A poem chosen from the poetry anthology rather than a play script at all

One single extract taken from one published performance text

Two extracts taken from two completely different performance texts

Three separate extracts all taken from the same performance text

Two extracts from one performance text

So they let the candidate show range across more than one register

To make the whole performance run for noticeably longer in front of the examiner

Because OCR has a strict rule that completely bans the use of any similar extracts

To use up as little of the published play as the candidate can possibly get away with

Proxemics

Pause

Gait

Blocking

Playing two completely different people convincingly, one in each of the two extracts

Using exactly the same lines in both of the extracts so the character sounds familiar

Reading as the same person in both while showing how the character has changed

Avoiding any change in the character at all so they stay identical across both extracts

A written design plan only, handed in on paper without it ever being built or operated live

The sheer number of different effects used, with more effects scoring more marks

A multiple-choice test on design theory taken under exam conditions at the centre

A realised, working design that supports the performers and serves the writer's intentions

Design serves the storytelling and the performers; pulling focus undercuts the meaning

OCR places a strict limit on the number of design choices a candidate is allowed to make

Designers simply cannot be assessed in any other way than by supporting the performers

It makes the whole design noticeably cheaper and quicker for the centre to put together

The order in which the two extracts are performed in front of the visiting examiner

Your reading of the characters, relationships and meaning, grounded in the text, that guides every choice

A plain summary of the whole plot, going through all of the events of the play one by one in the right order

The examiner's mark scheme, which sets out exactly how the marks are to be awarded

To save rehearsal time, because making the same choice twice is quicker to prepare

OCR has a rule that requires completely identical choices to be made in both extracts

Consistency makes the extracts coherent for the audience; choices pulling different ways confuse the meaning

It guarantees full marks every time, because a consistent interpretation always scores at the very top of the band

The visiting examiner gives the candidate several attempts to get the performance right

Preparation is marked separately and counts for its own share of the total marks awarded

The performance text is changed on the day itself, so the candidate has to learn a set of new lines very quickly

It is one examined run with no second chance, so choices must be secure enough to deliver under pressure