Year 8 Drama

Exploring Design Treasure Island
This unit of work focuses on Live Theatre and Students have had the opportunity to watch a live performance. Students have explored the story and themes and will consider the production elements in the play including Costume Design, Set Design, Lighting and Sound Design.

GCSE Drama – 
Year 9/10 GCSE Drama students have started to explore their set text An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley from a Performer, Director and Design perspective in order to prepare them for the written exam.

• An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley Heinemann ISBN 978-0-435232-82-5
• Revise Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Drama Revision Guide ISBN 9781292131986
• Drama Revision Workbook ISBN 9781292131979

Year 10 GCSE Drama
Students have completed their Written Portfolios this half term based on the performances that they created

Students answered 6 questions to analyse and evaluate their Devising process and final piece.

1. What was your initial response to the stimuli and what were the intentions of the piece?
2. What work did your group do in order to explore the stimuli and start to create ideas for performance?
3. What were some of the significant moments during the development process and when rehearsing and refining your work?
4. How did you consider Style and Genre, Structure and Form and Character and Language throughout the process?
5. How effective was your contribution to the final performance?
6. Were you successful in what you set out to achieve?

Students will now be revising for their Component 3 Progress exam in the Summer term.

Year 12 A-Level Drama & Theatre
Year 12 Drama students have completed their written portfolio based on their Component 1 Devised performances. Students answered 6 questions to analyse and evaluate their Devising process and final piece.

1. Outline your initial response to the key extract and practitioner and track how it was developed throughout the devising process
2. Connect your research material/s to key stages in the development process and to performance outcomes
3. Evaluate how your chosen role/s emerged and developed from initial ideas through to the final performance
4. Analyse how your contribution was influenced by the selected theatre practitioner and/or theatre makers, and the impact live theatre has had on your own practical work
5. Discuss how social, historical and cultural context has impacted on your work
6. Evaluate the creative choices you made and whether or not they were successful in performance.

Word Count: 2500-3000
Anonymous 52 explores the importance of human connection and demonstrate the effects of loneliness as well as questioning the impact of modern working lifestyle on individuals.
The Idea of Me demonstrates how women are constantly pressured by societal standards and social media ideals to present themselves in a certain way
The Truth about Lies explores the definition of truth and lies and their nuances and asks the question - Can lying can ever be morally right?

Enrichment in Drama
VIBE Drama Club Tuesday after school 3.15-4.30pm (Drama Rooms C030 C034)
As an RSC Partnership School, the Drama Department are running a performance project with VIBE Drama club for the RSC Playmakers Festival. The text we will be exploring this year is a section from Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

Three witches tell the Scottish general Macbeth that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills King Duncan, becomes the new king, and kills more people out of greed and paranoia. Civil war erupts to overthrow Macbeth, resulting in more tragedy.

VIBE will create a performance based on a section from the play to showcase their talent. It is an excellent opportunity to experience live performance whilst developing an understanding of the drama strategies that they will have learnt throughout their Drama lessons. The group will have the opportunity to work with a practitioner from the RSC for an afternoon in May.  On Thursday 8 June the group will have a technical rehearsal, in school, during the day in preparation for the public performance at Sydenham Primary School in conjunction with other RSC Partnership Schools local secondary schools including Sydenham, Evergreen, St Anthony’s, Clapham Terrace and Lighthorne Primary.

Enrichment Opportunity for Year 8/9 Drama students – Places still available
We are really excited to be an ambassador school working with Highly Sprung Theatre and will be participating Physical Fellowship Festival. A week-long festival of environmentally themed youth performance.   

The Physical Fellowship Festival challenges young performers to engage in an intensive devising process, over 2 artist residency days in school with Highly Sprung artists, to create a 20 minute piece of thought provoking and inspiring physical performance to showcase their talents as part of the festival week.

The NLS group will create a 20 minute piece of thought provoking and inspiring physical performance to showcase their talents linked to this theme. It is an excellent opportunity to experience live theatre whilst developing an understanding of the drama strategies that they will learn and apply throughout their Drama course.

 This year’s festival’s theme  will be What does it mean to be truly free?
To have the liberty to make choices guided by your ambitions and dreams with no barriers or restrictions.
This year’s festival is a tribute to the journeys to freedom defined by our pasts, presents and futures. Celebrating where freedom exists and throwing light where it is still absent.
Everyone deserves the right to be free but is all freedom equal?
In a response to explorations of human rights, identity and free speech this year’s festival exposes the realities experienced in pursuing freedom.

On Wednesday 21 June and Thursday 22 June students will spend the 2 days working with a Highly Sprung Director who will work with the group at NLS towards a performance piece. The artist will be able to offer practical insights into the devising process and physical theatre techniques to develop performance material. Please ask your child to wear their PE kit for these workshops and to bring a bottle of water. VT, break and lunchtime will be timetabled as normal.  Students will then be expected to commit to extra weekly rehearsals to continue rehearsing the performance in preparation for the performance.
The performers will spend a day at the Belgrade Theatre on Thursday 6 July where students will be involved in all day workshops with professional theatre companies during the morning.  Students will have a technical rehearsal in the afternoon followed by a dress rehearsal in preparation for a public performance in the main theatre of the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, in conjunction with other local secondary schools and Highly Sprung Performance Company. 
A minibus will transport the group to the Theatre on Thursday 6 July for the Physical Fellowship Workshops and technical rehearsal.  Please make the necessary arrangements to collect your child from the Belgrade Theatre after the performance.  The performance will finish at approximately 9.30pm.  Please ensure your child wears appropriate loose clothing for the all day practical workshop and brings a packed lunch and a dinner for the workshop, rehearsal and performance. Students will be required to stay at the theatre after the technical rehearsal until the evening performance has finished. 
If your child is interested please ask them to see Mrs Hill or email dhill@northleamington.co.uk