Drama is all about the art of expressing great truths. Shown through powerful techniques like performance enhancing aspects like Voice, Body, Movement and Space, right through to how a piece is directed and what specific choices are made to represent the script. You will begin to unravel the merits of Drama NCEA Level 3 as you progress through the year and tick off the 7 internal assessments that each share some similarities and stand on their own with their requirements also.
What about other aspects of the course? You can get a full overview of each assessment in the course here to catch up and stay ahead. Perhaps you're wanting to just see a Study Guide then you can explore that here. Or are you wanting to look at some Past Papers check out this blog. Maybe you are looking at challenging yourself with Scholarship Drama? Now let's jump back into the Internals!
The internals this year will have you performing a great deal, interpreting a whole range of different scripts and also devising your own pieces as well as trying your hand at directing. So, what’s first up? Let’s have a look into the rewarding world of unpacking scripts!
AS91512 is all about fully understanding a script and then portraying the material in a believable way with impact.
In this assessment, you will take a deep dive into the popular play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams- or a play of a similar type. You will need to perform an exert that lasts between 3-5 minutes long and shows a powerful moment of the overall script. Remembering your understanding of drama techniques, you must utilize and justify what particular Voice, Body, Movement, and Space aspects you choose to integrate within your performance. How you portray your character should have a direct link with what the themes/ideas of The Glass Menagerie are. For example, how are you going to show how each member of the Wingfield family hides in their own world and escapes reality? Especially Laura Wingfield who is very fragile. Maybe you might perform Laura in a very timid manner and have a hunched over body, with a very mousy, soft voice. If your choices help to reiterate the intentions of the playwright, you’re on the right track. Within the book-work, for this assessment, you will need to submit a statement that shows your intention for the scripted piece as well as annotate it with evidence that justifies all your remarks and decisions. This will include for example why you chose that particular part of the play and how this has an overall impact. What is your character responsible for in this scene? And finally, how do you want the audience to respond to this scene? How have you established time and place and clearly shown this in your scene make-up? You will have up to 4-6 weeks to complete this task while in class. Get ready for 4 credits to your name if you succeed at this assessment.
Get super creative with AS91513 and devise devise devise!
This is your chance to be let loose in your local museum and gather stories and ideas from any historical disaster or event that a significant amount of people were in. You can pick the concept and either devise a monologue or a group performance to best depict the historical occurrences. Your concept will need to match in tone the ideas, mood and themes that you explored from the event itself. You could for example adapt the historical event into a contemporary setting or maybe pick a more abstract approach to showing the ideas. As another option, you may also want to showcase the life of a popular historical figure which you can do instead of this museum performance. When devising its good use of your time to make some improv games, once you have gathered all necessary data from the research phase. Remember you are wanting to create a clear director’s intention as to how you want the audience to respond. Remember a key stance when creating new scripts is to ‘show not tell’. This means perhaps using drama techniques at the forefront instead of simply addressing something in dialogue. The audience wants a little intrigue and can put together the building blocks themselves as you gradually unravel different points of your devised piece.
Dive down the rabbit hole of a new drama form or period piece with AS91515
Be prepared to get a little whimsical with this assessment! You’ll be submerging yourself into the wacky world of the genre ‘Theatre of the Absurd’. You might pick a text like Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’. You’ll be in a team of 2-4 people and perform an extract from the selected theatre piece. This assessment will involve you understanding and coming to know the features present in Theatre of the Absurd. You’ll come to learn the bizarre conventions that this genre operates in. Or perhaps your teacher has selected another theatre genre for you, either way, you will be fully immersed in the world of the form. As you are picking an extract from a bigger play it’s important that you develop a wider understanding of the plot of the play. Why have you chosen to perform that particular scene? Why is it significant? What contribution does it bring to the rest of the play or what theme does it reflect?
Pay some respects to the Theatre greats of this world with AS91516
It’s your job to craft a set and design the props to help bring to life the work of a popular theatre practitioner. You’ll need to reflect key ideas and themes to showcase how you put together the set and what all the elements represent. To do this you’ll be learning all about set design in class and be able to apply this to this assessment. This will be done through workshops, readings articles, looking at books and having class discussions. Within this, you will need to consider lighting and how this will interplay throughout the scene. What are the key ideas and themes of the practitioner? How can you best communicate these and bring them to life by use of your set design? Within this, there is a very important research phase where you will seek to find other interpretations from the same subject material. Learn and gain inspiration from these to ignite your ideas for applying your own set design. You might even want to create a model to outline your design if there is time. Just grab a shoebox, some paint and get creative!
Perform a significant role in a production with AS91517
Here your school may already be putting on their very own yearly show, which usually is done in conjunction with this particular performance. Or perhaps your year level is putting on a special night filled with performances? Either way, it’s your job to research your character and have a great deep understanding of the play. You’ll need to prepare just like any other performance, making sure you have considered your Voice, Body, Movement and Space as well as representing the play's conventions. Within your written work you will need to be able to explain what the intentions of your character are and what their contribution is to the play’s plot and other characters.
Get ready to script a drama for a live performance!
AS91519 will have you getting creative again with the story. This time you will be set with the theme of ‘Anzac Day’ and be tasked with coming up with a play or extract with this theme. You will be assessed on your script so let’s jump into what that’s going to look like for you! In the ideation stage of your script make sure you do a character breakdown and discuss the different scenes they will be in. Think of the structure- will you position the characters at the start or end of the story? Will it be circular or episodic narrative? What about the style? Will you keep it natural or maybe heighten it up with hyper drama? Maybe you will include other more abstract techniques like interpretative dance? It’s totally up to you and you are in the driver’s seat with this one, as long as the techniques used reflect the Anzac Theme.
Finally its your turn to direct with AS91520
So you’ve flexed your performance and writing skills craftily and now you’re ready to master directing? You will direct your fellow students in the play ‘Cant Pay, Wont Pay’ by Dario Fo. In this assessment, you will need to cultivate a portfolio to show your research and work throughout your journey with the cast and text. This will include symbolism, key concepts, diagrams, flow charts and photos and production schedules. To show your directorial process you will need to come up with a directorial concept and always refer back to it with your creative choices. You will make rehearsal notes and give actors direction based on your director’s concept. How best are you going to illustrate the key aspects and themes of ‘Cant Pay, Wont pay’? What conventions, techniques and technologies will help you demonstarte this?
Still, wanting some extra help?
If you are still stuck, try to give Superprof a go. They have a wide range of tutors who are all available to help get your drama NCEA abilities to the next level. Your first lesson is free so there is a huge incentive to log on and try a session out. They can provide helpful insights into the achievement standards, real time feedback, plus some even have extra resources to hand out. Try Superprof today!
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