Drama and Theatre
Mrs H Whitmore – hwhitmore@sackvilleschool.org.uk
A level drama is an excellent preparation for higher education courses, particularly because it develops a range of important transferable skills including creative thinking, empathy, teamwork, communication, negotiation, leadership, analysis and evaluation. The course has enjoyable and varied approaches to study including a strong practical element which allows students to work with excellent facilities and resources.
You would enjoy this course if you:
love acting or technical design
enjoy working as part of a team
have a good directorial eye
are interested in learning more about theatre styles and practitioners
love going to the theatre and reading plays.
There are three components that make up the A level:
Component 1 (40%): Drama and Theatre.
Close study of two set texts and a range of live theatre explored through practical workshops.
Component 2 (30%): Creating Original Drama.
Students work in a group to devise a piece of theatre influenced by one practitioner of their choice. Students can be assessed as performers or technical candidates.
Component 3 (30%): Making Theatre.
Group performance of three extracts from three different plays applying practitioners to show different styles of performance. Students can be assessed as performers or technical candidates.
One 3 hour written exam at the end of year 13. One devised performance accompanied by a 2500 word working notebook which is completed as coursework. One scripted performance to a visiting examiner in year 13 accompanied by a 2500 word reflective report which is completed as coursework.
We have a strong history of many of our students going on to further study drama, theatre and performance arts at degree level or into careers within the performing arts industry. In addition, due to the subject’s transferable skills, Drama lends itself well to a broad range of careers beyond the arts industry. As such, Drama students at Sackville have also gone on to have careers in law, teaching, drama therapy, broadcasting, journalism, public relations, marketing, advertising and arts administration to name a few. It combines well with subjects such as English language and literature, media, law, history, politics, film, art and music.
