Drama
DRAMA AT RUGBY HIGH SCHOOL
Drama Department Vision Statement
In Performing Arts, it is our intention to develop students who enjoy their learning, to foster a positive and collaborative rehearsal and performance space, to inspire students to shape and refine their work with energy and focus, and to improve their self-worth. They will learn both the creative and technical side of the subjects, including the language of Theatre and Music.
We aim to provide our students with a life-long love of the Arts and encourage students to explore the wider world of performance work and the culture that surrounds it. We endeavour to equip our students with a plethora of transferable skills such as confidence, teamwork, communication skills, time management, self-management, discipline and creativity which will allow them to flourish in the ever-competitive world of work, no matter what profession they choose to enter.
Welcome to Drama!
Drama at Rugby High School is a dynamic and vibrant subject; it follows a creative and disciplined approach to the study of theatre through a combination of practical, design, and theoretical work. The students’ experience of Drama not only equips them with the knowledge and understanding of a variety of playwrights, designers, practitioners and theatrical cultures, but endeavours to develop their emotional intelligence and critical thinking. We want our pupils to feel proud of their successes, and enable them to be determined and resilient young people who keep trying when things aren’t going the way they desired. It is our aim that pupils will leave our school with ambition, positive self-esteem, confidence, and the ability to think and communicate creatively; these skills will enable them to cope with the demands of the modern world, no matter what field they wish to enter. Drama is recognised as a rigorous and academic subject in its own right and is delivered to all students weekly at KS3, with the opportunity to study it further at GCSE and A Level; the department also offers a wide range of learning opportunities outside formal lessons such as theatre visits, clubs, practitioner workshops, and our annual school production.
The Drama club ‘Uproar’ at Rugby High School provides an important opportunity for students to develop a wide range of drama skills in a friendly, informal environment. There is an annual School Production, which provides students with a wonderful opportunity to work with students throughout the school, from year eight to year thirteen. Students also have the opportunity to take on roles of responsibility such as lighting and sound technician, set design and backstage support, and helping with promotions and marketing for the vast amount of examination performances and school productions that we do every academic year.
Our facilities include a Drama Studio which is fully equipped with lighting, video and sound equipment and a Drama Classroom which is also equipped with free-standing lighting and sound equipment. Pupils continue to have 100% success rate at both GCSE and A Level, exceeding both National and Regional statistics.
Extra-Curricular Activities of the Department:
- Theatre trips to London/Birmingham/Stratford-Upon-Avon/Northampton/Oxford..
- Workshops by leading practitioners
- ‘Uproar’ the Junior Drama
- Annual School Production
- RHS Drama GCSE Festival
- Showcasing of GCSE, AS & A2 Drama Practical Examinations
Year 7
Topics
- Language related to voice, physicality and space and how to apply these in written tasks
- The drama devices still image, soundscape, choral voice, choral movement, direct address, proxemics, cross-cutting, flashback, puppetry etc.
- How to work effectively in group work
- The theatrical conventions of Greek/Chinese/Japanese Theatre including stick character, chorus, narration etc. and the differences between Western and Eastern theatre traditions
- The origins of Theatre
- The stock characters of Chinese/Japanese Theatre and their functions
- How to justify their theatre design decisions (mask design), considering character, and symbolic use of colour, shape and lines
- The main conventions of storytelling theatre including direct address, exaggerated, playful characters, collective character and multirole
- How to use acting skills to create contrast
- How to evaluate a piece of theatre
Assessments
- Fable performance and making assessment (Baseline)
- Arrival Devised and Performance Assessment
- Short written reflection
- Greek theatre Performance Assessment (Jason and the Argonauts or Antigone)
- Chinese/Japanese Performance and Devised assessment
- Written task (Annotated Mask design)
- Live Theatre Review – Robin Hood (Off-Balance)
- Storytelling Devised and Performance Assessment
Year 8
Topics
- Characterisation: Script Work
- Discuss, with sensitivity, topics related to mental health, bullying and peer pressure
- Use thought-tracking
- Use conscience corridor
- Use hot-seating
- Create a believable character
- Use role on the wall
- Consider the given circumstances of a character or situation in order to develop realistic characters and scenarios
- Practitioner/Style: Berkoff
- Use physicality and mime effectively
- Create movement motifs
- Use externalisation to abstractly represent internal emotions
- Move and speak as a chorus
- Design and apply makeup in a Berkovian style
- Analyse and interpret a short piece of text (Fall of the House of Usher and The Trial scripts) and apply this to a short Berkovian style performance
- Practitioner/Style: Brecht
- Apply a range of verfremdungeffekt devising techniques to a performance (direct address, spass, archtypes, placards etc.)
- Create theatre with a political message
- Research a topic/person and use this research in the devising process
- Use a Brechtian script as a stimulus
Assessment
- Scripted performance of a scene
- An annotated role on the wall (Analysis and interpretation of a script)
- Devising and performing a Berkovian piece of theatre
- Annotated make-up design
- Jane Eyre Live Theatre Review
- Response – A one-two minute podcast explaining how they used Brechtian and Epic Techniques to communicate a message to an audience
- Devising and performing a piece of Epic Theatre on an influential woman in history
Year 9
Topics
- Physical theatre: Use a range of Frantic Assembly ‘Building Block’ techniques to devise movement including Round, By, Through, Chair Duets, Lifts etc.
- Apply text to a movement sequence
- Describe, analyse and explain
- Script Work and Characterisation: Move a script from page to stage
- Create complex and interesting characters with objectives, motivations and with a consideration of their past experiences
- Apply Stanislavski’s techniques to develop believable character e.g. objective, obstacle and actioning
- Understand context and subtext
- Direct and critique work in progress
- Devising and Practitioner: Apply a range of Paperbird techniques for devising theatre) e.g. motormouth, choreo-cues, imagery, signposting, flowing sentences, asides, motifs etc.
- Conduct interviews as research with consideration to the ethics of using the words of others
- Write a script based on research
Assessments
- Live Theatre Review Love Song (Digital Theatre Plus)
- Devising and Performing a piece of Physical Theatre
- Response: Costume design analysis
- Scripted Performance
- Devise and perform a Paperbirds style Performance
- Response: Scriptwriting
- Short working notebook of the process of creating the performance and an evaluation of the finished product
GCSE
Specification: AQA
Drama is a stimulating, demanding and highly regarded academic subject. The GCSE Drama course consists of both practical work and written work. All lessons are practically-based.
The course is structured into three parts:
- During the course, students will devise drama from a wide range of stimuli. They will develop understanding of how to create and structure a piece of devised drama, using a range of conventions. Students will complete this unit in the summer of Year 10 which is assessed internally and moderated by AQA; they also have a written portfolio that accompanies this unit which allows students to reflect on the devising process. This unit is worth 40%. The performance is worth 10% whilst the portfolio of 2,500 words is worth 30%.
- During the course, students will study a play, and analyse how the playwright expresses their ideas. Students will explore ways of dramatising the script and examine ways of making the play work on stage. They will also analyse live theatre productions. This work culminates in a written examination at the end of Year 11. This unit is worth 40%.
- The third part of the course is a practical examination. In Year 11, students will perform or design two scripted performances (a monologue, duologue, and/or group piece) for an external examiner. This unit is worth 20%.
For more details contact:
Rebecca Davies, Head of Performing Arts), BA (Hons), PGCE
r.davies@rugbyhighschool.co.uk
Miss Brady, MA BA Hons, PGCE Drama