Download A-level Drama and Theatre Studies Examiner report Unit 03

A-level
Drama and Theatre Studies
DRAM3 Further Prescribed Plays including Pre-Twentieth Century
Report on the Examination
2240
June 2013
Version: 1.0
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REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – A-LEVEL DRAMA AND THEATRE STUDIES – DRAM3 – JUNE 2013
General Comments
Examiners reported seeing a wide range of achievement. It was evident that many students were
well-prepared for the precise and varied demands of DRAM3. Unfortunately, there were also
several instances seen where students seemed to be under-prepared for the paper, especially in
relation to Section B.
Both sections of the paper require students to reveal detailed understanding of the whole of their
chosen set text. Section A questions have an expectation that the students will reveal a creative
overview of the play in the course of their answers. Section B requires an interpretation of the
extract set that is entirely consonant with an overview of the whole play.
The best students met the requirements of the paper with some assurance and sophistication,
while the weaker scripts suggested a lack of full understanding of the demands of the different
tasks.
As always, the best students addressed the precise demands of their chosen questions
immediately, and then maintained a tight focus upon these throughout their answers.
Some students did not respond to all the demands outlined by the questions. Several students are
still tempted to add in all the background information they had gathered during the course,
unfortunately losing time for the main body of their answers, and losing the focus of the question.
In general, those students who started their answers with paragraphs on historical context and
author biography were less successful than students who integrated these facts (if relevant) into
the body of their responses. Of the latter type of response, there were an encouraging number of
good answers seen.
Audience response and experience was less well dealt with, with some improbable or unsupported
assertions, for example, “The audience will want to hug her…” or inexact use of language, e.g.
“The audience will say ‘Aww’”. Similar examples were seen quite frequently.
In both sections, it has been apparent that students dealing with comedy find this aspect of
performance particularly difficult to write about, and several seemed unprepared to talk about
comic business, timing and characterisation. It would be helpful if centres provided students with
appropriate terminology to address these questions.
Weaker answers often revealed an unequal level of knowledge and understanding across Sections
A and B, suggesting that they were not, in fact, quite ready to meet the challenges of the paper in
relation to one or the other of their chosen texts. This resulted in an uneven achievement across
the script.
Weaker scripts were also more likely to contain under-developed and/or very brief responses
which were often very superficial in content or approach.
It is disappointing to report that some A2 students presented the examiner with a series of almost
cartoon-like sketches with only brief linking sentences.
Examiners reported seeing a number of scripts that lacked the necessary support of reference to
specific moments from the set text in action in both parts of the paper. In particular, there are too
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many students who do not provide even the briefest of context for the scenes that they select to
illustrate their answers in Section A.
Some students have taken a misguided approach to saving time in the examination by
abbreviating the names of the characters from the plays in their answers, for example, ‘LW’ for
Lady Windermere or ‘Truf’ for Truffaldino. This is an unacceptable practice that inevitably resulted
in students not achieving their potential. Students should be instructed not to abbreviate the
names of characters in their answers, as this deviation into ‘note-form’ will be reflected in the mark
awarded for AO2, where students’ expression is assessed. ‘Continuous prose’ is demanded in this
paper thus does not allow for abbreviated names.
In Section B, too many students referred exclusively to line numbers rather than to lines of speech.
The expectation is that students take on the mantle of the director for this exercise, and how many
real directors refer to line numbers when directing their cast? This practice has the effect of
deadening rather than enlivening the students’ descriptions of their direction of the extract.
Students may need to be reminded that they must justify their practical suggestions as well as
illustrate their ideas with close reference to the text in action. Examiners reported seeing some
answers where students offered inappropriate ideas with no attempt made to justify their
application. Justification needs to be both robust and convincing to make the ideas acceptable.
Nevertheless, examiners reported seeing many very good answers containing both intelligent
discussion and purposeful textual references, which brought clearly explained practical
suggestions vividly to theatrical life. Where students had engaged fully with their Section B texts,
their directorial approaches were often both individual and inspiring.
There were also numerous narrative answers which did little more than relay the events of the
printed extract scene with little or no invention.
Some students underachieved in this series because they appeared not to have a sound
understanding of the original context of their selected plays.
The demand in Section B that students should include a sketch appeared not to be taken seriously
by some students whose attempts at a meaningful theatrical sketch were unimpressive.
Sketches need to be clear, half a page in size and clearly labelled. Quite a number of students
penalised themselves by the omission of a sketch/diagram to support their design ideas.
As has been reported on many occasions, some weaker students revealed an inadequate
understanding of design fundamentals.
Students need to be reminded that both the clarity of their expression and their accuracy in the use
of specialist theatre terminology is taken into account in the assessment of their responses.
Section A: Pre-Twentieth Century Plays
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In this Section, many students gave responses which did not demonstrate an overview of the
chosen text but illustrated ideas using only a limited range of text, usually from the early scenes of
the play. There were still a number of answers which approached the questions from a literary
stand point, and ignored the practical demands of the questions.
Many students selected appropriate sections of text to illustrate their answers, but some relied on
very short sections of text, one line or a brief moment, limiting development and offering quite
restricted evidence of understanding.
There were also many students who chose completely inappropriate sections with which to support
their answers. Sadly, there were many examples of very good performance ideas offered for
completely unhelpful sections of the text.
A number of students showed misunderstanding of historical mores. In particular, the physical
contact allowed between men and women in the nineteenth century was often misunderstood and
this affected answers on both The Seagull and Lady Windermere’s Fan.
There were some reasonable and some good design ideas, showing a real understanding of
design fundamentals and of the demands of the texts. However, a number of students who chose
the design option showed only a limited understanding of the designer’s role. Answers were often
not illustrated with explanatory diagrams, or offered no coherent design concept to support the
choices made. Some students offered detailed ideas, but did not link their responses to the
demands of the play, or to key moments of text.
Most casting ideas were apt, but further justification was needed in some answers. Several
students used the terms, “innocence” and “purity” to describe a character’s qualities, for example,
without really considering the meaning of these terms.
As in previous series, choice of theatre space was often discussed but with simplistic or
unconvincing justification. It is insufficient to say, for example, that a studio space “will help the
audience relate to the play”, without offering further reasoning. Similarly, the use of a proscenium
arch does not necessarily make a performance “Naturalistic”. As in previous series, many students
suggested that their choice of theatre space would “make the audience feel part of the play”
without clarifying why this was an appropriate intention.
The Revenger’s Tragedy
Question 01
This play has minority appeal.
There were some very good answers seen to this question, where students knew the play very
well, understood who all the characters were and had the facility to quote in a purposeful way,
revealing understanding of Middleton’s language.
Unfortunately, this play is a real challenge for some students who struggled to identify a suitable
audience response, let alone to achieve it.
Some weaker answers offered contradictory ideas for the responses that they wanted to the Duke,
citing “disgust” and “sympathy” at different points of the play.
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The most frequently chosen sections were the initial court scene, where some inventive students
created a loathsome lack of concern in the Duke for his step-son’s impending death, followed by
the ‘discovery’ scene when Lussorioso surprises Duke and Duchess in bed, and concluded with
the Duke’s encounter with the ‘Bony Lady’ and subsequent death.
There was much invention in the best answers where the Duke’s self-importance and selfcentredness was considered to be a strong feature of his character, and the preferred audience
response was invariably negative.
Some answers did not fully consider the substance of the chosen scenes, nor did they take
account of the playwright’s intentions. Many students failed to provide a single phrase from the text
to support their ideas.
Good answers to this question focused on performance and audience response, as the question
demanded. The majority of answers showed some understanding of the role, although this was not
consistently the case.
Question 02
Examiners saw several very successful responses to this question although there were also many
disappointing answers in evidence.
The characters of the Duchess, Castiza and Gratiana were often understood in only very
superficial terms. The contrasts between the roles and their functions were generally quite well
understood, but some of the ideas for their representation were inappropriate or melodramatic.
Some good answers were very clear as to the moral content explored by the playwright and used
this well in their practical interpretations. There was some particularly good work on Castiza’s
simplicity and virtue - not exactly the same as “innocence”. Similarly, Gratiana’s greed and the
corrupting influence of the court upon women was considered with some useful discussion of
Gratiana’s eventual ‘redemption’.
Students who dealt with the Duchess often lapsed into inappropriate performance suggestions
which were not adequately tied to the demand of the question to consider the ‘representation’ of
women in the play.
Some thoughtful students included reference to the remains of Vindice’s fiancé, Gloriana, as a
representative (like Antonio’s ravished wife) of goodness assailed and destroyed by men’s
corruption. Although these were rare responses, these students referred to the use of the ‘bony
lady’ in the Duke’s demise and understood the implications of Middleton’s use of the device, setting
her up as a fitting representation of ‘revenge’ personified.
There was generally some understanding of the style of the play, although this was not always
developed in terms of performance. Good answers generally addressed all three women and
chose their illustration carefully.
Tartuffe
Question 03
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This was the less popular question on this text.
The majority of students who chose this option showed a reasonably good understanding of their
selected character(s), and offered a suitable range of sections from the play. There were some
very useful, subtle answers which used more than one section for their chosen role(s) and outlined
their comic potential in some detail. There were particularly strong answers on Elmire.
Occasionally, students chose to look at both of the young men, Valere and Damis. However, the
most popular choice for this question was Madame Pernelle. Some students tackling this role did
not find her second appearance and concentrated on her appearance in Act One, which was a little
self-limiting. One candidate appeared to believe that Flipote was a dog.
Weaker answers relied on brief moments of text, which were under-developed. Some answers
showed only a limited understanding of casting, focusing either on personal qualities (“must be
feisty”, for example) or on lengthy costuming. The former often showed no clear appreciation of
the actor’s skills and the latter, although sometimes useful, often added little to “creation of
comedy”.
Very weak answers showed limited understanding of Moliere’s style and intentions, and showed
limited understanding of the satire in the text. These answers often spent too long outlining
Moliere’s influences without applying this knowledge in any clearly practical way.
Question 04
This was a popular question and it attracted some very well informed responses as well as some
very weak ones.
There were some impressive answers to the question which showed a very good understanding of
comedy, and were very clear in their use of comic timing, business and Moliere’s text. These
answers focused very clearly on revealing Dorine’s dislike of Tartuffe. However, weaker answers
tended to assert comic intention, but this was only mildly realised in the performance ideas given.
Some answers gave insufficient attention to “dislike”, and a surprising number did not utilise
Dorine’s interaction with Tartuffe himself.
Some answers offered appropriate casting, commenting on Dorine’s physical confidence and
sprightly nature. There were some good answers showing a clear understanding of her
disrespectful attitude which offered detail of her physical responses and facial expression.
Several answers offered quite uninventive performance ideas for Dorine. Her role as lady’s maid
would not, for example, involve continuous dusting or scrubbing. Ideas for costume were also
often inappropriate in terms of both period and condition.
Some answers spent a considerable amount of time outlining Moliere’s style and the historical
period, without applying this to the question as set, particularly with reference to the influence of
Commedia and Moliere’s attack upon zealots.
Better answers saw the sarcasm and dislike apparent in Dorine’s dialogue with Orgon in Act One,
Scene Four, but a surprising number who chose this scene did not manage to communicate this at
all. Many answers chose Act Three, Scene Two, but often appeared to find Dorine’s approach to
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one of enticing Tartuffe with her low cut costume without seeing her open hostility through her
dialogue.
The Recruiting Officer
Question 05
There were quite a few answers to this question and examiners reported seeing some very comical
renderings of Silvia.
That said, relatively few of the students who selected this option saw that the focus of the question
was on creating comedy from Silvia’s relationships with at least two different characters, and most
just wrote about creating comedy through the performance of the role. This lead to some poor
choices of section; for example, when Silvia, as ‘Jack’, was threatening the Constable, with whom
she clearly did not have any kind of ‘relationship’.
Most students chose to discuss Act One, Scene Two between Melinda and Silvia, but many failed
to extract the comedy from the text. Some saw the verbal sparring between the two as being a
source for possible comedy, but often failed to realise this in practical terms.
Students who chose to look at Silvia’s relationship with Rose were often more successful as they
appeared to understand the comic conflict between what Rose desired and what ‘Jack’ could
deliver.
Act Three, Scene Two was another popular choice, with the comedy often claimed to stem entirely
from the kiss between Plume and Silvia.
More successful answers understood the inherent comedy from the restoration convention of a
‘breeches’ part, but many just found the idea of two people kissing when both are ‘men’ amusing.
More successful answers found comedy in the earlier part of this scene and there were some apt
performance ideas for Silvia’s expressions when questioned by Brazen as to her parentage and
background.
Good answers showed a command of comic direction, including pace, timing and comic business,
and applied these features well in their realisation of their chosen sections of text. These answers
often selected illustration to show the range of the character, both in “breeches” and out.
Question 06
This was the less popular option although there were some successful answers seen.
The majority of students showed a good understanding of their selected character(s), and offered a
suitable range of sections from the play.
Weaker answers relied on brief moments of text, which were under-developed. As with Tartuffe,
some answers showed only a limited understanding of casting, but good answers showed some
understanding of relationships and function, and how this could be supported through the actor’s
physical appearance.
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Better answers showed some understanding of “effects”, but weaker answers gave insufficient
attention to the audience, and there were several examples where assertions were unsupported.
Many of the students who chose this question focused on the character of Brazen. The ‘preferred
effects’ were almost always the creation of comedy, and this was a question when his costume (as
the ‘fop’ character) had more relevance than in some other questions; there were some
appropriate suggestions for this aspect.
Act Three, Scene One, Brazen’s first appearance, was the most popular choice of section, and
there were some strong comic ideas for his initial failure to see Justice Balance. The more subtle
aspect of comedy through the wit of the text – Balance’s ‘Very laconic, sir’ and Brazen’s ensuing
interpretation of that as Balance’s name, and his prattling about his exploits in the war, were only
seen by students with a strong understanding of the text and genre.
A few students chose to focus on Rose, and Act Three, Scene One was a popular choice of scene
for them. The comedy inherent in Rose’s evident innocence while Plume discusses ‘examining
your basket to the bottom’, and the comic sub-text this involves, was one that students wrote fairly
confidently about.
Act Five, Scene One was another popular choice of section for them – it is a very brief section for
Rose and does not offer a great deal of scope, but students found humour in the fact that Rose
and Silvia had spent the night together with Rose not knowing that Silvia is a woman.
There were some answers that looked at the characters of Bullock and Rose, and were able to
bring their scenes of interaction vividly to life.
Lucy was less popular and not apparently, securely understood.
Weaker students did not use the text appropriately to lend immediacy to their suggestions which
were not always entirely appropriate. Better students always considered the style of the play, and
reflected it in their directorial ideas.
The Servant of Two Masters
Question 07
This play was the most popular choice in Section A, and examiners reported seeing many very
amusing responses as well as plenty of uninventive attempts.
A persistent mistake reported by examiners was students’ inability to distinguish between what
might be useful reference to the commedia tradition, either offered in a brief introduction to the
answer or as part of the developing response, and what was simply irrelevant background material
that served only to distract the candidate from the focus of the question.
In some cases, students spent far too long attempting to display their knowledge about commedia
characters, and only found their focus on the Pantalone and Lombardi at the end of their answers.
This work was invariably rushed and rarely comical.
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Students should be fully aware that the set play is by Goldoni, and should not refer to Lee Hall (or
any other translator of the text) as the playwright in this case.
Some careless students failed to read the question closely, and examiners reported seeing some
answers where the chosen scenes featured both characters; however, they chose their examples
from moments when the old men were interacting with their children, or with other characters
rather than with one another.
There were some quite detailed ideas for the casting of the roles; often these were linked to
commedia conventions. They were occasionally linked to the purpose of the question; to create
preferred effects. Less successful were answers that spent up to half their answers on casting and
costume suggestions, none of which appeared to contribute to the creation of any particular
effects.
Good answers realised the contrast between the two characters, and there were some useful
suggestions for comic casting of Lombardi in relation to Pantalone, with some useful suggestions
for physical qualities such as height and girth.
These answers were supported by well selected sections that were contextualised as well as
completely apt. The text is absolutely vital in supporting these answers, but many students failed
to include a single full line of text.
Less successful answers focused on the two ‘argument’ scenes showing no variety of approach.
Often, these answers contained rather generalised ideas, relying upon the traits of the traditional
Commedia characters but without making these ideas relevant to a modern audience. Limited
genuine comedy was created by repeated use of ‘stock’ moves such as ‘figure of eight’ movement
for Lombardi or the ‘beetle’ position for Pantalone after a pratfall. Students repeatedly asserted the
hilarious effects that would be created by employing these dated and predictable routines.
Many students failed to identify who these squabbling old men are, or why they are
squabbling/reconciling. These answers offered no overview and were self-penalising.
Question 08
Examiners saw several very successful, and some very comical, responses to this question,
although there were also many disappointing answers offered.
Most students of this text chose this question. A major problem here was of the reference to adlibbing. Presumably inspired by the current production of One Man, Two Guv’nors (in which the
supposed ad-libbing is, in fact, scripted), there was an abundance of ideas for creating comedy
through this technique when performing Truffaldino.
Given the style of the play there is some validity in this approach, but the ad-libs should support the
text and not replace it; some students produced answers where although they might have made
one or two brief references to the text of a scene being discussed, everything else said by the
performer of Truffaldino was an ad-lib.
This is an examination on set texts and the prime purpose of the questions is to assess students’
knowledge and understanding of the set text. Offering a series of ad-libs does not adequately
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the set text, so this approach is self-limiting.
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Another problem was where students ignored the focus of the question which asked students to
create comedy from Truffaldino’s ‘relationships with his different masters’. Many students ignored
this totally and just focused on the creation of comedy.
Many students discussed Truffaldino’s relationship with the audience, (a previous question) and
several chose to discuss Truffaldino’s ‘relationship’ with Pantalone (for example in Act One, Scene
Two). One candidate claimed that Pantalone was a ‘master type figure’ but others did not explain
this at all and just discussed the scene. There were even answers that focused on Truffaldino’s
relationship with Smeraldina (another former question).
Even where students did notice the specific focus of the question, they sometimes failed to offer
examples of Truffaldino’s relationship with each of his ‘different masters’. Very frequently Beatrice
was omitted altogether.
Nevertheless, there were some very successful suggestions for comedy, both verbal and physical,
from students who adopted the focus required and had a clear sense of the comedy and ways of
creating this in practical terms.
Good answers showed a secure understanding of the style of the piece, of the substance of the
play, and of the integral nature of Truffaldino’s relationships with his two ‘masters’ to the play as a
whole.
Lady Windermere’s Fan
Question 09
This was the most popular question on this play, and examiners reported seeing a very wide range
of achievement.
The question required students to discuss how their performance of Lady Windermere would
reveal her development, but not all students noticed this very specific focus.
The interpretation of Lady Windermere was generally secure, but not all students selected their
examples wisely. Reference to ‘development’ in the question suggests that students might find it
useful to start with a section from Lady Windermere’s ‘starting point’ in Act One, and ensure that
they also consider her ‘finishing point’ in Act Four. The other section might profitably have been
selected from either Act Two (revelation of Lord Darlington’s feelings for her, perhaps) or Act Three
(scales fall from her eyes as Mrs Erlynne exhorts her to go back to her child).
Examiners reported seeing many answers that began at the end of Act One or in Act Two and
ended in Act Three. This sort of lack of care in selecting appropriate moments often resulted in
diminishing potential achievement. It was very disheartening to read some very good performance
detail that was related to Lady Windermere arranging the roses, for example, or opening the bankbooks or removing her cloak.
The best answers came from students who had given the question a bit of thought before they
began to write. They thought about what the term ‘development’ means. They did not assume it to
mean the same as ‘change’. They considered Lady Windermere’s initial situation and selfconfessed puritanism. They considered her initial abhorrence at the notion of adultery and then
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they traced her progress through the play in relation to her stated moral rectitude in Act One,
through her reckless decision to take flight with Lord Darlington in Act Two, averted by Mrs Erlynne
in Act Three, and resulting in a recognition in Act Four that people are not either wholly good or
wholly bad; a rejection of her previous puritanical stance.
Sadly, these students were not in the majority, and examiners reported reading many answers that
simply failed to grasp the concept of development as they meandered their way in an apparently
random fashion through an assortment of ill-chosen moments.
The selection of appropriate sections is a discriminator in AO3, and this was the downfall of many
a candidate.
As reported in January, many of the suggested performance ideas for Lady Windermere were not
fully appropriate.
Many other students failed to offer ideas attuned to the period or style of the play and/or they
wasted valuable time describing Lady Windermere’s various costumes or sketching her various
surroundings. This was almost always a waste of time and space.
Question 10
Very few students chose this question and, in general, it was not answered well. The focus on how
the designs would help an audience understand the chosen characters was usually ignored as was
the requirement that these designs should be linked to specific sections of the play.
Good answers showed a sound understanding of the costume designer’s role, and applied colour
and fabric suggestions with purpose. These answers linked their ideas very clearly to the text, and
a few answers indicated how costumes could be used in action, in particular there were some
useful ideas for the Duchess of Berwick generating gravitas and status.
The best answers showed a good understanding of both the chosen roles and their function. The
most frequently chosen pair was Lady Windermere and the Duchess. These answers offered
suggestions which were well linked to moments of text.
Use of colour and costume decoration developed ideas of characterisation, often with clear
evidence of research. Good answers paid attention to the use of costume and accessories, and
integrated their understanding of the historical context with apt and detailed direction. Sketches
were clear and detailed.
Less secure answers had only limited understanding of period and design fundamentals. Some
ideas were clearly inappropriate to both period and Wilde’s subtle wit.
Where chosen, the Duchess of Berwick was usually turned into a pantomime dame with over-large
hats or huge skirts, as students focused on the creation of comedy rather than on understanding
the characters. Low cut sleeveless dresses were also seen as appropriate for the Duchess’ visit to
Lady Windermere in Act One, and more than one candidate had the Duchess getting stuck in the
doorway or even knocking Parker over with her exaggeratedly large bustle. Lord Darlington was
frequently represented wearing a top hat throughout.
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It is important if students want to consider tackling a design question that they prepare themselves
properly by researching the fashion and social mores of the age.
The Seagull
Question 11
This was a popular question although it wasn’t always well handled.
There were some quite detailed ideas for the casting of the role, although these were often based
on a misunderstanding of the relative ages of the characters.
Some less successful students also wrote several paragraphs about costume, which added little to
demonstrating Trigorin’s different attitudes.
The interpretation of Trigorin was generally very secure, but many students struggled to stay
focused on the question’s demand to explore the different attitudes that Trigorin displays towards
Arkadina and Nina.
Many students had prepared an answer on ‘audience response’ to Trigorin, and they pursued their
agenda in spite of the demands of the question. This was self-limiting.
The majority of better focused students interpreted Trigorin’s attitudes clearly, and there was some
useful detail of his performance offered to support their ideas.
Occasionally, students failed to differentiate between his attitudes towards the different women,
seeing Trigorin as a self-centred misogynist in both relationships. However, the question
demanded that students differentiate and, so, failure to comply was self-penalising, again.
Generally, there was some appropriately detailed work on Trigorin’s relationship with Nina.
Sensitive directors found subtle ways to demonstrate his initial friendliness with the younger girl,
turning into attraction as he falls for her flattery and youthful enthusiasm.
Other students mistook Trigorin’s words and actions to be those of a sexual predator. There were
many students who ignored Chekhov’s presentation of a shy, self-contained character and took
some liberties with the text to suggest a calculating lothario.
Weaker answers were also more likely to be illustrated with sections that showed only their very
early interactions and not the relationship as it develops.
Trigorin’s attitude towards Arkadina was often less well interpreted and a significant number of
students spent more time discussing the direction of Arkadina, in Act Three especially, than the
direction of Trigorin.
Examiners were not ‘shocked’ by the very large number of students who suggested that Arkadina
performed oral sex on Trigorin, in Act Three, in order to re-gain his interest in her, but they did note
that students who dwelt in excessive length on this section – with limited reference to the text –
were veering off the focus of the question for no discernible benefit. Students should be
encouraged to think carefully about what is and what is not appropriate in an exam script.
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In good answers, practical suggestions were often detailed, and there was generally very good use
of text, showing an understanding of the play and of Chekhov’s style.
It is disappointing to report that students in this series had been encouraged to include extensive
references to the methods of Stanislavski in their answers on this play. Rehearsal work is
irrelevant in this paper, which focuses exclusively on the plays in performance, so these students
wasted valuable time that would have better spent answering the question set.
Question 12
This was the less popular option, although there were some answers seen.
The question required students to discuss how their designs ideas for two design elements (and
their use) would help to create a Naturalistic style.
The majority of students addressing this question opted to discuss ‘set’ and ‘costume and
accessories’, although all combinations were seen.
Good answers addressed the ‘naturalistic style’ specified by the question and addressed period
with some understanding. The best answers gave a clear overview of the play in context.
Ideas were generally appropriate and supported by text. There were useful ideas to support
action, for example of Sorin’s deteriorating health, through use of costume and accessories such
as his walking stick and later his wheelchair.
Some answers only offered limited design fundamentals in terms of colour, materials and texture.
Better answers showed clear evidence of research.
Most students were able to outline a setting design; many revealed some knowledge of the style of
furnishings in the late nineteenth century, but few students went beyond listing the items of
furniture that Sorin might have on the estate. Limited stage sense was in evidence.
Good students began by referring to the style and period of the play, they outlined some design
fundamentals, including entrances and exits, and they considered transitions.
Good students always provided sketches to support their ideas.
Weaker students often failed to supply a sketch and, not infrequently, they ignored the demands of
the question. Some students who opted for this question appeared not to have given much
thought to design requirements of the play prior to setting pen to paper.
Some careless students failed to read the question sufficiently closely, and did not notice that the
question demanded reference to at least two specific sections of the play.
Section B: The Twentieth Century or Contemporary Drama
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For the benefit of teachers new to the specification it is worth repeating here points made over
successive series about the frequently seen errors of approach in students’ answers to section B
questions.
Better answers:
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Better answers offered an interpretation of the printed extract that revealed their
understanding of the extract and of the play from which it was taken
Better answers considered the audience experience that they were aiming to achieve
through their direction
Better answers attempted to communicate meaning to the audience through each of the
directorial decisions they made
Better answers included clear evidence of relevant research embedded in their answers,
where appropriate and informing their practical, directorial ideas
In the work of better answers, sketches were of adequate size – about a third of a page –
they were clearly labelled, they related to the necessary traffic of the scene and were
compatible with the play as a whole.
Weaker Answers:
•
•
•
•
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In a tiny minority of cases, some students failed to open their exam booklets to find the set
extract but answered instead on the corresponding pages from the texts they had with them
in the exam room. This anomaly was found to have occurred in response to all plays
A more significant minority wrote exclusively about staging issues: choice of stage
configuration, set and costume design, lighting and sound effects, and failed to offer a
single idea about how they might direct their cast
Many weaker answers spent almost all of their answers writing casting and costume
suggestions, often betraying a very limited understanding of how casting and costume
convey meaning to an audience
Many weaker answers prefaced their ideas with potted biographies of the respective
playwrights, which had no bearing whatsoever on the interpretation of the extract
Many weaker answers wrote at length about their intentions for the audience, for example,
‘I would want to increase the tension here’, but then found themselves at a loss about how
to achieve that in practical directorial terms
Many weaker answers wrote about one or two lines of text in great detail but did not give a
sense of understanding, either of the rest of the extract or of the play from which it was
taken
Many weaker answers swamped their answers with references to research that was:
- purely biographical
- purely literary
- gratuitous and/or clearly irrelevant to their interpretation of the piece
Sketches:
- many weaker answers failed to include a useful sketch
- some provided a sketch crammed into three lines of their answer books with little or
no labelling
- some offered a tiny sketch with so much labelling that it was impossible to see the
sketch beneath it
- some drew empty rectangles with no detail inserted
- some answers betrayed a lack of understanding by, for example, nominating a
traverse stage setting but drawing a proscenium arch, or nominating theatre in-the-
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•
round but putting a large structure in the centre of it, effectively blocking sight lines
for the whole audience at one time or another
Many weaker answers simply narrated the action of the extracts, and offered neither
interpretation nor meaning to the reader/audience.
These strengths and weaknesses were seen in relation to each of the texts. The following
additional points are worth making in relation to specific texts.
Blood Wedding – Question 13
The extract set for this series fired the imagination of many inventive students, and where the
whole extract was considered, including the appearance of the Moon and the Beggar Woman,
some very good theatre was realised.
Most of the responses showed a quite well-developed sense of Lorca’s poetic style in comparison
to previous series.
There were some students’ answers whose staging ideas were imaginative but impractical, as is
sometimes the case, with trees dotted all over the stage and no indicated of how they arrived there
or of how they were supported, and some whose staging bore little relation to the text – one offered
the setting as in a busy Spanish street.
Many students, however, saw the evident passion between the Bride and Leonardo and offered
some sensitive ideas for the realisation of this, incorporating movement sequences and physical
directions for the actors that did not shy away from the intensity of their passion, while stopping
short of being too graphic in the performances suggested.
Many students communicated the solemnity of the extract and appreciated the necessity to build
the tension within the extract, revealing a useful knowledge of the playwright’s intentions. There
were some inventive ideas to show the change in atmosphere. A few students did, however, overemphasise the religious aspect of the context and paid insufficient attention to the “forest”.
Weaker answers ignored the final section with the Moon and the Beggar Woman which is essential
to an understanding of this scene.
Students often selected as little as one or two lines to ‘direct’ having spent the rest of their time on
relating the background to Lorca; referring, irrelevantly to Franco, to the other ‘Rural Tragedies’ to
Andalucía, or to other aspects of Lorca’s personal life. This information was almost never utilised
in the answer, and was therefore not made relevant.
The Good Person of Szechwan – Question 14
As has been reported in previous series, some students appear to believe that the regurgitation of
Brechtian theory – not always evidently fully understood – will be enough to secure success in
answering this question. Alas, this is not the case.
Students wrote at great length about Brechtian theory, about Verfremdung and späss and gestic
acting. This occasionally helped better students to interpret the extract and to clarify the political
thrust of the play as a whole, but often served as a distraction from treating one of the most
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important aspects of this extract, summed up in the Sister-in-law’s defeatist belief that ‘It’s not for
us to change the world.’
With this question, more than any of the others in this section, weaker students spent too little time
on the direction of the actors. There was also a tendency with these students to focus on one part
of the extract and to give very limited detail even of the brief section selected.
In particular, weak answers did not offer developed ideas for the delivery of Shen Teh’s
monologue/song nor did they adequately explore her relationship with Wang.
The points being made by Brecht in this extract, through the refusal of the poor characters to take
personal risk by bearing witness to brutal events, often eluded all but the most sophisticated of
students.
Wang’s disappointment in the possibility of his hand recovering and the prospect of compensation
vanishing before his very eyes was also rarely appreciated.
A number of weaker answers spent a considerable time discussing Brecht’s Marxist views and
their influence on the piece, without focusing on the direction of the actors and how this could be
communicated in performance. Weaker answers offered a generalised view, often not effectively
linking performance ideas to their intention, but offering assertions. These answers did not
consider the experience of the audience in sufficient detail.
Some students offered considerable design detail. Where this was well researched and showed
understanding of the text, this was appropriate. Some students, however, offered very limited
designs and had evidently little understanding of Brechtian influence on design.
A View from the Bridge – Question 15
This text was chosen by a large number of students.
Good answers offered very clear understanding of the relationships between the characters, and
there was some extremely subtle and detailed work outlining the interaction of Catherine and Eddie
during the section. A few answers did not consider Beatrice except very briefly, although she is a
constant stage presence.
Some answers spent too long on design ideas, to the detriment of their ideas for direction. There
was also some confusion with reference to the style of women’s costumes in the 1950s, with some
inappropriate suggestions both in terms of style and appropriateness for the characters. Some
suggestions for costume ignored the fact that the extract takes place in midwinter.
Other careless readings of the text were evident in inappropriate casting ideas; Catherine was
frequently described as having blonde hair, Eddie appeared more than once as a man in his late
twenties and several students gave both Eddie and Beatrice Italian accents.
Stage designs were often impractical with Alfieri’s office (not used in this extract but visible in most
designs) downstage of the apartment and blocking the view of it, or the phone box downstage
centre giving further sightline problems.
Some students had Alfieri’s office suspended from the bridge without any visible means of support,
and the actual apartment was often set far upstage with a large street downstage in front of it,
which means that the main acting area was cramped and difficult to see.
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Some students also felt the need to include additions such as police sirens heralding the arrival of
the immigration officials which are not in the text and, at the point at which they were introduced,
would probably have had a detrimental effect on the tension building within the apartment by
diverting the audience’s attention outside it.
Most students focused on the direction of Eddie and Catherine with Beatrice often reduced to the
side-lines despite the fact that she is there and has a crucial role to play in the extract.
There was usually a clear sense communicated of Eddie’s mood and most students were clear
about the guilt he feels. Only stronger students saw the subtleties of Catherine’s divided
allegiances, most saw her as having turned completely against Eddie at this point.
Many answers put the section usefully in context and showed its importance, foreshadowing the
tragic end of the play. This was, for the majority, a very successful answer.
The Trial – Question 16
A number of answers were seen on this question, but these were generally less successful than on
other texts in this section.
Most students showed an understanding of Berkoff’s style and developed appropriate ideas for
appearance and movement. However, several spent too long describing setting and costume to
the detriment of direction.
Good answers supported their suggestions with very clear diagrams which sometimes showed
blocking and movement. Many of these were detailed and very useful. Some were overly sketchy
and added little to the text of the answers.
In weaker answers, staging decisions were usually limited to diagrams/sketches showing screens
in a semi-circular formation around the stage area, and there was little attempt to go beyond that
idea.
Many scripts were seen that suggested a complete lack of understanding of the text of The Trial.
This was especially noticeable in those answers where students had elected to transpose the
action to some completely unsuitable other setting or time period.
Good answers brought out the increasingly claustrophobic atmosphere and sense of menace that
K is victim to. There were some good interpretations of Leni, although her interpretation could have
been more theatrically consistent in some answers.
There were some graphic descriptions of the physical action between K and Leni offering various
interpretations of how the performers could recreate having sex on stage.
The role of Huld was usually quite well realised, although direction of the chorus “miming the story”
was at times confused or unconvincing. The latter part of the extract, “The Interrogators”, was
frequently underdeveloped or not attempted.
Several good answers offered clear casting for K, showing a secure awareness of his role in the
play, and making useful reference to context. There were detailed directorial suggestions to create
K’s weakness and growing confusion.
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Students often struggled with the ideas that Berkoff is exploring in the extract, and very many
students substituted detailed interpretation of the extract with generalised assertions about the
corruptness of ‘the law’.
Our Country’s Good – Question 17
This was a very popular question and generally a successful one on an extremely popular text.
However, weaker answers gave very general realisation, and spent too long discussing set and
technical aspects. A significant number of students still set the play on the ship, despite this
setting appearing only in the first scene of the play. However, there were some very useful and
detailed sketches.
The majority of answers showed a secure awareness of the importance of the scenes and their
relationship to each other. The juxtaposition of hope and concern for the play was frequently
alluded to.
Good answers offered equal attention to each scene and considered the majority of action in each.
However, weaker answers offered irrelevant discussion of Brechtian theory at the expense of
exploring the play, and some discussed the political and historical context of the play, with
insufficient application to the question.
There was, however, some excellent directorial suggestion of Scene One, particularly of Liz and
Sideway, as Liz receives the fan. Better answers always considered her demeanour at this point,
and there were some lovely ideas for showing how this moment marked a turning point for Liz.
Better students referred to all the characters that appear in this scene, and to how the play had
wrought its magic on them.
In treating Scene Two, there was some very good direction of Ralph, and his relationship with
Phillip was usually very clearly explored. However, some points needed development in many
answers, and there was some misreading, including assertions of a “father/son relationship”.
In weaker answers, this section of the extract was often quite briefly addressed, and was often
prone to unsupported assertions about Wertenbaker’s political intentions. Phillip was frequently
described in derogatory terms as ‘droning on’ or ‘rambling’, giving very clear indication of the
student’s lack of understanding of one of the most significant scenes in the play.
The subtleties of Phillip’s intentions when talking to Ralph were lost on some students, and a
significant number ignored the discussion of Socrates and his ideas. The central idea of adopting
a different, and more enlightened, approach to dealing with the prisoners was not seen by several
students, although very many used the line ‘No, Lieutenant, by redemption’ as their final statement,
even though the extract does not finish here.
Coram Boy – Question 18
This play has minority appeal.
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The majority of students showed a good sense of context, and identified the importance of the
extract in their direction. In particular, these answers identified the relationships between the
characters, and there was some particularly sensitive direction of Mish.
Others revealed a lack of understanding of the passage of time between the last time we saw
Meshak, and they still had him dressed in shabby clothes – one chose a potato sack – and
covered in bruises.
Most students identified the theme of parents and children as being important in the scene, but few
were able to realise this theme in concrete theatrical terms.
Good answers showed a balanced development of both scenes; weaker ones paid less attention to
Scene Six, possibly because of timing. Good answers also paid attention to the transition, showing
good understanding of Edmundson’s style, and offering clear and practical ideas.
Several answers made useful reference to the use of sound and lighting, particularly for Scene
Five. Weaker answers offered less detail at this point. Some very weak answers showed only a
limited understanding of the style of music or the historical context.
Many students focused on the technical demands of the section, such as achieving the transitions
and providing recognisable locations. These answers adopted a somewhat mechanical approach
to the play as a whole, ignoring the minutiae of the action in this scene in order to concentrate on a
whole play view.
Some students appeared not to understand who Aaron is.
Unfortunately, some students appeared not to be prepared to interpret the extract; instead, they
offered a narrative description of the events on the paper in front of them with negligible directorial
intervention. Such an approach is self-limiting.
Mark Ranges and Award of Grades
Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics
page of the AQA Website.
Converting Marks into UMS marks
Convert raw marks into Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks by using the link below.
UMS conversion calculator
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