Download Section B Prescribed Play June 2014

A-Level
Drama and Theatre Studies
DRAM1B Live Theatre Production Seen and Prescribed Play
Report on the Examination
2240
June 2014
Version: 1.0
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REPORT ON THE EXAMINATION – A-LEVEL DRAMA AND THEATRE STUDIES – 2240 – JUNE 2014
General Comments
Factors that contributed to student success included:

Structured and well-focused answers that used the text well to support practical
suggestions in a coherent and logical manner.

Responses which met the precise focus of the question at an early point enabling students
to demonstrate in a concise and appropriate manner their ideas for revealing the
requirements of the text.

An understanding of period, genre or context being integrated into students’ responses and
thereby aiding the student in revealing knowledge of style.

Attempts to transpose texts to inappropriate settings, where the approach was fully justified
and maintained throughout the answer.

Purposeful practical detail, and precise and close reference to the text, with the best
students using the text well to enable the examiner to locate the moment.

Responses which provided a complete synthesis of all performance aspects, vocally,
physically and included use of prop/costume to address the specific focus of the question.
At their best these answers revealed some truly creative ideas about how characters might
be performed.

Selecting the moments from the text that were obviously the most useful to enable students
to hit the focus of the question.
The following factors resulted in less successful responses:

Failure to address the precise focus of the question instead taking a generic performance
or directorial stance.

Not reading the question carefully enough to realise precisely where the specified section
starts and ends.

Spending far too much time on the opening of the section, generally with the entrance of a
character and thereby leaving insufficient time to get to the most important or dramatic part
of the specified section.

Writing generalised introductions that, although revealing some background knowledge to
the play, do little to explore the relationship between text and performance.

Spurious reference to practitioners that were included with negligible sense of how this
might influence the students’ final ideas.

Relying heavily on description, character sketches or largely irrelevant (to the precise
demands of the question) pre-prepared ideas about setting or costume.

The use of page references and very brief quotations, sometimes no more than a single
word, did little to ensure that students had understood the moment sufficiently for their
ideas to be coherent or developed.
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
Tackling design questions without sufficient knowledge or understanding of the necessary
design fundamentals usually resulted in very disjointed and poorly thought through
answers.

Students tackling staging questions failing to recognise the scope of what they could be
expected to include within the answer. The inclusion of a full range of staging demands and
possibilities was rarely met, with students often only briefly mentioning blocking, the use of
set, props and costume, and only passing reference to how lighting or sound might help to
reveal their intentions for the specified scene.

Starting anwers with assertions such as “I would set this in-the-round” only to say in the
next sentence that they were using a proscenium arch (rarely spelt correctly). Those who
chose in the round, traverse or even thrust staging, often ran into problems when identifying
where on the stage they were envisaging a particular event. Many claimed that events were
happening back stage rather than up stage; basic terms need more precise usage.

A lack of planning and organisation. In addition to lengthy introductions many students
spent much of their remaining time discussing one idea, even repeating it, and not moving
on to other material thereby missing the range and scope for potential in the answer.
Antigone
Question 01
This text continues to be the most popular choice on this paper with this question being undertaken
by slightly fewer students than Q02. On the positive side, the best answers revealed a full and
detailed knowledge of both the chorus’ function and attitude at the beginning of the play along with
a clear intent for theirs, and Creon’s performance. Examiners reported that in the best responses
students had carefully outlined their preferred effects for the whole section at the start of their
answer and explained how they wanted the chorus to modify their delivery according to their
interaction with one another or with Creon and then followed this up with clear accounts of Creon’s
entrance and delivery.
Most students gave at least some indication as to their preferred effects and were able to
recognise that the chorus needed to exhibit some elements of celebration whilst also considering
the effect that they wished to have on the audience through Creon’s first appearance. There were
however examples where Creon’s extreme anger and dictatorial approach would have left the
actor with very little room for development further on in the play.
Unfortunately many students failed to consider the whole section, some choosing to almost
completely ignore the choral ode, or they only considered the opening line: or conversely, tackled
Creon’s entrance in huge detail without ever progressing to an explanation of the delivery of any of
his speech.
Students who opted for a ‘physical theatre’ approach to the delivery of the choral ode rarely
managed to demonstrate a clear understanding of the text; lengthy explanations of formation
movement (and sometimes acrobatics) coupled with complex sketches that indicated the
movement of the chorus around the stage space were rarely very clear and the actual words and
their meaning often became of secondary importance.
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Finally true of both questions but perhaps more so of this one, many students use of traditional
Greek terminology at times became intrusive, particularly where it was highly apparent that the
student didn’t really understand the term and was using it inappropriately, eg ‘his huberance has
become his hamartia’.
Question 02
This was a very popular question and as with the previous one, examiners reported seeing a wide
range of responses from the clear, purposeful and detailed to the generalised and lacking in
knowledge and focus. This is an example of a question where the students’ ability to meet the
focus, in this case to ‘horrify’ the audience, was of paramount importance. Most students paid
some attention to the Messenger’s entrance – whether he appeared as timid and afraid or bold and
desperate to tell his news. However some students were clearly confused as to the role, implying
that he was the same character as the Sentry/Guard who delivers the news of the burial of the
body at the start of the play.
Another frequent error that demonstrated a lack of understanding of the text was that a large
number of students had Creon on stage during the Messenger’s speech, with several of these
responses having the Messenger interacting with Creon whilst telling of the deaths, seemingly
being oblivious to the fact that Creon had been there at the deaths of Antigone and Haemon and
witnessed it all first-hand!
However, the most common problem encountered in answers to this question was the fact that in
many cases, although students provided some appropriate performance detail for the character
and used some of the text quite well, an alarming number ignored the potentially most horrific
aspects of his speech i.e. his descriptions to Eurydice of the deaths of Antigone and Haemon and
his explanation to Creon of the suicide of his wife. Indeed many failed to address the latter part of
the section at all and of those that did, there were a worrying number who had little sense of how
the character would interact with Creon, suggesting some highly inappropriate actions such as
pushing him to the ground or spitting at him.
At their best there were some really subtle explanations of how the messenger through precise
explanation of a detailed range of vocal qualities (and not merely ‘I would enter at a measured
pace speaking at a measured tone’) could enable the audience to envisage the horror that he had
seen.
The Taming of the Shrew
Question 03
Many students had very inventive ideas for Grumio’s contribution to this scene and referred in
detail to the creation of comedy in a variety of appropriate ways. His initial entrance was often well
addressed in many answers, suggesting for example that he should be buried under bags and
cases while Petruchio carries nothing. In many cases the ‘knock’ joke was explored quite well, with
a variety of assertions as to whether he was doing it deliberately or not, supported by knowing or
bemused glances at the audience respectively, and identifying a suitable moment in the text for
such performance details that included a range of quite well visualised boxing moves. However
some students spent far too long on what amounted to a very brief section of the text providing
overlong details that frequently became repetitive.
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In some cases, the entrance of Hortensio was also dealt with in a range of ways and maintained
the focus on its comic potential to continue the joke however many students failed to even reach
this point of the text whilst others lost their focus on the creation of comedy. Few students
addressed Grumio’s other moments of speech with many failing to recognise their importance and
significance in relation to the idea of the marriage to Katherina with those that did, often failing to
provide any practical realisation for the asides. There were more than a few students who asserted
that Grumio ‘doesn’t do anything in the rest of the scene’, showing a serious lack of understanding
of theatrical presentation where everyone on stage has to be ‘doing’ something. Very few students
found any comic potential in this later section despite its importance to the plot.
Many students made some reference to the commedia origins of the role, but only the very best
used this to actually inform their comic invention whilst in many cases references to Zanni were
either not understood or not developed.
Question 04
Examiners reported seeing a range of responses to this question, which although less popular than
Q03 still produced some interesting and perceptive answers particularly where students
recognised that Kate’s final speech makes a significant contribution to the interpretation of the play
as a whole.
The best responses explored whether she was being sincere, was still angry and resentful, had
been given the speech, verbatim, by Petruchio, had rehearsed it with him, and even whether the
whole wager was an elaborate plot devised by Petruchio and Kate together to make money!
Whatever the interpretation most students recognised the ‘problem’ nature of this for a
contemporary audience, however some students in an attempt to resolve this, chose to write their
answers purely from the perspective of an Elizabethan audience and this was neither a successful
or appropriate approach to take.
Whilst some of the ideas presented were more acceptable than others, whatever the interpretation,
it was the supporting references and the use of text that made the difference. Ideas such as having
the three women visible in an upstage area or on a balcony were interesting but tended not to
address the resultant problems when Biondello speaks with them and therefore their reactions are
seen and need to be followed through. Where chosen, the Widow and/or Bianca were not always
discussed in sufficient detail and in the majority of cases their behaviour towards their new
husbands lacked textual reference and support. The extreme violence attributed to them in some
answers was rarely convincing.
A recognition that this is the end of the play and therefore the end of the ‘taming’ was sometimes
addressed with great originality and/or understanding, but, unfortunately, not often.
A Doll’s House
Question 05
There were a very small number of responses to the question but those students that did attempt
it, in the better responses seen, provided clear sketches and used the stage directions
appropriately to create their settings and suggestions for lighting.
The best answers showed a good sense of period as revealed through clear details for the
furniture and other set dressings, and a secure understanding of the demands of the text, including
the need for appropriately placed entrances and exits, the suggestion of outside spaces, and the
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traffic of the action at the opening of Act One. These answers also highlighted key features of
Ibsen’s set, including a sense of Christmas and the focus on the tree.
Weaker answers were less secure on period and context, and there was some confusion as to the
Helmers’ social status and wealth. There is clear evidence of these factors in the stage directions.
Some answers went beyond Ibsen’s directions to stage additional rooms. This has been a feature
of recent contemporary productions and has occurred in some film versions, but goes counter to
the playwright’s intentions and needs to be robustly justified; the inclusion of a revolve in the
design was usually counterproductive.
Although there were some clear sketches, sightlines, audience experience and stage traffic
needed further consideration in the majority of answers whilst some answers made negligible
reference to design fundamentals such as colour, fabric and scale. Students need to be secure in
these design elements in order to address a design question satisfactorily.
Question 06
This was one of the most popular questions on the paper as a whole and examiners reported
seeing some very good work indeed.
However, a very significant and disappointing number of students answered on the wrong section
of the text, starting with Krogstadt’s letter to Helmer or indeed in some cases the receipt of
Dr Rank’s note. It cannot be stressed enough, how important it is for students to read the whole
question carefully including the explanation in parentheses that identifies the section to be
considered. It is a real shame that many wrote so much on the first part of the act that the specified
section only received a cursory glance and this had a serious adverse effect on the marks
awarded.
Where students did respond to the correct section, the majority of answers showed a good
understanding of Torvald’s role and there were some secure interpretations of his performance in
this section of the play. Most students realised his contrasting emotions clearly and with
appropriate justification. These answers offered detailed practical ideas with clear references to
moments of text. Conversely a number of students concentrated too much on his function and
attitude to Nora, rather than his emotions, discussing his need for, or lack of, control or his desire
to keep up appearances but without explaining explicitly what emotion he felt. All too often, these
answers included lengthy introductions outlining Ibsen’s intentions for the play and its original
reception. Whereas a succinct introduction is appropriate, too lengthy a preamble distracts from
the question focus and limits students’ time.
Although the section to be covered wasn’t particularly long, responses to it often suffered from a
‘snapshot’ approach with students selecting very brief lines of text to discuss and jumping from his
initial euphoria at the receipt of the IOU straight to his lack of understanding of Nora’s decisions
with little sense of how the actor might move from one of these ideas to another. Similarly the lack
of overview also meant that at any one moment Torvald might be sitting in one part of the set to be
standing towering over Nora only a line or two later with no explanation as to how or when he
moved.
However, there was some very sensitive work on the character, suggesting his lack of
comprehension of the situation and his quite naïve understanding of Nora, but there were also
some less successful, rather melodramatic interpretations that showed less secure understanding
of style.
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The Shadow of a Gunman
Question 07
As has been identified in many previous reports, successful students clearly write to the focus of
the question and this was very true in this case. Most answers when considering the attitudes of
the characters did identify ‘irritation’ and ‘bickering’ whilst the better ones also saw the how this
stems from the situation that the two men are in; not having money and having no choice but to
share a room in the tenement building with the close conditions giving rise to an inevitable irritation
as they attempt to share their lives.
Unfortunately, many students seemed to focus on a general approach to the relationship between
Davoren and Shields rather than, as demanded by the question, more specifically on their
‘attitudes’ towards each other. There were several examples of poor timing with students not
getting to the end of the section and often completely omitting the section with Maguire and the
significance of the bag. The majority focused on Davoren’s initial writing and Shields’ reluctance to
get up – they usually saw Davoren’s irritation but did less on Shields’ attitude here. A few referred
to Davoren’s love of poetry, some touched on the exchange regarding religion whilst only the best
addressed Shields’ long speech about his work. It is worrying that students often seem unable to
consider the delivery of long speeches preferring only to concentrate on shorter exchanges
between characters. The idea that they could select moments from within a long speech and
comment on that does not appear to occur to many of them.
Question 08
This was the less popular of the questions on this text and like ‘A Doll’s House’ some students
attempting it answered on entirely the wrong section dealing almost exclusively with Mrs Grigson’s
first entrance. Most students did however demonstrate at least some awareness of the role using
O’Casey’s stage directions for her appearance and dealing quite well with her entrance. Although
as is so often the case, spending too long on this at the expense of covering moments from across
the whole of the specified section. Similarly her anxiety about her husband, and the accompanying
fear of him, was usually mentioned. However, her long speech just after her entrance was another
example of text being largely ignored; there was occasional reference to the line about the Bible
being flung on the floor but the rest of this speech was not addressed.
Several students identified Mrs Grigson’s scornful attitude towards Minnie but fewer of them saw
the rapid change in this attitude at the end after Minnie has been killed and only the best were able
to place this knowledge within the context of convincing performance detail. The response of
sympathy because of treatment that she receives from her husband was usually mentioned but
there was a less clear definition of ways in which the more humorous elements of her character
might be revealed and little sense of this in audience response.
Oh What a Lovely War
Question 09
Examiners reported seeing very few answers to this question and in many cases these tended to
be rather unsuccessful.
The majority of students had difficulty establishing an over-view for a setting that would be
sufficiently flexible to accommodate the action of the specified section although some students had
clearly been influenced by the design of the recent revival production at Stratford and where
precise reference was made to the different needs of this section, it was entirely appropriate.
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However, several students simply drew a set design without exploring how it might be used by the
actors and indeed there was often a real lack of use of the text in these answers. Many students
discussed use of key props, without clearly delineating the acting space and the demands of the
specified section.
Few students engaged with design fundamentals such as colour, scale and texture, although there
were a few ideas to give the impression of trenches. The majority of students decided on a stage
space, but sketches were limited in terms of sight-lines, entrances and exits and understanding of
stage traffic.
Costumes were generally quite briefly described and there was a similar lack of design detail. A
disappointing number of opportunities were missed, particularly in relation to the ‘Lancashire
Lasses’. There were some references to the Pierrot costumes as the basic actors’ uniform, but the
reasons for this and the adaptation of this basic costume at key moments was relatively
unexplored with methods for differentiating the French soldiers rarely being mentioned. Frequently
the only evidence of attention to make-up was a reference to ‘a smudge of mud’.
There were some references to the playwright’s intentions and some suggestions for use of flags
and projections to underline the play’s themes however in many cases the references made to any
of the specified design details showed a lack of awareness that this was the end of the play and
that the audience had been viewing the ideas for some considerable time.
Question 10
The majority of students attempting this question did at least realise the comic potential of the
roles, their comic contrasts, and the importance of the misunderstandings between the Allies in
terms of the play’s message.
Although not specifically called for there was some useful casting details that did add something to
an understanding of the comic potential and some students knew a lot of the background and gave
a historical profile of each character that when integrated into the response was useful. There was
also some particularly good work on vocal quality, accent and delivery of key lines. Similarly, some
useful physical comedy was suggested for the creation of the car journey and French’s interaction
with his aide.
However, there were also many examples where although comedy was asserted, there was little
practical explanation as to how this might be fully created or developed. Several students spent
some time describing the ‘car’ and how the actors would ‘bounce up and down’ at the expense of
progressing through the section and finding the comedy that is in the dialogue. More than one
student was completely confused about Lanrezac and Moranneville, thinking that they were both
French and were talking about Belgium. Another student talked about them using a ‘foreign
language’ without appearing to recognise that it was french. Most students could see comedy that
comes from Sir John French’s pompous nature and complete ignorance of other people’s
language, culture or intelligence but more could often have been done with his failed attempts at
speaking French. The ‘Ahoy’ section was rarely addressed and those that mentioned it did not
seem to see how the mistake was arising. The section between ‘Ahoy’ and the medal ceremony
was rarely mentioned. Some students got some good humour from the medal section with
Lanrezac kissing French and French’s reaction being one of complete shock.
Weaker answers did not consider the extract as a whole, and these answers often showed some
confusion as to the blocking of the actors at the beginning of the extract.
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Playhouse Creatures
Question 11
As is often the case with design questions, only students who had clearly considered in some
detail their interpretation of the play in design terms and had an understanding of design
fundamentals achieved any degree of success in their approach to this question. Unfortunately
many were unsuccessful and failed to address the demands of the question to suggest how the
choice of set, lighting and sound could be used to help create the different mood and atmosphere
and chronological context within the narrative of the opening section of the play.
Generally, the Prologue was most successfully handled, with some good suggestions for a
retrospective mood, supported by lighting and evocative sound effects to support the emotive
aspects of the text. Some students realised the switch in mood to the bright summer’s day, and a
few commented on the squalid setting in which Nell is found, but this was very largely underdeveloped.
There were a few brief references to period in terms of furnishing and colours, but over-all, limited
information was given. There were some sketches used in support, but not all students recognised
this as a demand of the question.
Question 12
The majority of students showed a reasonably secure understanding of Mrs Betterton and there
was some sympathy given to the interpretation of her situation at this point in the play. However
some students attempting this question appeared to have little precise knowledge of the character,
appearing to be confused as to who she is – this was often revealed through a lack of awareness
about the significance of her age which was either ignored completely or in some cases overdone.
The major weakness that answers showed was in being too selective in terms of the moments of
text chosen, thereby giving only a partial realisation of the character. A few students showed
secure understanding of her complex relationships with the other actresses, and realised these
relationships with detailed performance ideas. Weaker students focused on only one or two
aspects of her role and gave a rather simplistic interpretation, often missing her belief in her
profession and her underlying insecurities.
A few good answers showed understanding of the theatrical context of the extract, and illustrated
this in their performance ideas for the chant from Macbeth. Weaker answers frequently omitted this
part of the extract or didn’t recognise its source and therefore there was much discussion about her
ability to create a spell despite her criticism of it. In all but the best answers, very little attention was
paid to the potential for the performance of the opening rehearsal section in the way that it could be
used to demonstrate understanding of style, relationships or indeed the recognition of some
humour.
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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 www.aqa.org.uk/umsconversion
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