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.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point is an overview of the practical, non-examined units of WJEC GCSE Drama. These units are performed and documented, not sat as a written exam, so they are summarised here for orientation rather than examined on this page. Unit 1, Devising Theatre, asks you to devise an original piece from a stimulus, influenced by a practitioner or genre, with a supporting portfolio and evaluation. Unit 2, Performing from a Text, asks you to perform two extracts from one play, or to realise a design. Together they carry 60 percent of the GCSE and reward AO1 (creating ideas) and AO2 (applying skills).
Unit 1: Devising Theatre
Unit 2: Performing from a Text
How the practicals link to the knowledge
Try this
Q1. What does Unit 1 require, and what is it worth? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Devise an original group piece from a stimulus, influenced by a practitioner or genre, with a supporting portfolio and an evaluation; it is worth 40 percent and is non-examined.
Q2. What are the two routes through Unit 2? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Perform two extracts from one published play for a visiting examiner, or take the design route and realise the set, costume, lighting or sound instead.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC (Unit 1 portfolio)10 marksDocument your devising processShow worked answer →
A portfolio task that supports the practical Unit 1 (not a written exam).
Stimulus and intention. Explain the stimulus the piece grew from and the meaning you set out to communicate to the audience.
Process and influence. Describe how the group developed and shaped ideas, the practitioner or genre that influenced the work, and the dramatic techniques you used.
Top marks. Show clear creative decisions linked to intention, and reflect on how the work developed, evidencing AO1 (creating and developing ideas).
WJEC (Unit 2)8 marksPerforming two extractsShow worked answer →
A summary of what the practical Unit 2 requires (performed, not written).
The task. Perform two extracts from one published play for a visiting examiner, applying vocal and physical skills to realise the characters.
Design route. Alternatively, realise a design (set, costume, lighting or sound) for the performance instead of acting.
Top marks. In performance, apply theatrical skills to communicate character and meaning to an audience, evidencing AO2 (applying skills in live performance).
Related dot points
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The structure of Unit 3 Interpreting Theatre: a 1 hour 30 minute written exam worth 40 percent (60 marks), with Section A on a studied set text answered as performer, designer and director, and Section B an evaluation of live theatre, assessing AO3 and AO4.
A focused answer on how the WJEC GCSE Drama written paper is built: the two sections, the set-text and live-theatre demands, the timing and marks, and the AO3 and AO4 assessment objectives the paper rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Drama (Wales) specification (3690) — WJEC (2016)