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Drama and theatre skills (knowledge for the exam and the practicals)

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What are the design skills in drama, and how do set, costume, lighting and sound create meaning?

Knowledge and understanding of design skills: set (including props and levels), costume (including hair and make-up), lighting (colour, intensity, angle, state) and sound (effects, music, underscore), and how each creates location, mood, period and meaning for the audience.
A focused answer on the design skills in WJEC GCSE Drama: how set, costume, lighting and sound create location, mood, period and meaning, supporting the designer answer in the written exam and design work in the practicals.
13 min answer →

Which practitioners, genres and styles of drama and theatre do you need to know, and how do they shape performance?

Knowledge and understanding of practitioners, genres and styles of drama and theatre: naturalism and Stanislavski, epic and political theatre and Brecht, and physical and devised theatre, and how each shapes acting, staging and the audience's experience.
A focused answer on the practitioners, genres and styles WJEC GCSE Drama draws on: naturalism and Stanislavski, epic and political theatre and Brecht, and physical and devised theatre, and how each shapes acting, staging and audience response.
13 min answer →

What are the main stage configurations, and how do they change the actor and audience relationship?

Knowledge and understanding of staging configurations and stagecraft: proscenium arch, thrust, in the round, traverse and end on staging, the stage directions and areas (upstage, downstage), and how the chosen configuration changes the actor and audience relationship and the staging of a moment.
A focused answer on stage configurations in WJEC GCSE Drama: proscenium, thrust, in the round, traverse and end on, the stage areas, and how the chosen staging changes the actor and audience relationship for the exam and the practicals.
13 min answer →

What do the practical units (Unit 1 Devising and Unit 2 Performing from a Text) require, in overview?

Overview of the practical, non-examined units: Unit 1 Devising Theatre (devise an original piece from a stimulus influenced by a practitioner or genre, with a supporting portfolio and evaluation) and Unit 2 Performing from a Text (perform two extracts from one play, or realise a design).
An overview of the practical, non-examined units of WJEC GCSE Drama: Unit 1 Devising Theatre and its portfolio and evaluation, and Unit 2 Performing from a Text, including how they are assessed and the AO1 and AO2 objectives they reward.
13 min answer →

What are the vocal and physical acting skills, and how do actors use them to build a character?

Knowledge and understanding of acting skills: the vocal skills (pitch, pace, pause, tone, volume, accent, emphasis) and physical skills (posture, gesture, gait, facial expression, eye contact, proxemics), and how an actor combines them to build a believable character and communicate meaning.
A focused answer on the vocal and physical acting skills in WJEC GCSE Drama: what each skill is, how actors combine them to build character, and how this knowledge supports both the practical units and the written exam.
13 min answer →