Drama
| Head of Department | Mrs K Ross |
At Moorside High School we aim for a Drama curriculum which inspires creativity, empathy and self-belief. We aim to deliver vibrant and exciting lessons delivered by teachers who are passionate about the Performing Arts. We want our students to leave our lessons not only with a deeper understanding of Drama, but with a deeper understanding of themselves.
We have designed our curriculum so that it embeds skills and knowledge of the theatre and performance process along with a plethora of transferable skills which underpin successful Drama. We encourage discussion and debate surrounding a wide range of relevant, current and local subject matters and use these as stimulus to devise creative and imaginative pieces of work. Pupils are encouraged to put themselves in other people’s shoes and consider social, cultural and historical view-points which differ from their own. This develops their cultural awareness, understanding of British values and consideration of their own unique position within society but also within the wider world. In turn, students are therefore developing their consideration towards others and exploring their understanding and real-life experiences of equality.
The Drama curriculum is an amalgamation of both practical and theory work. Work is explored initially practically, developing student’s skills and knowledge using a ‘hands-on’ approach which is accessible for all. Learning is then embedded with written skills which allow students to analyse and evaluate performance, effectively use subject specific language and analyse characters, plot and genre. Feedback for all work is regular, timely and purposeful, ensuring that students have ample opportunity to act on this feedback and improve their work giving students the opportunity to demonstrate aspiration and resilience.
The spiral KS3 curriculum allows concepts to be introduced in year 7 and then presented repeatedly throughout the curriculum but with additional layers of complexity and in different approaches. Each year in KS3 the students will study devised drama, scripts and live theatre. The content, techniques and skills studied in each scheme will differ, but the core concept stays the same. This then leads into the GCSE curriculum where these concepts are developed and embedded even further in line with the exam specification.
In addition to lesson time, the Drama department at Moorside High school aims to provide students with suitable and regular theatre visits to experience professional theatre. We also work closely with professional theatres and theatre companies and often have workshops both in and out of school from companies such as The Lowry Theatre and The National Theatre. We encourage students to support and contribute to the department and the wider school by joining Drama clubs, representing the department in open evenings and taking part in school shows and performance evenings. We encourage cross-curricular links particularly with other subjects within Expressive Arts such as Music and Art, but also within the wider school community for example History and English.
We support our students in continuing with their learning journey at KS5 and beyond. A large number of our students go on to study Drama or the Performing Arts and we have good links with local colleges and universities. It is particularly rewarding to take time to attend performances in which prior students are performing. Whether or not students go onto study Drama in further education, we are confident that having studied Drama at Moorside High School we have enriched the lives of the students and helped to inspire their aspirations moving forwards.
Revision Lists (Year 9 - 11)
Year 9 Assessment
- Stage positions.
- What is proxemics?
- What is dramatic tension, and how can we create it on stage?
- Learn your lines off by heart for your performance.
- Rehearse your performance with your group.
- When rehearsing, focus on your characterisation - your vocal and physical skills.
- Ensure you have a good understanding of the plot and characters of DNA to enable you to play your character effectively.
Year 10 Assessment
- Stage positions.
- Types of staging.
- Theatre roles and responsibilities.
Year 11 GCSE Drama Exam
- Performance Skills Abbreviation: Mouldy Parmesan Grates Very Flipping Easily = Movement, Posture, Gesture, Voice, Facial Expressions
- Vocal Skills Abbreviation: Apparently People Prefer Pepperoni To Eat = Accent, Pitch, Pace, Pause, Projection, Tone, Emphasis
Section A
- Stage positions
- Types of stages
- Roles and Responsibilities
Section B
- Blood Brothers: Characters and Plot
Section B: 6.1
- Costume and Set for all characters & time periods within the play
Section B: 6.2 Structure
- Split the line into 3
- Give some context - what is happening at this point in the play?
- 1st part of line - 1 vocal skill, 1 physical skill, what are you showing and why?
- 2nd part of line - 1 vocal skill, 1 physical skill, what are you showing and why?
- 3rd part of line - 1 vocal skill, 1 physical skill, what are you showing and why?
Section B: 6.3 Structure
- Brief Intro - What is happening at this point in the play between these characters?
- Line 1 (Top of shaded part) - 1 vocal skill, 1 physical skill, proxemics, why?
- Line 2 (Middle of shaded part) - 1 vocal skill, 1 physical skill, proxemics, why?
- Line 3 (Bottom of shaded part) - 1 vocal skill, 1 physical skill, proxemics, why?
Section B: 6.4 Structure
- Describe the characters' general traits and characteristics - what is their personality like throughout the extract?
- Choose 1 line from the top of the extract - vocal skill, physical skill, how does this show their personality?
- Choose 1 line from the middle of the extract - vocal skill, physical skill, how does this show their personality?
- Choose 1 line from the end of the extract - vocal skill, physical skill, how does this show their personality?
- Choose another line from another scene within the play where the character shows a SIMILAR personality trait that you have already mentioned. Mention a vocal skill, physical skill, and interaction with other characters when you say this line and how this shows the personality trait.
- Choose another line from another scene within the play where the character shows a DIFFERENT personality trait that you have already mentioned. Mention a vocal skill, physical skill and interaction when you say this line and how this shows the personality trait.
Section C
- Billy Elliot: Context, Setting, Characters, Plot, Crowbar Scene
Structure for your answer - Section C
- Brief Intro - Name of play, where you watched it, brief synopsis.
- Moment 1 of scene: Describe what the character did (vocal and physical). Analyse why they did it (what did it show the audience?). Evaluate whether it was successful (did they achieve this? Did they not? If so, what could they have done better? How did it make the audience respond?)
- Repeat the above with Moment 2 and Moment 3.
- End with a conclusion.
Curriculum Overview
Year 7
- Autumn Term 1 and 2: Devising - The Haunted Lift
- Spring Term 1: Live Theatre Review - Shrek The Musical
- Spring Term 2: Devising - The Legend of the Sun God
- Summer Term1 and 2: Script work - The Terrible Fate of Humpty Dumpty
Year 8
- Autumn Term 1 and 2: Devising - Darkwood Manor
- Spring Term 1: Live Theatre Review - Newsies
- Spring Term 2: Devising - The Mysterious Case of Joe
- Summer Term 1 and 2: Script work - Refugee Boy
Year 9
- Autumn Term 1 and 2: Script work - DNA
- Spring Term 1: Live Theatre Review - Hamilton
- Spring Term 2: Devising - County Lines
- Summer Term 1: Devising - Practitioners, Genres and Styles
- Summer Term 2: Devising from stimulus
Year 10
- Autumn Term 1: Lizzie Borden
- Autumn Term 2: Theatre roles and responsibilities and set text - Blood Brothers
- Spring Term 1: Styles/Genres/Practitioners
- Spring Term 2: NEA Component 2 Devising
- Summer Term 1: NEA Component 2 Devising
- Summer Term 2: Live Theatre Review - Billy Elliott
Year 11
- Autumn Term 1: Component 1 - Theatre roles and responsibilities, Set text and Live Theatre Review
- Autumn Term 2: Component 3 - Texts in Practice
- Spring Term 1: Component 3 - Texts in Practice
- Spring Term 2: Component 1 - Theatre roles and responsibilities, Set text and Live Theatre Review
- Summer Term 1 and 2: Theatre roles and responsibilities, Set text and Live Theatre Review