AQA AS Level Drama and Theatre Studies Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Section A questions reward concrete staging decisions, not vague interpretations. For every set-play extract you study, draft three director's notes — movement, vocal delivery, and design — specifying exact intonation, speed, blocking and lighting state. Use practitioner vocabulary correctly: blocking, motivation, given circumstances (Stanislavski), gestus, alienation effect (Brücht), spinal tap (Berkoff). For Section B essays, structure paragraphs around theatrical effect, not chronological plot summary. A strong A-grade response asks: what is the dramatic effect on the audience, and how is it engineered through staging, language, structure and context? Examiner reports criticise students who simply re-tell the plot. The practical performance is moderated against AO1, AO2 and AO4 — not the quality of acting alone but the visibility of the chosen practitioner's methodology. If your group claims to be working in Brüchtian style, every directorial choice (placards, song, direct address) must be evidenced in the performance and explained in the portfolio. Watch professional productions of your set plays — the National Theatre's NT at Home library and Digital Theatre Plus offer captioned performances. A sentence quoting a specific NT or RSC director's choice always raises an essay's quality.