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NZQA New Zealand Qualifications Authority Mana Tohu Matauranga O Aotearoa Home > Qualifications and standards > Qualifications > NCEA > Subjects > Level 2 AS91216 (B) Drama - annotated exemplars level 2 AS91216 (Resource B) Perform features of a complex drama or theatre form or period (2.4B) Show: All Drama exemplars Read the STANDARD See EXEMPLAR A for this Standard TKI Drama Assessment Resources Download all these exemplars and commentary Complex performance skills associated with drama or theatre form has a challenging text, or involves features that demand an exploration of advanced physical skills, or provides opportunity for abstraction of ideas and depictions, or any combination of these. Five student grades exemplify the levels of achievement using the features of the Italian theatre form Commedia dell’Arte. These students have not scripted their performance, and in the same way a travelling troupe would have done at the time, they have plot and cue information displayed in the wings to keep track of the storyline. The student exemplifying the low Achieved grade performs features from the Ancient Greek Drama theatre form in an excerpt from the Greek tragedy play Antigone by Sophocles. If you have difficulty playing the video clip when you have downloaded the ZIP file, you may need a player such as VLC which you can download at no cost. Low Excellence Commentary Student response For Excellence a student needs to effectively use complex performance skills associated with a drama or theatre form or period. This involves presenting work convincingly, capturing the essence of the dramatic context with impact, and refers to using complex performance skills of the theatre form to enhance the performance. Student 1 page 1 Watch the video (opens in a new window) Download for offline study This student is playing Pulcinella (Punch) using features of the Commedia Dell’arte theatre form. He is wearing a dark cerise jacket, carrying a stick and a hump is stuffed on his back. 00:00-00:25 The student uses voice to foreshadow the arrival of the mask. This establishes anticipation in the audience at a very early stage, 1 and supports the creation of impact. He then presents his mask followed by a strong physicality that convincingly communicates the stock character of Punch/Pulcinella. The body is used to create impact by effectively pushing up of the shoulder to create a hump, and uses chin movement to show the mask. The detailing of his hand enhances our sense of the role. He establishes the obsession of the character with the line "I need to buy me a woman." This engages the audience in an already absurd situation. The student enhances the comedy of the moment by singling out a member of the audience. 00:27 The movement becomes faster and his voice becomes high pitched on meeting the higher status character of Pantalone. This supports the creation of a convincing status relationship between the characters. As he exits, the student maintains the connection between the mask and the audience until the very last moment. 05:58 The nodding of his head highlights the features of the mask and shows his low 2 status in reference to Il Dottore, which serves to further draw out the essence of the dramatic context. 06:20 His physical adroitness within the fruit bowl lazzi enhances the performance. The improvised interplay between Punch/ Pulcinella and Il Dottore has energy and captures the essence of the status relationship between the two. It is especially effective that Punch offered the suggestions and words for Il Dottore. However, the student’s body position tends to get higher and higher over this extended lazzi and this weakens his ability to be totally convincing. 08:10 The student alters the use of his voice to show his personality trait of viciousness when interacting with the lower status of Arlecchino. Thus, the student enhances the audience’s understanding of the hierarchy of the masks, through his convincing shift of status when dealing with Arlecchino as opposed Il Dottore. How could this reach a more secure Excellence? The plot could have been better developed and resolved for Punch/Pulcinella and it lost some credibility in the latter part of the extract. This 3 undermines the security of the grade. Audience interaction could have been developed further to secure the Excellence grade. High Merit Commentary Student response For Merit a student needs to perform features of a complex drama/theatre form or period skilfully. This involves working with competence, control and a sense of purpose. It requires the sustained use of appropriate features to support the dramatic context of the performance. Student 2 page 1 Watch the video (opens in a new window) Download for offline study The student is playing Punch/Pulcinella using features of the Commedia Dell’arte theatre form in a performance with only Pantalone. He is wearing a long cerise jacket and grey shorts. 00:27 The student enters as Punch/Pulcinella with the dialogue "stupid Pantalone" to establish his role and gain attention from the audience. However, the entrance is a little rushed and he does not use the Mask to enhance the entrance. The dialogue directed to the audience reflects his low status, and he foreshadows the underhand plot against Pantalone. This shows competence and a thorough understanding of traditional Commedia plotlines to then contribute to the improvised nature of this form. 01:18 While he is doing "work" for Pantalone, his posture and use of mask is sustained, but he does not "play up" to the audience behind Pantalone’s back which would add the impact 4 needed for an Excellence grade. 04:06 His change of mood to the audience with the line "I hate you all" competently supports the intention for his stock role, but it could be delivered with more impact. He develops the plot further by posing as a woman, and the purposeful harsh insult "stupid old git" said as an aside about Pantalone shows the student working with competence, control and a strong sense of purpose. 06:25 The purposeful lewd gesture to Pantalone creates comedy as we see his real identity as Punch not as a woman. This humorous mood supports the dramatic context. 06:42-07:08 Punch "steals" Pantalone’s money bag with skilful use of comic timing and this supports his role’s intention to ‘always get something for himself.’ He also develops the plot so that ‘he has got one over the master.’ This demonstrates competence and control with the features of this form, creates comedy and moves towards the Excellence grade by enhancing the performance. 5 07:10 His exit is a little hasty and this diminishes the potential impact of the "last look" for the audience. He doesn’t take this opportunity for his role to ‘revel’ in what the audience love to see: the servant tricking the masters. How could this student reach an Excellence grade? The student could be more convincing with the use of status. During the time he is "working" for Pantalone, use of head undulations, further hunching of his back to exaggerate his crippled posture, and movement of the chin to create impact with his mask would enhance the performance. When he is ‘fooling’ Pantalone, he misses opportunities to relate and interact with the audience to convincingly create comedy, and to capture the essence of the "trick" over his master. This would support an Excellence grade. Low Merit Commentary Student response This student plays Pulcinella/Punch using features of the Commedia Dell’arte theatre form. This role is shared. Student 3 page 1 Watch the video (opens in a new window) Download for offline study The student wears a dark pink coat. Her scenes are the 1st Punch entrance and the 4th Punch entrance. She fights for Pantalone in last scene. She has lighter brown hair, black t-shirt with white writing and plaits in her hair. 00:30 The student presents the mask as she enters the space, supporting the audience’s ability to identify with the role. This indicates some competence in the use of mask. Her voice 6 is whiney and has an obsequious tone used to show her subservient nature to Pantalone, but it is not used with sufficient variety to confirm competent use of the vocal quality of her stock character. This fundamental vocal quality is sustained throughout the performance. 01:13 The student uses the mask to relate to the audience in a manner supports controlled execution of mask technique. Although this student does sustain the appearance of being ‘crippled’ with a hump, the body is not used to create variety and interest. This indicates a very basic level of competence in terms of physical characterisation. that 01:49 The spitting lazzi is purposefully placed in this scene, and gave the audience time to realise what 7 Punch was really like and added to the comedy. This supports the dramatic context of the performance. However, the unconscious scratching of her leg undermines the students controlled use of body. If she had integrated this into performance it would have helped to consolidate her grade. 02:04 Her mask is pronounced in the exit showing a competent use of this feature, however the student does not carry on the threat she is making, to possibly snarl or hiss at the audience, and thereby misses an opportunity to add detail and further support the dramatic context. How could this be a more secure Merit? The role is two dimensional and does not explore the duality of Punch. It is weakened by a limited exploration of how the body and voice might be used with more variety to draw out both character and action. There is some exploration of Lazzi but it is limited. This student needs to explore the layers of the stock character and its relationships in more detail in order to consolidate the grade. High Achieved Commentary Student response For Achievement a student needs to perform features of a complex theatre complex drama/ theatre form or period appropriately. This involves demonstrating physical and historical conventions used to convey the intention of the dramatic context and support in performance. Student 4 page 1 Watch the video (opens in a new window) Download for offline study 8 This student plays Il Dottore using features of the Commedia Dell’arte theatre form. She is wearing black pants, a black cape and a black top with white on it. 00:04 The student’s entrance as Il Dottore is a little rushed and this undermines the control over the use of this feature. The intention for the role is communicated through the plot line about the flowers and characteristics of babbling randomly are realised. This conveys the intention of the dramatic context. The student relies on the packed tummy more than her own physicality to communicate the stock character. Although there is the occasional demonstration of appropriate upper body movement to show the personality of her character, the student needs to be stronger on her feet to create comical movement as part of the posture to show competence and control. 00:50-01:44 She speaks at a good pace and her interaction playing to the low status character of Arlecchino conveys the intention of her role to support the dramatic context. This could be more competent and purposeful if her stock trait of 9 "pompousness" is played even harder. 01:44 The student exits much too fast and she needs to take time to allow the impact of mask and body to be fully appreciated. This shows lack of competence and control required for a Merit grade. How could this student reach a Merit grade? The student needs to apply more confidence and competence with body and voice. The lower body needs to be slightly stronger, and voice more consistent in a pompous tone. Her entrances and exits are too quick and lack competence and control. With greater connection between the body and mask, the impact of mask could also be greater. Status is held but generally the physical aspects of the role need to be strengthened to gain a Merit. Low Achieved Commentary Student response This student plays Antigone in the opening scene of "Antigone" by Sophocles. She is first on stage and wears a burgundy sash. The theatre form that is being performed is Greek Drama. 00:00 The student’s entrance is rushed and too naturalistic. This does not demonstrate the heightened reality required for the form. 00:08-00:12 The student’s vocal quality and gesture are heightened. There is a gestural reference to Student 5 page 1 Watch the video (opens in a new window) Download for offline study 10 the Gods that support the intention of the text/ dialogue. 00:26 Using presentational mode and gesture the student addresses the audience as the city. This supports the didactic nature of Greek theatre. 00:34-00:48 The student maintains pose and position, thus supporting the notion of ritual and also supporting the focus on Ismene in a manner that is appropriate to performance in a Greek amphitheatre. However, she drops her head for extended periods, thus closing off the mask to the audience. This shows that she is not considering the demands of an Ancient Greek amphitheatre at these points. 01:10 Student uses heightened gesture to emphasise "pain" and 11 "ignominy." However, this is weakened by her decision to close her body and mask from the audience and this undermines the quality of her performance of physical conventions of the Greek form. 01:36-01:41 The student uses heightened gesture to refer to all of the parties in this conflict, thereby creating the location of the Chorus, and Creon on the "skene." This supports the historical conventions of the form. How could this student reach a more secure Achieved? The grade would be more secure if the student worked more consistently within the mask, keeping her head up and more fully utilising presentational mode to connect with the audience in a manner more suited to the Greek Amphitheatre. If Antigone’s entrance and her interactions with Ismene were less naturalistic, this would have further secured the grade. 12 High Not Achieved Commentary Student response This student plays Il Dottore using features of the Commedia Dell’arte theatre form. – She wears a black cape, has light brown hair and enters when "Brighella" is lying on ground. 02:02 The student enters appropriately costumed as Il Dottore but she does not create the stock physicalisation of the role. The underhand plotting is created and the dialogue does support the dramatic context at a fundamental level, but this is not developed. No awareness of the need to present the mask is demonstrated adequately. Movement is naturalistic and lacks any variety. 02:56 The student does not follow the ritual of exiting to create comic effect or to show the intention of the role to the audience. She even begins to take the mask off before being fully off the stage. 03:25 The student does not demonstrate sufficient vocal or physical characterisation to support the creation of role or situation. Her performance is naturalistic and uncommitted, to the point that it is questionable as to whether or not she can be deemed to have Student 6 page 1 Watch the video (opens in a new window) Download for offline study 13 "performed." She does not observe the rituals of mask or the conventions of the form at an appropriate level. How could Achieved? this student reach an Some effort with voice and body is made to establish Il Dottore’s role but much greater exaggeration is needed. The dialogue shows the character’s intention but the "pompous bumbling" professor character through movement and body communicates little to support the dramatic context. Comedy of role needs to be more evident. The mask needs to be enhanced by body and movement adequately to convey the intention of the dramatic context. The awareness of physical impact and interaction with the audience needs to be developed further. The student’s supporting evidence needs to meet the requirements of EN 4 of the standard. Copyright © New Zealand Qualifications Authority 14