Higher Drama provides opportunities for learners to develop skills creating and presenting drama. The Course focuses on the development and use of complex drama and production skills.
This Course is practical and experiential.
The aims of the Course are to enable learners to:
- generate and communicate thoughts and ideas when creating drama
- develop a knowledge and understanding of the social and cultural influences on drama
- develop complex skills in presenting and analysing drama
- develop knowledge and understanding of complex production skills when presenting drama
- explore form, structure, genre and style
As learners develop practical skills creating and presenting drama, they will also develop knowledge and understanding of cultural and social influences on drama. Learners will analyse and evaluate how the use of self-expression, language and movement can develop their ideas for drama. Learners will develop critical thinking skills as they explore and develop complex drama and production skills.
Drama Skills (Higher)
In this Unit, learners will apply complex drama skills and develop ways of communicating thoughts and ideas to an audience. They will learn how to respond to stimuli, including text. They will also learn how to portray character in a range of ways and explore form, structure, genre and style when creating and presenting drama.
Learners will develop knowledge and understanding of the social and cultural influences on drama. They will also learn how to evaluate their own progress and that of other learners.
Drama: Production Skills (Higher)
In this Unit, learners will explore and apply complex production skills. Learners will learn how to respond to stimuli, including text, to communicate ideas for a production. They will develop ideas and production skills within their chosen production roles.
Conditions of award
To gain the award of the Course, the learner must pass all of the Units as well as the Course assessment. The required Units are shown in the Course outline section. Course assessment will provide the basis for grading attainment in the Course award.
SQA EXAM
Question paper
The question paper will have 40 marks (40% of the total mark). This question paper has two Sections.
Section 1 will have 20 marks. This section will deal with the analysis of a selected text. Learners will be required to demonstrate knowledge of a text they have studied in terms of content and the social, historical and/or theatrical context, and to show an understanding of how the text could be communicated to an audience through performance. The question paper will pose questions that allow learners to provide an extended response from the perspective of either an actor or director or designer in preparation for an intended production. Learners will be credited on their ability to make use of appropriate quotations.
Section 2 will have 20 marks. This section will take the form of a written analysis of a performance that the learner has seen. This may be a live or, if necessary, a recorded theatrical performance. Performance analysis will consider areas such as:
- the genre, theme and social, historical and/or theatrical context of the performance piece
- the company performing the play
- the performance space
- the director’s intentions and effectiveness
- the acting and development of characters
- the design concepts and their effectiveness — set, props, costume, make-up lighting, sound/effects
- audience reaction
- overall impact
Section 2 allows for responses based on:
- live or recorded material
- appropriate amateur performances
Performance (60 marks)
The performance will have 60 marks (60% of the total mark). The performance has two sections: a performance and a preparation for performance. The weighting of marks across the two Sections is 50 marks for the performance in the chosen role of acting, directing or design, and 10 marks for the preparation for performance.
All learners will be required to demonstrate skills by:
- responding to themes and issues of the chosen text
- developing characters and their relationships within the chosen text
- understanding the social, historical and/or theatrical context of their chosen text
- using a complex range of acting or production skills
- communicating to an audience
Section 1: Preparation for Performance will have 10 marks. Learners will have selected a text to explore in depth from the perspective of either an actor or director or designer. The preparation for performance will include research on the chosen text (texts for actors) and the processes used to reach their acting or directing or design concept for the performance (Section 2).
Section 2: Performance will have 50 marks. The performance for the actors must take place in front of an appropriate ‘live’ audience. It is the responsibility of each centre to provide the appropriate audience, ie appropriate in age, textual content and numbers.
Actors — Actors should prepare two contrasting roles from two different texts. 25 marks will be available for each role. Performances must involve interaction with at least one other actor (this need not necessarily be someone from within the same class and could be someone who is not being assessed in this area). Each performance will last approximately 7–10 minutes.
Directors —Directors will conduct a rehearsal with actors from a textual extract of approximately two pages. The rehearsal should last approximately 30 minutes.
Designers — Learners will design a set for their chosen text and choose one other relevant production area. They will demonstrate their design concept for the play (this may be through the production of plans, drawings, designs, plot sheets, mood boards) and practical realisation of this. Thirty marks will be awarded for set design and 20 marks for the additional relevant production area.
