GCSE DRAMA

By Finnlorien Spencer Douglas-Howse

Contents

Home and introduction Pg.1Theory Pg. 2

Styles and Genres Pg. 5

Performance skills and techniques Pg. 6

Home and introduction

• This is a revision guide to help you get through your Drama GCSE. This is a video telling you the basics of drama.

Theory

• Without theory, drama couldn’t be done. Planning out, script writing and play writing are all to do with the theory of drama. All of Shakespeare’s plays were all written out first.

Stimulus

• A stimulus is anything which excites your imagination and draws you in on a piece of drama. It could be an existing script, a piece of fiction or non-fiction, a poem, an object, a picture, a newspaper or web article, or a piece of music. Look at Responding to a stimulus for more information. It’s important that you remain open to how it makes you feel and to any ideas that emerge, however strange they may seem initially. It is good if you record all of your initial responses. This is called brainstorming.

Styles and Genres

• You may have chosen to create work in a particular style or genre such as Physical theatre or Musical theatre. It’s acceptable to use a mixture of styles, but devising a piece of work can be like cooking a meal. If you have too many flavours or ingredients in one pot, the result might be confused or unsatisfying. You could choose to set your work in a particular historical time or use a futuristic setting. Changing the society, culture or location of the piece of drama is also an option. This can be particularly interesting when working with an existing story.

Skills and Techniques