SAMPLE DRAMA EXAM answers 2012
(These were not finished: student were asked to write some quick answers using dot points)
1C. transformation of place. Transformation though both positioning on the stage and voice to change place, i.e. he
fights on the right side of the stage, but his family pleads for him to come home on the left, differentiating his time in
war and that of his homeland. His sister maybe a key character is the one pleading with a high pitched voice,
compared to his hard, cold, and immobile tone.
Transformation of object, Object: Large Tree branch, helped for walking and climbing overseas, maybe he’s retelling
the story of his past (OLDER GENTALMEN) and keep it’s as a memory and his walking cane, OR a leg injury. He also
uses it to represent this weapon during fighting and the edge of the cliffs they look over
2E
Example 1: Research: research into dry regions of the world (places to base), relate to reality and people who may
be involved similar instances, base characters on similar stenotype characters, a politicians maybe Kevin Rudd,
Famous water recycler “inventor”
Example 2: improvisations: Interactions between characters at strange events first meetings, voice maniplutations
Evaluate how one actor used their expressive skills to create two characters in the performance of BLACK BOX:
Dion Mills Character of the pilot was created though the manipulation of expressive skills. At the beginning of the
performance his characters is established though his small movements of the beer opening and his costume;
costume of Blue singlet and blue jeans, following from the Australia stereotype of the actors character basis on a real
person and the stereotype of Australian drinking (partially one of Australia’s favourites VB). He manipulates his voice
to have a lower pitch while
 Voice “pitch” movement gesture
Discuss how stagecraft was manipulated in non-naturalistic ways to create mood in BLACK BOX:

Two chairs being moved and used for actors awesell as plan, the bus ride and the interrogation scene.
Sample drama exam
c. transformation of place/object
place= move on stage, dialogue cue, sound cue
object= hold as if it’s another object (e.g hold the soldiers hat to your ear like a phone), open or shut the object, flip
upside down to change it
d. expressive skills to represent 2 characters with non-naturalism
voice= pitch change(i.e higher for female, lower for male), volume change
facial expression= patriotic and excited soldier (smile) v.s sad and teary girl
movement = soldier moves with stiff movements and marches, girl takes small steps and doesn’t move quickly as the
sadness is holding her back
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gesture = soldier salutes, girl waves delicately
2a) the local citizen with strong views on the issue is based on the simpsons character who constantly asks “will
someone please think of the children” she’s incredibly irritating.
BOY GIRL WALL DRAMATIC ELEMENTS
CLIMAX-the kiss,
CONFLICT- getting penelopy back, William McCabby and the mad magpie of montague rd
CONTRAST –analougue and digital clocks, likes/dislikes
FOCUS –reacting to the audience and then coming back to the script (best laugh ever)
RHYTHMSOUND- baby piano=scientific stuff, organic and created sounds (e.g real ruler v.s disco music)
LANGUAGE- steryotypical accents for each character (matched with facial expression)
TENSION- when Thom is about to break the door and door yells (LET HIM OUT LET HIM OUT), interdimensional crack
in the universe, being in the wrong place at the wrong time
SPACE-different areas of the space designated to the characters
SYMBOL-runners with suit costume=youth
TIMING- sound effects (with movements)
MOOD- music, lighting (fluorescent blue, pink, white)
Ensemble question 1 Evaluate how ONE actor used their expressive skills to create ONE character and how they
manipulated the actor-audience relationship in Boy Girl Wall?
The actor, Lucas Stibbard drastically changed his facial expression when he was performing the character of William
McCabby. He forced his right eye shut to indicate to the audience that the character had lost his eye in a battle
against the Mad Magpie of Montague Road. Stibbard’s voice became much lower in pitch, had an Scottish accent
and he spoke at a much slower pace to emphasise that this character was an older Irish male.
(Missed gesture and movement.)
Even though the William McCabby is demonstrated as an aggressive character the audience is manipulated trusting
him as he fights the evil Magpie of Montague road. William’s kindness to Elithea, the female protagonist, is a clear
indication to the audience that he should be trusted if Elithea trusts him.
SAMPLE DRAMA EXAM
C.
-transformation of place could be done through several means such as stagecraft, in which elements, or props
dictate different locations within the story of a performance. It could be done through character transformation for
instance if a character is of a particular background and the scene is fairly relative, you can presume that the ‘place’
is in conjunction with what is happening
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BOY GIRL WALL
- climax - using sound and
question 1
i. in boy girl wall, the main actor used several different means to transform character. Many of the transformations
were done through a manipulation of movement and the differentiations between the characters gait and gestures.
For instance, the main character gave thom a fairly good posture and smooth gait, and so he transformed into Mel
by having a very slouched, crooked posture with a fast paced gait. Mels movements were also very distinguishable
from other characters as they were much more exaggerated. Voice was the most used expressive skill that
transformed characters, it was implemented to help transform quickly between female and male characters. Along
with voice, the actor used accents to exaggerate different, more
Evaluate how one actor used their expressive skills to create two characters in the performance of Boy Girl Wall.

Lucas Stibbard used voice, movement and facial expression to transform from Thom to Elithia. He altered
the tone, pitch and accent of his voice to show the Contrast between the two characters. Thom’s voice was
close to Stibbard’s own voice, but with a slightly pitch, whereas Elithia’s was much higher in pitch and had a
softer tone. Stibbard also used contrasting movement to show the difference in character between Thom
and Elithia, aside from the fact that one’s a woman and one’s a man. Thom had more stiff movements where
as Elithia’s were more hunched. E3lithia also used minimalistic movement.
1. C) Transformation of place could be used to transform from the War to back home, through positioning on
stage and a symbol of travelling such as a postcard. Transformation of object could be a hat, from a military
uniform transformed to become a bunch of flowers being presented to the soldier as he returns home. This
transformation would also allow an easy character transformation as well.
D) CHARACTER ONE: The soldier would have a deep, manly voice, expressing his heroic, strong nature; also
he would have harshness to it, a bit raspy, expressing the pain of War.
2. A) CHARACTER: A stranger. The stranger will be a homeless looking swaggie, ruffled hair, dirty old clothes,
unshaved beared. He will be middle aged, and very quiet.
B) BEHAVIOUR: His behaviour will be bizarre, being very quiet however occasionally shouting. He will stare
and point at people, rearranging the furniture.
C) EVENT:
BOY GIRL WALLYWALLYWOOOO:
Climax: Mad magpie of montague road. Oral sex puppet. Crack in the wall
Conflict: Wall and ceiling, sock puppet and guy, boss and Olethia, Tom and Olethia
Contrast: Tom and Olethia, Days of the week, Mel and Tom
Focus: Breaking fourth wall and going back to play
Rhythm: Actions in time with music, spoke fluently, movements matched dialogue
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Sound: Xylophone, ruler, bell, music, voice, magpie noise
Language: Different accents for each character, pitch, volume, jargon, tone
Tension: World collapsing with powerbox(world is like a heartbeat), Dancing through club, magpie fight building up
Section B: Explain how the actor used ONE expressive skill to create a character in BOY GIRL WALL:
Lucas Stibbard, the actor in Boy Girl Wall, uses voice effectively to create character.
Stibbard plays 27 different characters in the play, and emphasises the difference between them using his voice. The
character of Thom is one that the audience knows well and has a very regular voice. Stibbard uses an average tone
and volume to emphasise the plain nature of the character. When Stibbard changes to Mel, for example, he changes
his pitch and it becomes higher, as he adds a staccato to different syllables of his words. Together with an Australian
accent and a slightly quicker pace to his dialogue, Mel is created through voice and is clearly a different character to
Thom.
Similarly when Stibbard becomes Allan he changes his voice again, it becomes lower in pitch, as he elongates his
vowels, adding a depressing mood to the character. His inflection also emphasises the different elements of words,
creating a depressing sounding, goth character.
1. C. In the performance I would use transformation of place to allow for flashbacks which will be vital as the
play is set as a series of flashbacks while the soldier tells his story. The scenes will be transformed by having
sound effects of a battle field playing and the character going into a chaotic series of freeze frames depicting
a battle field. Transformation of object will be used to link all events together. By making the object his
wife’s necklace it links the battlefield scenes to not only the present but links the battle field to back home.
2. B. the practitioner I will be using is bertolt brecht and his style of epic theatre
c. feature 1. The play will be didactic as epic theatre is. The play’s message will be that we must preserve the
environment and we must put it before economic interests and religious beliefs. I will do this through the
stranger (god) putting the politicians in their place and even criticising the local who thought he was carrying
out god’s will.
Feature 2.
Climax: transgression of souls
Conflict: pilot and interrogator.
Contrast: duel language
Focus: tear
Rhythm: voice timed to oud
Sound: oud
Tension: being sorted into busses, talking to camera at beginning.
Language: Arabic
Space: breaking the fourth wall
Symbol: matches, camera, dog
Timing: transgression of souls
Mood: reflective mood on his daughter
i.
analyse how stagecraft was used symbolically to enhance the themes of black box.
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ii.
iii.
The entire performance was performed within a black box with a section cut out so the audience can
look in. the box symbolised the pilot’s past, his fears and what happened all those years ago. This
enhances the themes of black box as it gives the play a ominous feeling and implies that the
conspiracy is not just the black box but also all the people that were left behind and scared.
evaluate how the use of space and ensemble movement were applied to create the non-naturalistic
performance style.
With the performance being confined to a very small space all transitions and transformations of
place were made on stage. The set never changed, further enhancing the non-naturalism as all
transformations were made through dialogue and expressive skills (with the exception of the hotel
scene where the extravagant costume of the hotel owner played a major role in establishing the
setting).
1c. To show transformation of place, I would have different areas of the stage representing different places within
the performance. By having for example ‘home’ on the left side of the stage, where it is safe, the right part of the
stage could be the warzone in which the soldier fights for his life. Object could be used to help enforce the nonnaturalism of the play, by having a stick transform into a multitude of things, a gun, clothes or even another person. I
could have the object even represent a physical line separating the two uniquely different worlds the solider lives in.
Ensemble Performance
2a\
The scientist from the water commission
Desperate, scared as something needs to be done otherwise the worst will happen
There is an ellipsis, and the whole town becomes covered in darkness. The earth begins to rumble and the
two splits in two and creates a deep ravine, and in the ravine is a spring of water
He is very for recycled because it is necessary and not at all harmful to humans
Boy Girl Wall
Sound to transform character and time
Language to distingust different characters
Contrast in voice/stance/gait
Conflict with the magpie of M road and Scottish man
The chalk was a symbol for the childish like environment
Climax occurred when the magpie died in a fire
Focus was when he explained the whole thing about the stars
The rhythm of the narrators voice remained at a constant tempo
Mood was changed through lighting and sound
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Space. Different areas of the stage represented different areas in the characters world
Tension built up when Alethia went to fight the magpie for her book
Timing with all the sounds and character transformations.
Section B
Analyse the use of character transformation and disjointed time sequences in the performance of Boy Girl Wall
In the performance Boy Girl Wall, Lucas Stibbard used sound to help show he was changing characters. A sharp loud
ding noise would be the moment in which Stibbard changed from character to another character. In the moment he
would alter his stance, gait, voice and all his expressive skills to indicate a completely new character. Sound would
also be used to help the audience recognize a different time period. Music from a particular era would play to
indicate the character was now in that time period. Stibbard had ‘The hassle’ playing, a popular song from the 80’s
to indicate they were in that time period. In the moment of transition, he also changed character, his whole
physicality also changed, from a relaxed calm person, to a very exaggerated and energetic man, who loved to party.
Evaluate how the use of sound and set design created tension in the performance of Boy Girl Wall
Tension was created through


Meeting with Thom and his co-worker
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definitions
EPIC THEATRE
Epic theatre was a theatrical movement arising in the early to mid-20th century from the theories and practice of a
number of theatre practitioners, including Erwin Piscator, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Vseold and, most famously, Bertolt
Brecht. Although many of the concepts and practices involved in Brechtian epic theatre had been around for years,
even centuries, Brecht unified them, developed the style, and popularized it. Epic theatre incorporates a mode of
acting that utilises what he calls Gestus. The epic form describes both a type of written drama and a methodological
approach to the production of plays: "Its qualities of clear description and reporting and its use of choruses and
projections as a means of commentary earned it the name 'epic'." Brecht later preferred the term "dialectical
theatre."
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