Drama and Theatre

 Welcome to Drama and Theatre

Contact email: c.wynn@denemagna.gloucs.sch.uk

Below is your bridging work and reading list to help you prepare for Year 12. Please explore the links and resources provided.

Theatre History & Foundations

Greek Theatre

Please watch these introductory videos on the origins and conventions of Greek Theatre:

• An Introduction to Greek Theatre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSRLK7SogvE

• Greek Theatre Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSr6mP-zxUc

Key Practitioners & Theatre Companies
During your A-Level, we will focus heavily on specific practitioners and companies to influence your practical work. Please familiarise yourself with the following:

The Paper Birds
A prominent contemporary devising theatre company known for verbatim theatre and focusing on social/political issues.

• Explore their methodology and current work on their website: https://www.thepaperbirds.com/

Frantic Assembly
A pioneering physical theatre company.

• The Introduction section of this essay on Frantic Assembly: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F5rjxB65ozpd43ESnPXcQldBiVe7ioKW/view?usp=sharing 

• Frantic Assembly's website: https://www.franticassembly.co.uk/

John Godber
Known for his observational comedy, multi-roling and physical theatre style (often associated with Hull Truck Theatre).

• Explore his style and back catalogue: https://www.thejohngodbercompany.co.uk/

Max Stafford-Clark
A prominent director famous for his approach to text, particularly his methodology of "Actioning" to help actors understand character motivations.

• Task: Research his "Actioning" technique and how he approaches a new script.

Alecky Blythe
A playwright pioneering verbatim theatre.

• Watch this video of Alecky Blythe discussing her unique process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u21hmi7O6xE

Contemporary Playwrights
We highly recommend researching and reading works by modern, contemporary playwrights to build your repertoire. Excellent playwrights to look into include:

• Simon Stephens (e.g., The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Punk Rock)

• Lucy Prebble (e.g., The Effect, Enron)

• Dennis Kelly (e.g., DNA, Girls & Boys)

• Laura Wade (e.g., Colder Than Here, Home, I'm Darling)

William Shakespeare
Having a foundational understanding of Shakespeare's work, language and staging conditions is incredibly valuable.

• Task: Familiarise (or re-familiarise) yourself with at least one major tragedy (e.g., Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello) and one comedy (e.g., A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing). Think about how you would stage these in a modern context.

• The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) website is a great starting point: https://www.rsc.org.uk/

Technical Skills & Staging
If you have not studied GCSE Drama (or need a refresher), please read through the 'Staging' and 'Stage Positioning' sections of the BBC Bitesize Drama website:

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zhqgbdm

Additional Reading - not mandatory, but highly recommended!

• The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett

• Actioning - and How to Do It by Nick Moseley (A great introduction to Max Stafford-Clark's methods)

• Read as many plays as you can get your hands on!