GCSE AQA

Drama Exam
Guidance and
preparation

The first question is about the devised

work is broken into four components
In each section you must make clear that
you were an actor in the play and that all
choices made were with this in mind

Describe This section clearly asks for

clarification on the structure and design of your
play

Explain This section wants you to explain what

rehearsal techniques were used and how they
developed you character

Analyse This section wants you to analyse an

issue that came from you preparatory work
(Rehearsal) specifically describe the choice you
made to overcome the issue

Evaluate This section wants you to evaluate a

success from you final performance and
specifically outline how you achieved this success

Describe
Describe what your piece was about, state
the period, style and genre, your target
audience the performance space and any
technical or design elements used (10
marks)
To gain the ten marks you must answer the 7
components of this question clearly and concisely using
SSV
The seven things that must be answered to gain the
marks in this section are
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Key words What will be essential to achieving your
marks?

Describe
Synopsis (What was it about? What were the key themes?
Imagine this a blurb for your play)

Period - (In what century is your plays set and why make that
choice? Why was modern day important?)

Style - (Is it naturalistic or non-naturalistic? If its naturalistic

what Drama practitioner does it link to and vice versa with a
non-naturalistic style?)

Genre - (Was it comedy, drama, thriller, try to give details if

the genre changed during as why this was important?)

Target Audience - (Who would be most affected by your

performance? Age ranges, gender etc.)

Performance Space - (What type of staging was your play

performed on, and why)

Technical/ Design elements - (Did you use Sound and lights,

if so give brief outline of why)

Explain
Explain how you applied your skill as an
actor in the early stages of preparing this
piece of work to help create an engaging
piece of drama give at least one example
(10 Marks)
To achieve the ten marks for this question you must
explain the initial choices you made for the play
constantly referring back to your intent to create an
engaging piece of Drama given the stimuli
Remember as this is a performance based question you
should answer with Subject Specific Vocabulary
explaining in as much detail as possible as the dramatic
techniques you used to achieve your intent
To gain the marks you must answer the following
questions

1.
2.
3.
Key words What will be essential to achieving your
marks?

Explain
Research into character or storyline - (Explain what
research you did and how it impacted upon your overall
performance or story structure)

Rehearsal techniques - (What rehearsal techniques did you

do and how did this impact on the performance of your
character link to Stanislavskian skill where necessary?)

Impact of rehearsal - (Now you have described a rehearsal

technique you must now make clear how this affected you final
performance. What did this rehearsal technique do to your
portrayal of the character)

Analyse
Analyse how you developed your own skill
to tackle problems. You should refer to at
least one occasion in the preparation period
when you used your acting skills to

overcome at least one specific problem (10

Marks)
To achieve the ten marks you must first recognise a
problem that arose from your rehearsal problem and
the give details about how you overcame this problem
using the skills you have attained
Remember as this is a performance based question you
should answer with Subject Specific Vocabulary
explaining in as much detail as possible as the dramatic
techniques you used to achieve your intent
This question is split into two clear components
1.
2.
Key words What will be essential to achieving your
marks?

Analyse
Problem (How did you establish that there was an issue and

why was it a problem? Did it conflict with your overall message,

character design, story structure, actors intent or not fulfilling
the criteria set out?)

Resolution - (You must fully explain your steps in resolving

the problem that arose from your rehearsal process What did
you do first? Dont just say you fixed it. Using the various
performance skills you have, research or devising skills how did
you tackle the problem and eventually overcome it to put your
group and own dramatic intent back on track)

Evaluate
Evaluate your success in creating engaging
drama for your audience through the
application of your specific skill as an actor.
You should support your answer with
reference to at least one particular moment
from the final performance (10 Marks)
To achieve the ten marks for this question you must
clearly state how you achieved the goals set out in the
previous sections it should explain in detail how you
were successful
Remember as this is a performance based question
you should answer with Subject Specific Vocabulary
explaining in as much detail as possible as the dramatic
techniques you used to achieve your intent
This question is split into two clear components

1.
2.
Key words What will be essential to achieving your
marks?

Evaluate
Creation of engaging drama (Why were you successful in
you attempts to make engaging drama How did you achieve
your intent. How do you know you achieve your intent based on
the audience?)

Specific Successful Part - (Evaluate the success of the

specific part of the play specifically quoting the performance
skills used in as much detail as possible?)

The second question is about the

scripted work is broken into two
questions You must choose to which two
parts to answer DO NOT ANSWER ALL
FOUR .

Just complete the following two questions using

the script and quoting lines directly

Explain This section clearly asks you to explain

the vocal and physical skills you used in creating
character.

Analyse This section wants you to analyse how

using your performance skills you created a
relationship with another character in the play

Explain
Explain how you developed both your vocal
and your physical skills during rehearsals to
create a character that was appropriate to
your groups interpretation of the play
script. Give clear details of your research,
rehearsal and other preparation work that
helped you understand and perform your
character (20 Marks)
To achieve the 20 marks you must first establish how
you approached the character you were given and
follow that up with how they developed over time

Remember as this is a performance based question you

should answer with Subject Specific Vocabulary
explaining in as much detail as possible as the dramatic
techniques you used to achieve your intent
This question is split into two clear components
1.
2.
Key words What will be essential to achieving your
marks?

Evaluate
Experimentation of vocal and physical skills (What
experiments of vocal and physical skills did you do at first, and
how did it link to your groups interpretation of the play)

Rehearsal and development - (When you started

rehearsing properly what did you do to improve? How did you
continue to establish your version of the character during the
rehearsal up until you performed? How did rehearsals and
research help? )

Analyse
Analyse your success in demonstrating your
characters attitudes to and/or relationships
with other characters on stage at particular
moments. You should refer to at least one

specific section of the play and give clear

support for your answer (20 Marks)
To achieve the 20 marks you must first establish how
you approached the character you were given and
follow that up with how they developed over time
Remember as this is a performance based question you
should answer with Subject Specific Vocabulary
explaining in as much detail as possible as the dramatic
techniques you used to achieve your intent
This question is split into two clear components
1.
2.
Key words What will be essential to achieving your
marks?

Analyse
You characters relationship with another - (What in the
play or the storyline gives you this impression how did you
interpret the lines of the play to develop this characteristic )

How the relationship was shown - (What performance

skills were used by you to achieve your intent? How did every

technique used add to your interpretation of the text? )

To achieve the best possible grade you

must use subject specific vocabulary to
enhance your answer.
Terms and definitions
Body as prop Using your body to construct inanimate
objects, using 2 or more people
Freeze frames Frozen action where the actors must remain
completely still, shows a specific moment in time
Choral Speaking More than 2 people speak at the same
time for theatrical impact
Choral Movement More than 2 people moving at the same
time for theatrical impact
Vocal Projection Being able to speak loud and clearly (Not
Shouting)
Facial Expressions Using the face to demonstrate emotions
such as surprise, grief, happiness
Gesture Using your hands to emphasise a point or send a
message
Posture The way in which someone stands to demonstrate
levels of confidence
Levels Having actors on stage either standing, sitting, or
lying down for dynamic effect
Staging What props or objects are on stage to create a scene
Movement The way in which an actor moves around the
stage in keeping with their characteristics
Body Language The way in which someone uses their body
to show their characteristics
Improvisation Making up the work as you go along

Mime Instead of using words, using action and the body to

tell a story
Climactic Event A point in a play that has been worked
towards from the beginning, having huge impact
Themes Characters, emotions, and situations explored during
the play
Structure The design of the play E.g Beginning, middle, end
Synopsis a brief outline of the story of the play
Character Biography An IN DEPTH look at the past,
present, and future of a character. Including all aspects of their
life
Skills Acting techniques used by the performer to display
intent
Spoken Thought During the freeze frame a character voices
their opinions about a situation
Theatre of the Absurd - A piece of theatre that doesnt follow
structure, design, or character
Monologue Where one character on stage speaks their inner
feelings to the audience, or out loud
Duologue Where two characters have a conversation on
stage usually helps the story forward
Genre The different types of story that can be used E.G
Horror, Romance, Thriller, Comedy
Stimuli The stimulus used to help create the work, pictures,
stories, songs e.t.c
Devised work A piece of work that has been created using a
stimuli, theme, or topic. This work is rehearsed
Protagonist The main character of a piece (Usually
described as the good guy)

Antagonist - The main villain in the piece (Usually described

as the bad guy)
Scripted Performance The performance of a script (Whole
play or a section)
Non-Linear Timeline A piece of theatre, where the events
do not follow a chronological structure
Dynamic intent The effect that the performers would like the
audience to experience
Juxtaposition Having action on stage where the sound is
performed behind the audience, then vice versa
Proxemics Relationships on stage demonstrated through
distance in space
Tonality Using the various tones of the voice to demonstrate
emotions, anger, upset, joy or shock
Physical Theatre Theatre that uses the body to help tell the
story, usually using mime, body as prop, and choral movement
Magic If Asking how you would react to a certain situation,
and using that to help your performance
Direct Audience Address Where an actor breaks the fourth
wall and speaks to the audience directly
Cathartic Experience The emotional journey that the
audience experience when they see a piece of emotional
theatre
Other useful Words