Autumn Term – Introduction to Drama (Explorative Strategies and Skills).

Students will be introduced to Drama through learning about the explorative strategies and skills used in Drama. Students will also learn performance skills such as body language, facial expressions, voice and awareness of the audience. Students will work as a group and create short performances to a brief.

Spring Term – …Sam and Alex (Peer Pressure).

Students will look at characterisation skills and how we create and explore characters through explorative strategies. Students will create a short piece of drama from a given stimulus and use performance skills to assist with character development.

Summer Term – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Exploring Scripts).

Students will explore the features of a script and how we apply acting skills to a script to create a believable performance. Students will learn how plots and character are developed and be able to reflect on the issues or themes that are being explored through the drama.

Autumn Term – Physical Theatre and Mime

This unit will focus on how you can create tension and atmosphere within a performance. Students will create a character, learn about the art of storytelling and create a piece of physical theatre.

Spring Term – Meet the Family (Soap Opera).

Students will look at the genre of Soap Operas what key features they have and how characters and storylines are developed and performed in this genre. Students will use characterisation and performance skills to create performances to briefs throughout.

Summer Term – Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman).

Students will understand the characteristics of this text through practical exploration. Students will focus on what the features of a script are, what verbatim theatre is and how it is used. Students will work on creating believable characters and applying performance skills.

Autumn Term – Script Analysis.

Students will be introduced to plays in a practical way. They will cover thematic and theatrical elements helping students to gain a solid understanding of the events of the text while exploring performance, design and directorial elements.

Spring Term – Production Skills

Students will focus on what production skills are and how theatre is created and produced. Students will explore how a play gets staged and look at the roles and responsibilities of professionals such as director, costume designer, sound and lighting designer to create a performance or production.

Summer Term – Devising and Performance.

Students will work in a number of different styles of drama, they will learn about different practitioners and their techniques and respond to a variety of stimulus material including scripts of plays, props, objects and images. Students will use performance skills such as body language, facial expressions, voice, awareness of audience to assist with character development.   

Autumn Term/Spring Term –Component 1: Exploring the Performing Arts.

Students look at the requirements of being a performer in this unit across a range of performances and performance styles. They will look at elements such as roles, responsibilities and the application of relevant skills and techniques. They will broaden their knowledge through observing existing repertoire and by learning about the approaches of practitioners, and how they create and influence performance material. This component gives an understanding of practitioners work and the processes and practises that contribute to a range of performance styles.

Spring Term/Summer Term – Summer Term –Component 2: Developing Skills and Techniques.

In this component, students will develop performing or design skills and techniques. Students take part in workshops and classes where they will gain and develop technical, practical and interpretative skills through the rehearsal and performance process. They will work from existing performing arts repertoire, applying relevant skills and techniques to reproduce performance or design elements of the work. Throughout their development, they will review their own progress and consider how to make improvements.

Component 3 Responding to a Brief.

In this component, students have the opportunity to respond to a brief. They will be given a brief that outlines the performance and design requirements and that asks them to consider the target audience and to start the creative process by using the given stimulus included in the brief. Working as part of a group, they will develop ideas for a workshop performance and apply skills and techniques to communicate their creative intentions to the audience. The work may involve improvisation, vocal work, movement techniques or assisting with audience involvement. The group performance may involve some solo or small-group work or it may be an ensemble piece. Students have the opportunity to inform the performance using existing or newly developed skills, in performing or designing and adapting them to suit the performance.