Q3 and Q4:DEVELOPING YOUR IDEAS FOR PERFORMANCE

• Check where your group is against the following criteria:

• You have a clear intention for the piece

• You have established key scenes and the plot (what happens in the play)

• You have all allocated characters and understand how they relate to each other in the story.

• You have an idea of GENRE, STYLE and FORM and STRUCTURE?

Q3 Focus – ‘Significant Moments’

•Q3 What were some of the significant moments during the development process and when rehearsing and refining your work?

• Understand the requirements of the WRITTEN PORTFOLIO

• Focus on the requirements for Q3

Understand the requirements of the WRITTEN PORTFOLIOFocus on the requirements for Q3

Significant moment What happened Why it made a difference

1. One instance was when we used our research on the topic to develop a scene between the child and her Mum.

We obtained some research on a real life study of grooming from the school’s child protection team. We were able to include real statements from a Mum whose child had been groomed.

This then made the scene much more realistic, but also made me realise the seriousness of the issue, and helped me to focus in my role when rehearsing the scene.

2

A ‘significant moment’ means a decision or moment when the progress of the drama really improved. It could be through research, or the use of a technique for instance.

Q4 Focus

•Q4 How did you consider genre, structure, character, form, style, and language throughout the process?

• Understand the requirements of the WRITTEN PORTFOLIO

• Focus on the elements for Q4

• GENRE

• STRUCTURE

• CHARACTER

• FORM

• STYLE

• LANGUAGE

1. GENRE: What type of story?

• This relates to the TYPE of story you are telling, such as:• COMEDY• ROMANCE• THRILLER• DRAMA• HORROR

• What elements of the genre does your story contain? • Example – Drama would contain realism, real events and situations.• Horror might contain a suspenseful soundtrack, and lots of tension

Portfolio Pit stop Recording the evidence

• In your books complete the following tasks:

• Title – Q4 notes: Genre + Structure Date

Point Evidence Evaluate Link

We had to consider genre when developing our ideasDue to the subject matter, it became clear that our piece was educational/dramatic/largely realistic/comedic in nature.

Therefore when devising our scenes we used actualdialogue that we had researched about a family who had been victims of…We exaggerated our facial expressions and gestures and added in slapstick at key momentsWe decided to include narration of the factual information we needed to

This was a key decision for us because we all had to agree on the overall type of story we were trying to create in line with our original aims. Contrasting ideas would have meant a messy and chaotic performance. Knowing we were creating a thriller helped us a great deal.

From our original stimulus of A bulletA story about lossThe history of the railroadAnd considering our audience, the decision about genre was a choice/easy/straightforward and it was crucial to make that decision early on in the process.

2. STRUCTURE: What happens when?

• This relates to the way in which the story will be told, such as:

• The story unfolds as events happen in real life – LINEAR PLOT

• The story is told out of sequence by using techniques such as FLASBACK or CROSSCUTTING, or MULTIPLE VERSIONS of the same story

• The play moves through several different TIME PERIODS and LOCATIONS

Portfolio Pit stop Recording the evidence

• In your books complete the following tasks:

• Title – Q4 notes: Genre + Structure Date

Point Evidence Evaluate Link

The structure of our piece also took shape as we devised. It was important how the scenes and moments we created fitted together.

We used a classic narrative structure because our piece was realistic with real life characters, happening in a natural sequence of events.

We used cross cutting to start with a dramatic moment, drawing the audience’s attention into the story.

Planning the structure was key because we could refer to the plan during rehearsals and keep adding details to the overall story as we developed each scene and character.I really liked knowing why each scene was important (see appendix #3)

Because our stimulus of loss was a cycle of emotions, it felt so important to also create a performance which followed a similar structure

Because ours was an educational piece, the structural pattern needed to be clear for younger audience members, hence the importance of narration.

3. CHARACTER: Who is involved in the story?

• This clearly relates to the figures used to tell your story, including a PROTAGONIST (Main character) and related individuals.

• You may perform as the same character throughout, or be performing in a few different roles.

• You will be expected to show understanding of how you have developed your role/s and considered

• HISTORY (role on the wall, improvised scene of what happened before)

• RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS (relationship map)

• MOTIVATIONS AND OBJECTIVES (role on the wall)

Relationship map• This is an excellent way to demonstrate how you have considered the

characters in your piece and how they relate to one another.

• Q4 deals with this (Character) and you can also show evidence in your appendix of the map you will now create with your group.

• Refer to the example I have given you.

• Using paper and pens provided, create your own, adding in extra details such as who is playing which character for example might be of use.

• In what other contexts would this task be relevant or useful?

4. FORM: How do you show what happens?

• This relates to the HOW the story will be told, such as:

• NARRATION

• ROLE PLAY

• STILL IMAGES

• THOUGHT TRACKING

• PHYSICAL THEATRE

• And also relates to transitions and scene changes as structure will.

5. STYLE: What type of story?

• Having considered Genre, the style of the drama will need to follow along similar lines.

• For instance if it was a comedy then the style might be a silent movie, or a situation comedy, or a commedia del arte masked piece.

• If a Drama, then is it centred around a family, a situation (such as revealing a secret) or an issue (e.g. illness) or a community?

6. LANGUAGE: How will you and other characters use spoken language?

• This relates to how your character may speak about themselves and others in the piece.

• Do they use formal language or informal?

• Will it be appropriate to speak in slang if your character is a lawyer for example?

• How have you considered your language in different roles, or in different situations your character finds themselves in during the play? How might it change?