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Queen Elizabeth High School

Curriculum

QEHS,
Whetstone Bridge Road,
Hexham,
Northumberland,
NE46 3JB.
Tel: 01434 610300

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Course Information

Y13 Course Info

Drama - Year 13

Drama - Year 13

A2 Drama (EDEXCEL – 8DR01) - Year 13

There are two units at A2 level (Unit 3: Exploration of Dramatic Performance (40%), and Unit 4: Theatre Text In Context (60%)), each one taught by both of your teachers. The year is made up of both written and practical coursework, and evening performance and a written exam. We also aim to take you on trips to the theatre.

TEACHER 1	TEACHER 2
Half Term 1 (June - July)
Unit 3 Stimulus received and explored practically Completion of a presentation task (students present their research and initial ideas into the stimulus) A series of teacher led workshops exploring a number of theatre practitioners and their methodologies	Unit 3 Stimulus received and explored practically Completion of a presentation task (students present their research and initial ideas into the stimulus) A series of teacher led workshops exploring a number of theatre practitioners and their methodologies
External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: No	External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: No

Half Term 2 (September - October)
Students are put into groups and begin working independently on the development of the final devised piece for Unit 3 (based on work completed last half term) Extra out of school rehearsals required Written notes to be taken by students throughout the process Teachers to assess all practical contributions during the process	Students are put into groups and begin working independently on the development of the final devised piece for Unit 3 (based on work completed last half term) Extra out of school rehearsals required Written notes to be taken throughout the process Teachers to assess all practical contributions during the process
External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: Yes – we aim to visit a local theatre to watch a piece of innovative devised work.	External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: No

Half Term 3 (November - December)
Final development of the Unit 3 performance piece during lessons and extra rehearsals Final performance of the Unit 3 piece (an evening performance to an invited audience – assessed by the teachers, moderated by the exam board) All written coursework to be completed and submitted	Final development of the Unit 3 performance piece during lessons and extra rehearsals Final performance of the Unit 3 piece (an evening performance to an invited audience) All written coursework to be completed and submitted
External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes – Final performance of the Unit 3 devised piece. Coursework Deadline this H/T: Yes – all written coursework must be completed and submitted by the end of the Autumn term. Field Trips/Visits: No	External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: Yes Field Trips/Visits: No

Half Term 4 & 5 (January - April)
Practical and theoretical preparation for Section A & B of the Unit 4 exam (set text, Woyzeck)	Practical and theoretical preparation for Section C of the Unit 4 exam (Theatre history and the piece of live Shakespeare seen in London)
External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: Yes – we aim to travel to London for a residential visit where we will watch a live performance of a Shakespeare play and tour a number of other theatres in preparation for the Unit 4 exam.	External Assessment: No Internal Common Assessment: Yes Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits:

Half Term 6 (May - June)
Final preparations for Unit 4 exam Practice papers Unit 4 exam	Final preparations for Unit 4 exam Practice papers Unit 4 exam
External Assessment: Yes Internal Common Assessment: No Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: No	External Assessment: Yes Internal Common Assessment: No Coursework Deadline this H/T: N/A Field Trips/Visits: No

Suggested Course reading list:
Set text (this will be provided free of charge by the Drama department)
Buchner G — Woyzeck (Methuen) ISBN 0413388204

Additional reading:
Baldwin C — Stage Directing: A practical Guide (Crowood Press) ISBN 1861266030
Benedetti J — The Art of the Actor (Methuen) ISBN 0413773361
Benedetti J — Stanislavski: An Introduction (Methuen) ISBN 1413500306
Brecht S — Bread and Puppet Theatre Vol. 2 (Methuen) ISBN 1413605108
Brook P — There are No Secrets (Methuen) ISBN 0413604909
Elsam P — Acting Characters (Methuen) ISBN 0713675861
Fredman and Reade — The Essential Guide to Making Theatre (Hodder) ISBN 0340655143
Grotowski J — Towards a Poor Theatre (Methuen) ISBN 0413349101
Kustow M — Theatre@Risk (Methuen) ISBN 0413738205
LePage R — Connecting Flights (Methuen) ISBN 0413706907
McLeish K — Guide to Greek Theatre and Drama (Methuen) ISBN 0413720306
Rodenburg P — The Actor Speaks (Methuen) ISBN 0413700305
Schumacher C (editor) — Artaud on Theatre (Methuen) ISBN 0413737705
Walton J M (editor) — Craig on Theatre (Methuen) ISBN 0413472205
Willett J (editor) — Brecht on Theatre (Methuen) ISBN 041338800X

Useful websites:
www.edexcel.com/gce2008
www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck
hellenicbookservice.com
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
www.rsc.org.uk
www.shakespeares-globe.org
www.stagework.org
www.warkscol.ac.uk/inspire

In addition to the above, it is highly recommended that students watch and participate in as much live theatre as possible during the course. This will inform their work and broaden their understanding of how theatre is created and performed.