By Caitlin Gallagher – Rattan
On the 22nd of February, Year Ten pupils finished devising their drama exam, a performance we had been working towards since the start of the academic year. The process involved picking a stimulus the exam board provided and composing our own performance based on that inspiration. We had to create a plot, a rough script, characters and convey a message we wanted the audience to walk away thinking about. Stimulus involved a photo of a bride crying on the underground, the Inventing Anna TV show and a piece of artwork; with as much creative freedom from within our imaginations. We had the opportunity to create a fifteen minute performance that would make up for thirty percent of our GCSE. However, for many students drama is a passion and this was a process that wasn’t just for a grade; it was a general interest that they were willing to put time, energy and effort into. Evie Ward, who is Grade 6 at LAMDA and has a main role in our school play ‘Sister Act‘ said, ‘I very much enjoy drama, not just inside of lessons but also as a hobby, so drama GCSE was perfect for me.’
Our performances were a great chance for us to transmit a message to the audience and focus on a subject we felt strongly on. Isobel Martin, who acted in a 1950s style performance, said, ‘In our performance, we focused on themes of homophobia in today’s world and we compared it to the 1950s. We wanted the audience to reflect on how times have changed and societies views on LGBTQ+ communities.’ Their performance which followed a young lesbian girl in conflict with her family who prioritised her marriage to a man which would raise their social status rather than a woman who their daughter was truly in love with was very moving and was highly praised by the audience. When reflecting on the process of creating the play, Isobel said, ‘I think the biggest challenge was really committing to the character, we really wanted to make our characters believable, however, we had to change quite a lot, however, I think we pulled it off.’ She also advised anyone thinking about choosing the drama GCSE and embarking on the devising process.
The devising process was not just for those interested in acting, students could choose to be designers, exploring roles such as lighting and costume. As someone who did costume myself, looking back on the process it was an amazing creative opportunity and something I utterly enjoyed. I got the chance to improve my sewing and designing skills and create a wedding dress for the character I created, including a full length veil and removable sleeves which is something I am very proud of. I created mood boards, filled sketchbooks with designs and practised makeup, all things that would not seem possible in a GCSE subject, but are.
I would profoundly recommend doing Drama GCSE for anyone who is interested in having the opportunity to be creative, work in a group and use their imaginations to create something they will be very proud of.