DramaQ&A by dot point

Component 2 Text in Action: the externally assessed non-exam assessment in which you create and perform two contrasting pieces from a WJEC stimulus, a devised piece using one practitioner or company and a performance of a text extract in a different style, assessed by a visiting examiner and documented in a process and evaluation report, worth 40 per cent for AO1, AO2 and AO3.

Component 1 Theatre Workshop: the non-exam assessment in which you reinterpret an extract from a WJEC-supplied text using the working methods of one practitioner or recognised company, create and perform it as a performer or designer, and document the process in a creative log, worth 20 per cent and assessing AO1, AO2 and AO3.

Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty: total theatre as an assault on the senses, the primacy of sound, light and movement over text, ritual and the plague metaphor, breaking the audience-stage barrier, applied as concrete choices to provoke a visceral response (AO3, and AO1 and AO2 in the practical work).

Steven Berkoff and physical total theatre: stylised mime and the creation of objects and settings with the body, exaggerated and grotesque physicality, heightened vocal delivery, ensemble work and direct address, applied as concrete choices for a heightened, non-naturalistic style (AO3, and AO1 and AO2 in the practical work).

Bertolt Brecht and epic theatre: the alienation effect (Verfremdung), gestus, episodic structure, placards, song, direct address and visible technique, applied to make an audience think critically about society when staging a text or devising (AO3, and AO1 and AO2 in the practical work).

Choosing and applying a practitioner or company: selecting one practitioner or company whose methods suit Component 1 and a different one for Component 2, matching the practitioner to the material, and applying their techniques as sustained, concrete choices documented in the log and report (AO1, AO2 and AO3).

Frantic Assembly and physical ensemble theatre: devised, choreographed movement integrated with text, building-block devising methods such as chair duets and round-by-through, lifts and contact work, and design-led storytelling, applied as concrete choices for fluid physical theatre (AO3, and AO1 and AO2 in the practical work).

Konstantin Stanislavski and psychological realism: the system of given circumstances, the magic if, objectives and the super-objective, emotion memory, units and actions, and truthful naturalistic performance, applied as concrete choices when staging a text or building a role (AO3, and AO1 and AO2 in the practical work).

Evaluating live theatre: watching professional productions, recording specific moments of performance and design, and analysing and evaluating their effect on an audience to inform exam answers and practical work, the live evaluation skill assessed under AO4 (with AO3).

Section A structured questions: answering shorter, structured questions on one complete set text by realising specified moments in performance through vocal, physical, spatial and design choices justified by audience effect, working open book with a clean copy (AO3 and AO4).

Section B the essay: a single extended essay on a second complete set text from a different period, building a sustained directorial or design concept across the whole play and justifying staging choices by their effect on an audience, working open book with a clean copy (AO3 and AO4).

Section C the set extract: answering a question on an extract from a third contrasting text, printed in the paper, by realising the extract in performance with specific staging and design choices justified by their effect on an audience (AO3 and AO4).

The set texts and the pre-1956 and post-1956 rule: studying two complete performance texts (one written before 1956, one after) for Sections A and B plus an extract for Section C, choosing from the WJEC lists, and studying each text as a script for performance rather than as literature (AO3 and AO4).

Staging a text as performer, director and designer: making and justifying vocal and physical choices (performer), spatial and staging choices (director) and set, costume, lighting and sound choices (designer), each tied to the effect on an audience, the core skill across every section of Component 3 (AO3 and AO4).

Component 3 Text in Performance: a 2 hour 30 minute written examination in three sections on two complete set texts (one pre-1956, one post-1956) and a printed extract from a third contrasting text, answered as a theatre maker, assessing AO3 and AO4 across 120 marks (40 per cent).