National 5 Drama provides opportunities for learners to develop skills creating and presenting drama. This Course focuses on the development and use of a range of drama skills and production skills to present drama.
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 a range of social and cultural influences on drama
- develop a range of skills in presenting drama
- develop knowledge, understanding and the use of a range of 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 investigate, develop and apply a range of drama skills.
Drama Skills (National 5)
In this Unit, learners will explore and develop a range of drama skills and ways of communicating thoughts and ideas to an audience. They will develop a range of skills as an actor. They will learn how to respond to stimuli, including text. They will also learn how to develop portrayal of character in a range of ways and develop knowledge and understanding of form, structure, genre and style when creating and presenting drama.
Learners will develop knowledge and understanding of social and cultural influences on drama. They will also learn how to evaluate their own progress and that of other learners.
Drama: Production Skills (National 5)
In this Unit, learners will develop a range of production skills. They will use these skills to enhance drama when presenting. Learners will use problem-solving skills in order to generate ideas for presenting drama.
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
- The Course assessment will consist of two Components — a question paper and a performance. The question paper will have two sections. The performance will have two sections. Question paper The purpose of the question paper is to add value by requiring integration and application of knowledge and skills from across the Units. It allows learners to demonstrate their ability to interpret questions and respond in an informed way. This question paper will assess learners’ ability to demonstrate the following skills,
- knowledge and understanding
- responding to stimuli
- characterisation
- performance or design concepts
- presenting
- audience reaction
- analysis and evaluation skills
- genre and themes
- mood and atmosphere
- rehearsal techniques
- target audience
- a range of production roles
- different staging, settings and styles of production
- problem solving and critical thinking skills
The question paper will have 40 marks (40% of the total mark)
Performance The purpose of the performance is to enable learners to draw on, extend and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding they have learned during the Course. The performance will assess the learner’s preparation and performance of a textual extract. The learner may be assessed in either an acting or a production role. All learners will be required to demonstrate skills by:
- responding to text
- developing character or creatively using production skills
- using a range of acting or production skills
- communicating to an audience
The performance component will have 60 marks in total (60% of the total mark).
The performance has two sections: a performance and the preparation for performance. The weighting of marks across the two sections of the performance component will be 50 marks for the performance in either acting or a production role and 10 marks for the preparation for performance.
Actors — the performance must involve interaction with at least one other actor. The actors need not necessarily be learners from within the same class and could be learners who are not being assessed in this area. Each performance will last a minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of 45 minutes, depending on the number of learners performing. Groups should contain a minimum of two and maximum of 10.
Or:
Production — learners will choose a production role and design for their chosen text. They will demonstrate their production concept for the play (this may be through the production of plans, drawings, designs, plot sheets, mood boards, and so forth) and practical realisation of this.
Preparation for performance will have 10 marks. Learners will have selected a text to explore from the perspective of an actor or their chosen production role. Preparation for performance will include research on the chosen text and the processes used to reach either their acting or production concept for the performance. In preparation for performance, learners will choose the text for performance. Learners will also select their production role for assessment. Marks will be awarded for:
- research into the chosen text
- interpretation of the role
- process (development and progression) of either acting or the production concept
This section will give learners an opportunity to demonstrate the following skills:
- knowledge and understanding
- responding to text
- communicating thoughts and ideas
- developing ideas for performance through either acting or production skills
