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Drama

Curriculum and Staffing

Performing Arts Logo copy Introduction

Studying Drama at Waingels, provides students with the opportunity to explore the world of theatre. Theatre allows all individuals to be exposed to the lives of others and provides us with the opportunity to step into another world. It allows us to look critically at situations, reflect on human behaviours and connect and understand with familiar and unfamiliar emotions.

Throughout all years, Drama students will explore a range of styles of theatre ranging from practitioners such as Stanislavski to Brecht, from musicals to comedies, from script work to devising. We aim to build confidence and resilience in our students by teaching them how to create, perform and appreciate quality drama.

Whilst acting may not be for all students, through participation alone students learn a range of employability skills: collaboration, leadership, empathy, critical thinking, and creativity. Drama is a fun, engaging and practical subject here at Waingels where students are active and creative in their learning.

Years 7 and 8

Throughout KS3 students are taught several different dramatic skills, styles, and genres. They learn how to apply these skills in a performance and how to evaluate them.

In Year 7 students will learn the core building blocks of drama beginning with Tableau, Mime, and Character before refining their skills in the style of Melodrama, exploring, and staging the GCSE script ‘The Black Hearted Villain’. Students conclude Year 7 by studying Semiotics using extracts from multiple plays.

In Year 8 students will study ‘Our Day Out’ by Willie Russell focusing on how to use and apply stage directions in performance. They will study ‘Wrapping Elves’, a staging and directing student lead project. Non-Naturalism including Physical Theatre, Frantic Assembly, Berkoff and Complicté before concluding with a devising project that teaches students to create a performance from scratch using ‘The Identification’ as a stimulus.

All assessment in Drama is formative. Assessment informs progress through self, peer, and teacher feedback. Homework is set according to the demands of topic.

Year 9 – Transition Year

Students may opt to continue with Drama and/or Performing Arts in Year 9. This year is a foundation year that prepares students for GCSE Drama. Both courses aim to develop student’s characterisation, devising and textual analysis skills ready for GCSE.

Years 10 & 11

This is an optional subject.

Examination Board: AQA http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/drama/gcse/drama-8261

Drama is a popular and exciting subject within the school. The GCSE course offers students the opportunity to develop their performance skills, experiment with new styles of theatre and the chance to work in a fully equipped department complete with two specialist performance spaces, and a range of technical equipment. You will take part in a range of scripted and devised performance projects and have the opportunity to be examined in a technical theatre option if you wish. This is a course which is aimed at raising your performance skills and experiences of theatre, but also increases interpersonal and empathetic skills.

Assessment: Drama is 40% controlled assessment task (practical) and 60% written element. There is one written examination at the end of Year 11.

Careers & Future Study

For students wanting to pursue a career in the theatre, whether that is as an actor, director, stage manager or technician engaging with Drama at Waingels is the perfect steppingstone. The Drama department can advise any students on such career paths and the routes needed to achieve such ambitions.

For students who do not see a role in the theatre or on the screen as their future, Drama provides some of the most transferable skills to the world of employment. As mentioned above, students learn skills in collaboration, leadership, empathy, critical thinking, confidence, resilience, and communication. Students who have studied Drama have gone on to study Law, Philosophy and English to name a few.

Sixth Form

Examination Board AQA: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/drama/a-level/drama-and-theatre-7262

Theatre Studies is a natural progression from GCSE Drama. Theatre Studies is highly successful at the school and has been a popular choice in the Sixth Form.

This course will give you excellent knowledge and understanding of Drama and Theatre. The written component consists of the study of two set plays and the analysis and evaluation of the work of live theatre makers. The practical component consists of one devised piece that must be influenced by the work and methodologies of one prescribed practitioner, the practical exploration and interpretation of three extracts, each taken from a different play and influenced by a practitioner.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

For the Drama Department, access to extra-curricular activities is a fantastic way to introduce and enhance a love of the theatre. To do this, we host a Drama Club for Year 7 and 8 students, stage an annual whole school production and a lower school production. We also love to have the support of students in our Tech Team, so if your child is more interested in the front of house or back stage roles they are also able to get involved with productions.

A recent addition will be the formation of a Year 9 & 10 Drama Club to give students the opportunity to develop and hone their performance skills.

As a department we also strive to provide opportunities for all year groups to see a diverse range of professional theatre, whether that is through live streamed performances or group trips. Our recent trips include The Lion King (Year 7), The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Year 8), The Woman in Black (Year 9) and Noughts & Crosses (GCSE).

Cosy Theatre Club

As a department we also strive to provide opportunities for all year groups to see a diverse range of professional theatre, whether that is through live streamed performances or group trips. Once a term we host our Cosy Theatre Club in Y017 for all and any students to dive in and watch a piece theatre: War Horse, Treasure Island, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and many more.

Cosy Theatre Club