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Teacher Guide
Cambridge Pre-U
Drama and Theatre
9801
Cambridge Advanced
Cambridge International Examinations retains the copyright on all its publications. Registered Centres are
permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use. However, we cannot give permission
to Centres to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within a
Centre.
© Cambridge International Examinations 2013
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1) .......................................................... 5
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
The role of the teacher
Approaching and planning Component 1
Notes and advice on exercises and techniques
Researching topics
Developing examination skills
Preparing for the final assessment
Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2) ............................................................................... 13
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
Role of the teacher
What to consider if you are new to delivering the course
Focusing your teaching on the assessed skills
Using the marking criteria
Advice on internal moderation
Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)......................................................................... 21
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
Role of the teacher
What to consider if you are new to delivering the course
Keeping your teaching aligned to the marking criteria
Use of specimen stimuli
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)........................................................ 27
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
What to consider if you are new to delivering the course
The proposal
The writing process
Performance Investigation administration and guidelines
Avoidance of plagiarism
The role of the teacher
Marking and annotation
Advice on internal moderation
Appendices
.................................................................................................................... 35
9801/02 Repertoire: Individual Candidate Mark Sheet (9801/02/ICMS)
9801/02 Repertoire: List of Options (9801/02/OPTION)
9801/02 Repertoire: DVD Cover Sheet (9801/02/DVD)
9801/03 Devised Drama: Programme Notes (9801/03/PN)
9801/03 Devised Drama: DVD Cover Sheet (9801/03/DVD)
9801/04 Performance Investigation: Outline Proposal Form (9801/04/OPF)
9801/04 Performance Investigation: Individual Candidate Mark Sheet (9801/04/ICMS)
9801/04 Performance Investigation: Cambridge Pre-U Cover Sheet (9801/04/PUCS)
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Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Introduction
Introduction
This teacher guide is designed to offer:
•
an expansion of the syllabus content, further explaining the skills and knowledge required and indicating
how this might shape the structure of your course
•
advice and guidance on how to build up a broad, deep bank of knowledge in your learners and ways
to develop and refine the necessary skills, including teaching strategies that maintain alignment to the
marking criteria throughout the course.
It is advisable to have the syllabus for Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre (9801) close at hand for
reference as you work through this guide. (Always ensure you refer to the syllabus dated to the year in
which your candidates will sit the examination.)
It is intended that each Principal Subject should be delivered through 380 hours of guided learning. This
is a notional measure of the substance of the qualification. It includes an estimate of the time that might
be allocated to direct teaching or instruction, together with other structured learning time such as directed
assignments, or supported individual study and practice. It excludes learner-initiated private study. Only you
will know your learners, however, and will be able to allocate the time needed by them to reach the desired
level of understanding in this most holistic of arts. Close textual study combined with experiential learning
provides the best use of time and resources.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
3
Introduction
4
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
Before you read through this section you may want to refer to the ‘Description of Components’ pages in the
syllabus (for the year of the examination) where they relate to Component 1.
1.1 The role of the teacher
Studies in drama and theatre demand an understanding of several different areas of skill.
•
Learners must analyse the relationship between the written word and its practical realisation in the
context of a play.
•
They must develop the ability to appreciate the connection between the world of their experience and
the world of the play.
•
They must develop their imaginative and intuitive artistic response to the theatrical process of making
meaning.
Your learners will therefore benefit from a holistic approach that guides them through the different elements
of drama and theatre. Such an approach emphasises the translation of the written word into practical reality.
It also creates a rich, fertile environment in which learners can build and refine their own incisive response
against a range of methods applied in different contexts. In this way, each step in the learning process
informs and reinforces the next throughout the two-year course.
A very important part of that development is the teacher’s role in stimulating learners to follow their own,
individual interests in order to develop an independent sense of curiosity and artistic response. This can
build confidence and promotes ownership of skills and knowledge. This process logically lends itself to the
preparation of the Performance Investigation (see Section 4) which runs the full length of the course.
The syllabus has been designed to be flexible specifically to allow for this creative approach, allowing you
the freedom to design a course suited to your own teaching style and the needs of your learners whilst
remaining aligned to the assessment criteria.
1.2 Approaching and planning Component 1
Component 1 is set and marked by Cambridge and comprises two parts:
Section A requires written responses to an extract of Unseen Text (from British Drama since 1956),
allowing learners to demonstrate their awareness of practical and theoretical theatrical development
including, as appropriate, the work of recognised and relevant practitioners. It is vital that the learners are
able to discuss with insight and reasoned judgement, the different dramatic elements that contribute to the
process of making meaning. A confident understanding and fluent use of appropriate vocabulary is needed,
in a focused and rigorous discussion.
Section B the two essay answers demonstrate learners’ knowledge, not only of the whole of their studied
texts, but of the staging elements and conventions which emerge as production choices. In addition to
this they must also understand the socio-political contexts of each of the plays (and how this relates to
the text and production choices). They are required to show a confident grasp of dramatic vocabulary in
their discussion of the playwrights’ theatrical response within the play’s context and to be able to bring
their wider knowledge to the evaluation of the plays. The learner’s knowledge of the essential and already
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
familiar elements of drama such as historical and theoretical forms and features, must evolve into a
convincing grasp of how production choices and values are shaped by the primary concerns of:
•
communicating to the audience
•
developing the audience-actor relationship.
The course-planning example that follows presumes the choice of one classical/historical genre and one
contemporary one. The main topic is outlined, together with supporting topics to extend and deepen
knowledge, and the supplementary topics are designed as inspiration points for the Performance
Investigation work. These may be studied as a group and then taken on and shaped to individual learners’
interests.
Example Year Planner for Sections A and B
Year 1 Term 1
Main Topic
Supporting (Guided)
Topics
Supplementary/
Independent Topics
Introduction to academic
writing – the argument,
citing and referencing
Introduction to essays on
drama and theatre –
conventions and terminology
Section B: Classical Text 1
– eg. Jacobean Tragedy
Introduction to semiotics
Tragedy – Aristotle and
Greek
The relationship between
monarchy, religion and
commerce
Themes
Roman and Jacobean
Revenge Tragedy – Language
The role of women in
Jacobean society – The
Duchess of Malfi
Historical Context
Performance Spaces
-- practical
Audience expectations – the
presentation of royal death
Marlowe’s Edward II
Original Performance
Staging conventions
-- practical
Boy and adult companies
Gesture and Movement
– practical
Look Back in Anger extract
Dramatic Irony
Section A: Characterisation
& Conflict
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Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
Year 1 Term 2
Main Topic
Supporting (Guided)
Topics
Supplementary (Independent)
Topics
Section B: Classical Text 2
Genre and the making of
meaning
Class in Jacobean England – the
royal and the domestic tragedy –
The Maid’s Tragedy
Characterisation – compare
and contrast two texts
Form
Revenge – blood justice
Original performance
comparisons – staging
evidence
Structuret
Style and the actor
Structure
Style
The modern tragedy – Arthur
Miller’s Death of a Salesman,
Friedrich Durrenmatt’s The Visit,
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in
the Sun
Section A: Dramaturgy
– structure
Equus extract
Set and setting as symbols
Year 1 Term 3
Main Topic
Supporting (Guided) Topics
Supplementary (Independent)
Topics
Section A:
Actor-audience relationship
– proxemics
The fourth wall – a prevention of
immediacy?
Mood
Set and setting
Modern technological contributions
The Exonerated
Atmosphere
Properties and Costumes
The Weir
Humour
Section B:
Comparisons
of two texts
Translations
Humour on stage – satire; wit; black
The humour of the Jacobean stage
– death as a macabre ingredient
Dr. Faustus
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Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
Year 2 Term 1
Main Topic
Supporting (Guided)
Topics
Supplementary (Independent)
Topics
Section B:
Contemporary Text 1
(eg. Political Drama)
Humour as a political
tool
Verbatim theatre as modern epic
– The Permanent Way (Hare)
Context and Subtext
Verfremdungseffekt as
a didactic element
Linearity in storytelling
– Written on the Heart (Edgar)
Dialectical Theatre
– Brecht and elements
of his theory
Music and Song
Gestus
Section A: Realism
Stanislavski – the actor
Pravda (Hare & Brenton) extract
Year 2 Term 2
Main Topic
Supporting (Guided)
Topics
Supplementary
(Independent) Topics
Section B:
Contemporary Text 2
Political Theatre:
Cloud Nine (Churchill) extract
Gender issues
Duck (Feehily) extract
Cultural issues
The Island (Fugard)
Physical
DV8 – Enter Achilles
Enron (Prebble) &
Section A:
Stuff Happens (Hare) extracts
Completion of
Performance
Investigation in April
(see Section 4)
Year 2 Term 3
8
Main Topic
Supporting (Guided) Topics
Section A: Revision
Practice Papers
Section B: Revision
Practice Papers
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Supplementary
(Independent) Topics
Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
1.3 Notes and advice on exercises and techniques
The strands of study in the above year planner show how the cohesive linearity of the syllabus allows
for the learner’s progression of response to a text. The main text is studied in relation to all familiar and
appropriate thematic and theatrical elements, but is also supported by relevant background topics and a
relevant choice of supplementary topics. Stimulation towards the Performance Investigation should begin
early in the course to allow for changes of focus as interest is sparked.
The following is an example of how the work might connect and build:
The classical/historical text – e.g. a Jacobean Tragedy, such as The Duchess of Malfi, is studied with regard
to the specific context of original performance and thematic concerns, and is supported by satellite topics in
theatre history and in the genre of tragedy in its royal scenario with Edward II and The Maid’s Tragedy (for
example). The second classical text furthers the consideration of the language and structure of Jacobean
Tragedy, studying form and style of acting. In both cases, there is ample opportunity for your learners to
broaden their study with a consideration of Arthur Miller and the genre of modern tragedy, to follow their
particular interests, and to deepen subject knowledge. There is also the chance for learners to develop their
individual response in the study of Amadeus as a tragedy.
The study of the first contemporary text in Year 2 (the example is Political Drama such as The Resistible
Rise of Arturo Ui) picks up on several strands of the work tackled in the first year in its consideration of Epic
Theatre and Bertolt Brecht, supported by comparison and contrasting work on Stanislavski. Again, along
with the individual dramatic elements of the texts, your learners can find inspiration in the supplementary
topic choices of current Epic Theatre discussion. Equally, the example of Cloud Nine demonstrates the
continuation of the choices and dilemmas of individuals in political situations and can lead to practice
examination questions for Section A. This study is continued to include political theatre of a variety of types
and its goal of politicising an audience in the work of Fugard (The Island) and the physical theatre, such as
DV8’s work (for example).
You may wish to consider a variety of mixed-form workshops and methods to enable your learners to make
sense of the theatrical experience in their own way – for example using dance to explore the physicalisation
of conflict, student-written play extracts performed and reviewed by peers, or radio improvisations to
investigate proxemics and staging. The important thing is the encouragement of the written response to all
of the practical work, to allow for the development of learners’ own ideas and instincts. Always dependent
upon the school’s resources, live theatre is a pre-requisite for understanding the process of creating an art
form through the blueprint of the play.
1.4 Researching topics
Whilst the internet is an immensely rich fund of resources for your learners, they should be made aware of
plagiarism and the consequences of incorporating unoriginal work within their own.
A good basis for combating this is for students to learn at the first opportunity the critical skills involved in
reviewing appropriate journal articles and the correct referencing conventions.
Information literacy is one of the most important features of modern life and your learners should be
encouraged to investigate the appropriate online research opportunities by accessing academic databases
and libraries. However, it is vital that they are able to discern the academic credibility of a site and then
to make proper use of it. One such relevant site is Intute: arts and humanities for example
(http://www.intute.ac.uk/creativearts/), which is a subject-specific gateway to many other sites and
resources which are also subject-specific. Finding a gateway (or portal) like this can save a student many
wasted hours trawling through irrelevant websites.
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Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
Consider producing your own academic evaluation checklist which might include some of the following:
•
Check the website URL to find out who produced or wrote the site and if this passes muster ask the
following questions:
•
Who is the author and what else have they written?
•
For whom did they write this?
•
Can you make out any commercial interest in the journal/article?
•
Is it biased and only putting one side of an argument?
•
Is the article up-to-date?
•
Does the author cite all the references they have used?
•
What are the essential evidenced facts in the article?
1.5 Developing examination skills
Both Sections A and B of Component 1 require your students to evaluate drama critically as a blueprint for
theatre. In order to meet the requirements of the marking criteria they must (amongst other things):
•
be able to respond with directness and decisiveness to a piece of text in its dramatic context
•
support their judgements of the meaning conveyed with contextual and theoretical reference
•
convey their sense of the nature of drama and theatre as an art form
•
confidently use appropriate terminology and vocabulary
•
support their production decisions using dramatic interpretative reasoning
1.5.1 Checking for understanding
Monitoring the progress and development of your students throughout the course requires an ongoing
checking for understanding. This can be too late if it is timed at the end of a unit, and you should therefore
be prepared to build a checking process into your programme of work.
Part of this process involves the strategy of group discussions in which the students’ responses are noted.
For example – do they stay on topic? Do they use appropriate, well-evidenced information? Do they listen
deeply to others? Within this discursive checking students learn six skills:
•
to vocalise their need for further explanation or clarification
•
to seek reasoning behind a proposition
•
to pick up on discrepancies or misconceptions
•
to require evidenced argument
•
to interpret each other’s proposals and/or challenges
•
to retell what they have just heard or read
1.5.2 Checking for knowledge
To access the full range of marks students must learn to use written responses to communicate their
knowledge both concisely and effectively. More complex than simply writing essays, this requires a
topic discussion which is clearly set in a dramatic (rather than literary or social) context. Each learner
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Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
can collaborate, composing an element of the message. This realises the idea in spoken word and then
develops focus and format in the written response.
1.5.3 Designing for the independent response
One of the most effective techniques used to help learners develop an independent response in
independent, critical and artistic argument, is reflective thinking. It is very helpful if learners can select
samples of their own work that illustrate instances when their learning has been most effective and added
to their own personal insight. This evidence can then be made into a portfolio (either hard copy or electronic)
representing the progress of their learning over the whole course. This not only provides you (as the
teacher) with another way to check your learners’ understanding but also gives the learner a very useful tool
in their work towards the Performance Investigation.
The group discussions mentioned in section 1.5.1, the use of short answer tests, dichotomous choice
tests, and review essays as well as the addition of any of your own techniques in conjunction with the use
of practice papers will give your learner the best opportunity to maximise their skills and meet marking
criteria. Top-band work in Section A will be a sophisticated response that utilises a broad base of theatrical
knowledge, discussing appropriate style and theory concerns with socio-cultural relevance. It will, moreover,
demonstrate the development of the learner’s own voice in artistic understanding, response and attention to
detail.
For Section B there is the added value of the depth and coherence in eloquence and well-reasoned
argument supported by textual and socio-cultural evidence. The learner must show their ability to critically
evaluate text and meet theatrical requirements in a keen interpretative understanding of the art form.
1.6 Preparing for the final assessment
Within your programme of work there must be sufficient time for students to reach beyond the level
of basic understanding of ‘the empty space’ to a place where their own artistic judgement and critical
evaluation skills come to the fore.
Approaching the course on the basis of a pyramid shape can help to give a good foundation upon which
to draw as the final assessment looms, and techniques such as those in 1.3 above can help in ensuring
continued progress over the two years. Practice papers (including past papers and examiner reports as soon
as they are available) with peer review exercises can be built into the time and framework of your work so
that they are part of the study itself. Equally, live theatre coupled with the play text as sample Section A or
Section B text focuses the student on the more demanding areas of understanding.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Section 1: World Drama and Theatre (Component 1)
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Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
Please refer to the ‘Description of Components’ pages in the syllabus (for the year of the examination)
where they relate to Component 2 before reading this section.
2.1 Role of the teacher
The purpose of this component is to assess learners’ ability to act out a role in a duologue in a piece of
repertoire, and to demonstrate skills either in further acting work (two short monologues) or one of the
design options (set, costume or mask). Your role as a teacher is to assist with the selection of appropriate
repertoire and the development of skills and approaches to enable learners to perform or produce their best
work.
Pre-U takes the distinctive approach of requiring all learners to act in a duologue since this requires
interaction with another performer, which is an essential skill to develop at this level. Whilst many learners
may also wish to perform monologues, part of your role is to help each learner come to an informed
decision as to whether this is the area in which he or she has their greatest strengths, or whether they have
complementary skills in a design option.
2.1.1 Selection of repertoire
The choice of appropriate repertoire applies whichever of the options is chosen, and your role is to help
learners make informed and appropriate choices. Remember that plays set for Component 1 may not be
used for work in this component, although related plays in a similar style might be effective in reinforcing
the learning experience but you should balance this with the need for breadth of study. It is not a
requirement for each learner to take a different play, but groups of learners tend to work more effectively
when they are all engaged on different plays. Bear in mind also that plays should be published in printed
format rather than downloaded from a website: please discourage your learners from bringing in significant
amounts of such material to lessons.
There are some fundamental considerations in selecting repertoire, which do not vary greatly whether the
play is intended for performance work or for design work. In terms of suitability, some of these will have
a direct impact on the acting skills required; others will have strong implications for the design options.
Whichever option is chosen, the following considerations are essential to gaining a practical understanding
of the drama since the movement from page to stage is not only about acting skills.
2.1.2 Familiarity with the whole play
You will need to steer learners away from focusing on short extracts, which is a particular temptation as it
is easy to obtain books of monologues or duologues. Whilst these sometimes give a brief sketch as to the
context of the drama, they are no substitute for a clear understanding of the play, which can only be gained
by a thorough reading.
2.1.3 Understanding the world of the play and the world that produced
the play
If the play that your learners choose is related to one that they have studied, they will be familiar with
the worldview that inspired the drama. However, there are good reasons for steering learners away from
periods that they have already studied, since it can lead to a narrow view of drama and does not encourage
breadth of study. Whichever period the chosen play is from, it is essential that the manners, customs, views
and prejudices of that age are clearly understood since this is a key consideration in creating drama.
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Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
2.1.4 The roles and relationships of the characters
This follows on from the point about knowing the whole play. The building up of character is a process
that evolves over time; and although it is possible to create a snapshot of that character, not knowing the
intricacies of what has happened can produce a reading that is one-dimensional and lacking in depth. This
is especially true with duologues where the relationship between the two characters needs to be clearly
thought through and the motivations of each properly understood.
2.1.5 The style of the language: vocal and physical
Learners in your group may come from a variety of backgrounds, some not having studied drama prior to
Pre-U, others approaching drama mainly from a ‘literature’ standpoint, and yet others who have studied
drama but undertaken little text-based work. Whilst the understanding of dialogue is unlikely to pose any
serious problems for most of them, the relationship between the vocal and the physical is something that
many learners take time to assimilate. It is important that you plan the early part of the course so that it
contains many examples of short extracts that link vocal and physical languages, and this is something that
applies as much to the design options as to acting.
2.2 What to consider if you are new to delivering the course
2.2.1 How to develop skills
The range of skills required will vary between the different options, and what follows is a broad indication of
the scope of each of them.
Duologue (and Monologue for those taking this option)
Each of the actors should demonstrate a firm understanding of the character(s) within the context of the
whole play. In preparation, it would be helpful to undertake detailed character studies on both characters
in the duologue, irrespective of which one is being played. In the monologue, it would be helpful to
undertake character studies on the most significant characters in the play, so that it is possible to base
the performance on an in-depth understanding of the playwright’s intentions. The monologue may be
addressed to any number of characters (including sleeping partners or imaginary characters) or directly to an
audience.
As they prepare their performance work, learners should work on developing the following skills:
•
realising their character through use of voice, movement, body, space
•
conveying their character with regard to other characters on stage (including silent partners in the case
of monologues)
•
conveying a range of emotional states to show contrasts in mood and style
•
engaging the audience’s attention to establish an appropriate relationship
•
relating the performance to the theatrical space in which they will perform
•
deciding on appropriate stage lighting, costume and (simple) setting
Set Design
As already noted, it is important to have a good understanding of the play before any work begins on
creating a set design for two scenes within it; in the presentation, candidates will be expected to show that
a close familiarity with the play has informed their practical decisions. It is worth considering at the very
outset what format the presentation will take, since the collection of evidence during the working process
will be shaped by this. If the intention is to produce a podcast, for example, the creation of short snippets of
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Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
video will be vital as the work progresses. The play chosen for this option must be from a different period/
genre to that selected for the duologue and this must be clear in the presentation.
Whatever format the presentation takes, it needs to be closely related to the scale model, which is the
central activity. As they produce their scale model and prepare their presentation, learners should work on
developing the following:
•
a clear understanding of the position of the set designer within the whole production team
•
understanding of the style of the production and its relationship to the set design
•
keeping a detailed ‘working process’ record of how aspects of set design relate to what is in the chosen
play
•
consideration of their design in relation to a space with which they are familiar, so that they can test out
some details of the design in full scale
•
knowledge and awareness of all stage areas, such as exits and entrances, movable scenery and scene
changes in relation to performers and audience
•
awareness of how scene changes will be demonstrated during presentation, explaining how actual
scene changes would be accomplished during the theatrical performance
•
the taking account of practical features, such as the construction of the scale model, the actual cost of
the materials in (full-scale) real life, and any relevant safety and design features.
Costume Design
In all, three designs are required for this option, and one of these needs to be made into a model. All three
characters need to be taken from the same play, and the play must be from a different period/genre to
that selected for the duologue. The assessment is focused on the candidate’s understanding of design,
but it is obviously in the candidate’s interests for the model to be well constructed in order to exemplify
this effectively. The presentation may be in any suitable format and, as with the other design options, the
collection of evidence should be related to the choice of format (e.g. collection of still images at significant
points in the working process). The presentation must relate the chosen costumes to the historical and
cultural context of the play, as well as to the possible effects of setting, movement, lighting, or dramatic
demands of characterisation and stage directions.
As they prepare their designs, your learners should work on developing the following skills:
•
identifying the position of costume designer within the whole production team
•
showing an understanding of the play and its context
•
outlining and recording relevant points in relation to each character and the choices made concerning
that character’s costume, and discussing alternative suggestions for designs
•
identifying relevant technical features of costume design, including choice of materials to be considered
in relation to the style of production intended
•
taking account of practical features, such as the construction of the scale model, the actual cost of the
materials in (full-scale) real life, and any relevant safety and design features.
Mask Design
In all, three designs are required for this option, and one of these needs to be realised in full. All three
characters need to be taken from the same play or tradition, and this must itself be from a different period/
genre to that selected for the duologue. The assessment is focused on the candidate’s understanding
of mask design, but it is obviously in the candidate’s interests for the mask that is made to be well
constructed in order to exemplify this effectively. The presentation may be in any suitable format and, as
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
with the other design options, the collection of evidence should be related to the choice of format (e.g.
collection of still images at significant points in the working process). The presentation must relate the
chosen mask and designs to the historical and cultural context of the play/tradition, as well as to the possible
effects of setting, movement, lighting, or dramatic demands of characterisation and stage directions.
As they prepare their designs, your learners should work on developing the following skills:
•
identifying the position of mask designer within the whole production team
•
showing an understanding of the play/tradition and its context
•
outlining and recording relevant points in relation to each character and the choices made concerning
that character’s mask design, and discussing alternative suggestions for designs
•
identifying relevant technical features of mask design, including choice of materials to be considered in
relation to the style of production intended
•
taking account of practical features, such as the actual construction of the mask, the cost of the
materials in real life, the durability of the mask, and any relevant safety and design features.
2.2.2 General guidance on finding/deciding on/using resources
It is helpful to remember that many other drama, theatre and performance syllabuses involve the
assessment of repertoire, and that much has been written about making the transition from page to
stage. You may find helpful assistance (for example) in Advanced Drama and Theatre Studies by Jonothon
Neelands, Warwick Dobson and Emma Brown, Hodder Education, 2008 and also in OCR Performance
Studies for A Level by John Pymm, Gail Deal and Mark Lewinski, Hodder Education, 2008.
Whether or not you have taught learners at this level in repertoire drama, it would be a good start to think
through the theoretical issues of what makes a good performance realisation, and the practicalities of
supervising students’ work so that what they produce is engaging for an audience and interesting to watch.
2.3 Focusing your teaching on the assessed skills
This component is assessed by the teacher. All candidates perform in a duologue, and the areas in which
they will need to develop their skills are:
•
interpretation of the playwright’s intentions
•
choice of setting and costume
•
pacing of the performance and differentiation in emotional intensity
•
effective communication to an audience
•
acting technique (physical and vocal skills)
•
awareness of the status and nature of the part
These areas are replicated almost entirely for those candidates offering monologues for the second part of
the assessment.
In the case of the design options, the areas where learners need to develop their skills are:
16
•
interpretation of the playwright’s intentions
•
originality/efficacy in the design concept
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
•
relationship between the concept and the proposed performance space
•
appropriate technical/practical skills to realise the design
It is important to remember that the marking criteria are only applied to the final performances, and that
there is no credit for the rehearsal process or the ‘distance travelled’ between commencing work and the
final performance.
2.4 Using the marking criteria
The teacher must mark the live performances of each candidate and award a mark out of 20 for each of Part
1 and Part 2. The marking criteria are provided in the syllabus. (Make sure you are looking at the syllabus for
the year of the examination.)
The marking criteria are arranged in eight bands, each band describing a more assured performance than
the one before it.
View and make notes on the work that clearly relate to the marking criteria and then make a ‘best fit’
judgement as to which band to place it in. Very often you may see qualities that fit more than one band, so
always use two bands at least and come to a decision between them. You can trade off the strengths and
weaknesses in the work against the criteria in the different bands (comments on these are therefore also
helpful for moderation purposes). Lastly give a specific mark from your chosen band.
If all the criteria in a band fit your judgement, award the highest mark and check the band above, just in
case. If most of the criteria fit your judgement, award a mark nearer the bottom and check the band below,
just in case.
When you assess your candidates, place them in rank order, and award the marks accordingly, paying
special attention to the borderlines. Try to differentiate between assignments that lie within the same band.
Be careful not to crowd too many of your candidates on to a single mark, particularly the bottom mark of a
band. Where an excessive number of candidates are placed on the same mark, an external moderator will
rarely agree that the work of each is of the same quality.
What to send to Cambridge for external moderation
You can find full details of what to prepare and send to Cambridge for external moderation in the Cambridge
Pre-U Drama and Theatre syllabus. The information below is a brief summary.
An Individual Candidate Mark Sheet (Form 9801/02/ICMS) must be completed for each candidate. The
teacher’s comments on the form need to be specific rather than general; they should relate to the marking
criteria and be detailed enough to support the mark awarded. Where internal moderation has taken place,
details of any amendments to the marks must be clearly indicated on the form.
Marks for all candidates must be submitted to Cambridge no later than 30 April in the year of examination.
Teachers are also required to fill in and submit Form 9801/OPTION detailing the option offered by each
candidate in Part 2.
After the marks have been submitted, Cambridge will provide a list of candidates whose work is required for
external moderation. See the syllabus for more details about the sample size.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
Centres then need to send the following to Cambridge:
•
the completed Individual Candidate Mark Sheets for all candidates (including those not in the sample)
•
a DVD cover sheet (9801/02/DVD)
•
a signed printout of the electronic marks file submitted to Cambridge
•
the sample of work on DVD. Please refer to the syllabus for more details about the DVD recording.
All forms are provided in the Appendix and copies can also be downloaded from Teacher Support
(http://teachers.cie.org.uk) if teachers would prefer to complete them electronically.
2.5 Advice on internal moderation
Planning for assessment: standardisation meetings
Where two or more staff are involved in the marking it is important that staff hold a standardisation meeting
at the earliest opportunity, during which all teachers agree on the quality of specimens of work.
At such a meeting there should be consideration of:
•
the marking criteria
•
three pieces of work that illustrate three different mark bands.
Teachers should ensure that they give equal importance to each strand of the marking criteria.
At the meeting there should be a discussion of the quality of the work. Each example should be assigned to
a mark band and lastly, a mark should be decided upon. Exact agreement on the mark is unlikely, but there
should be general agreement.
It is most important that there should be agreement on the rank order of the work considered at the
meeting.
It is very beneficial to hold similar meetings at intervals during the course as material becomes available.
This saves time when internal moderation takes place.
The internal moderation meeting
This meeting is essential if there are two or more teaching sets entering candidates from the Centre and
they have a different teacher/assessor.
The function of the meeting is to establish a single, reliable rank order for all the candidates in the Centre
and it must be held just before the marks are submitted to Cambridge.
While it is possible for all the teachers to meet for this purpose, it is expensive on staff time, and the
process takes longer because different teachers have to see large numbers of coursework assignments and
agree on the marks, which can take a great deal of discussion.
The Centre may therefore choose two teachers who are known to be reliable assessors, to meet to assess
the marking of each set in turn. They must first of all agree on the marking of each other’s candidates.
They then examine a sample from each of the other sets in turn. There should be ten coursework
submissions in each sample, covering the range from the highest to the lowest mark awarded. The marks
may be approved, or judged to be consistently severely or generously marked, in which case the marks
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Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
should be appropriately amended. It may be decided that marks only need to be amended in a particular
range of the marking, for example the bottom third. Consistent marking allows moderators to amend severe
or generous marking traits across all of a teacher’s marking based on their judgement of a sample of the
work, this is called ‘scaling’.
If the moderating teachers are not sure how to adjust marks, they may call for more samples of work from a
teaching set. Where the marking is inconsistent, they should try to work out why this has occurred and ask
the teacher concerned to submit a new rank order.
Where marking is inconsistent, it is usually because one of the strands in the marking criteria has been
considered more important than the rest. Another common issue is when an unduly large number of
candidates have been given the same mark and it is impossible to agree that the work is of the same
quality. This can usually be resolved by asking the teacher to redistribute the candidates over a three or even
four-mark range.
When a set has been internally moderated, you may wish to consult a colleague about the outcome. You
may decide to ask a colleague temporarily to join the meeting if there are unresolved problems with the
submissions.
When the process is at an end, the Internal Moderator should make sure that all the amendments to the
marks are recorded on the Individual Candidate Mark Scheme (ICMS) and that these are the final marks to
be submitted to Cambridge.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Section 2: Repertoire (Component 2)
20
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
Please refer to the ‘Description of Components’ pages in the syllabus (for the year of the examination)
where they relate to Component 3 before reading this section.
3.1 Role of the teacher
The purpose of this component is to assess the candidates’ ability to work as a group to devise and perform
a piece of drama in response to a stimulus set by Cambridge. The activity is heavily dependent on two
things: your learners’ ability to work effectively in groups, and their choice of stimuli from the selection
published by Cambridge at the start of the course. Each of these needs to be considered carefully since you
will be a major influence in both these areas.
3.1.1 Composition of the groups
Having taught the learners to the point when they begin work on putting together their devised drama, you
will have a unique insight into their particular combination of skills and personal attributes. If you have fewer
than six learners they will all have to work together since the minimum group size is three. If, however, there
is scope for you to have more than one group, you should give careful thought to the balance of devising
and performing skills in a particular group, as well as to the ability of individual members to work to help
each other achieve their best. This is necessarily a judgement call. You should consider whether to allow
friendship groups to work together, or whether groups should be based entirely on a spread of skills. The
best outcome, of course, is a good balance of both.
3.1.2 Selection of stimulus
It is possible that this will go hand-in-hand with establishing the groups, since the choice of stimulus might
conceivably affect group-composition where, for example, particular performance skills are likely be required
for work developed in response to a particular stimulus. In most instances, it is recommended that the
groups are put together in advance of choosing the stimulus, although the stimuli themselves are available
throughout the two years of the course. The pre-release stimuli will be published on the Cambridge website
to coincide with the commencement of the course, which means that the programme of study you decide
upon can take full account of them.
Although the types of stimuli may vary from session to session, they will be designed to allow different
approaches. For example, some learners will feel more affinity with working on an image-based stimulus,
whereas others will prefer a word-based approach, perhaps interpreting a poem or a story. Each set of
stimuli will represent a good range of international influences. In the early stages, your role is to guide your
learners to make an informed decision as to which stimulus is likely to serve them best, and this might
involve undertaking research into more than one of them. Your role is to help them interpret this research
in performance terms, so that research delivers knowledge that can be translated quickly into performance
work, rather than simply being amassed.
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Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
3.2 What to consider if you are new to delivering the course
3.2.1 How to develop skills
It is important that you are clear about the skills that your learners will need to develop in setting about
devising their group piece. These can be separated fairly easily into devising skills, rehearsal skills and
performing skills.
Devising skills
We have already touched on the fact that some learners have real skills in coming up with ideas that
translate easily into performance; in other words they think performatively. They may not always be the
strongest performers, but it is important to discern early on whose ideas should be encouraged and
fostered and, by contrast, the sort of approaches that tend to produce weak performances. The quality of
the piece is assessed as a whole, which means that all members of the group will receive the same mark,
and the collective effort is therefore extremely important.
There are five aspects to devising that will need to be clearly demonstrated in the final piece (see the table
below), and you should intervene as often in the process as necessary to ensure that your students are
developing them.
22
Aspects
Suggested areas for work
1 A clear vision
of what the
piece is trying to
communicate
The directorial concept underlies all of the work that the candidates produce. If
this is confused, the piece is unlikely to make much impact on the audience. In
the early stages of working, the group is likely to generate many conflicting ideas.
You should offer advice and support to the group as to how to work through
these in order to achieve a clear and sophisticated vision for the piece. There is
no room for confusion from the outset, since the group may then struggle by
trying to accommodate several contradictory ideas.
2 A sophisticated
approach to the
chosen stimulus
Regardless of the type of stimulus the group has chosen, Pre-U work should
avoid simplistic ideas. This is best achieved, however, through refinement rather
than initial complexity, and your role as a teacher is to refine ideas to bring them
to a level of sophistication. Your role here is similar to that of helping the group
with developing the directorial concept: to challenge, stimulate, encourage and
refine.
3 Research that
translates into
performance work
Candidates will generally engage enthusiastically with research, especially webbased approaches. Whilst this can generate large amounts of information quite
quickly, the job of refining this is complex and requires your input in two main
areas. Most important is how this research can be translated into performance
rather than simply telling a story. It is also important to encourage the group to
slim down what they have to a manageable amount.
4 An effective
structure
As the group begins to shape their ideas, your role is to assist this process
towards a form that communicates with an audience in an interesting and
engaging manner. Some examples from repertoire are helpful here, showing how
playwrights structure their ideas to make powerful dramatic statements.
5 Appropriate
production values
High production values are essential in this work and this is much more than
simply considering (for example) how the piece will be lit once it is finished. The
group will be credited for their ability to devise the piece in the performance
space available to them, and production values need to reflect this. Each person
in the group needs to play a part in producing the piece, and you should conduct
an audit with them to allocate roles within the company.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
Rehearsal skills
There is unlikely to be a specific moment when it is decided that the piece is finished, but at the start of the
process you need to work with the group to produce a time line. Indicating priorities and relationships or
the dependencies of one task on another is very helpful. In this way, everyone can get a clear idea of how
much time is available for the creation of the piece, and how much time is available for rehearsal. As a rule
of thumb, at least four weeks should be allowed prior to the examination for intensive rehearsal of the piece.
During this phase, although you may not assume the role of a director, you are free to challenge the group
to tease out further details of their directorial concept, if aspects of this are not clear as rehearsals progress.
There is a fine but crucial line between commenting on how the rehearsals are progressing and attempting
to place your own vision on the piece. The purpose of the rehearsal process is to enable the group to
perform their piece with a high level of expertise.
Performance skills
The performance skills that your learners need to demonstrate for their group-devised performance are
very similar to those required for their repertoire performance. The essential difference is that, rather than
moving from page to stage, they are performing a piece of their own devising that you will have mentored
them in shaping and refining.
Performing is a fundamental activity throughout the Pre-U Drama and Theatre course, and you will need to
work with your learners in each of the pieces they work on to develop their performance skills. These skills
are particularly concerned with:
•
fluency
•
pace
•
energy
•
use of body, eyes, voice
•
demeanour, posture
•
movement
•
interaction with the group
•
contribution to the group dynamic
3.2.2 Resources
It is helpful to remember that many other drama and performance syllabuses involve the assessment of a
devised group piece, and that much has been written about the theoretical context and the practicalities of
devising.
A good theoretical framework can be found in Richard Schechner’s Performance Studies: An Introduction,
Routledge, 2006, whilst some useful practical information about devising is given in Sally Mackey’s Practical
Theatre: A post-16 approach, Nelson Thornes, 1997, and also in OCR Performance Studies for A Level by
John Pymm, Gail Deal and Mark Lewinski, Hodder Education, 2008.
Whether or not you have taught learners at this level in devised drama, it would be a good start to think
through the theoretical issues of what makes a good piece, and the practicalities of supervising learners’
work so that what they produce is engaging for an audience and interesting to watch.
In addition, it is essential that you foster the conditions for learners to see as much live theatre as possible,
so that they are familiar with a wide range of performance styles and can develop a critical familiarity with
the approaches of different directors and companies. In many ways, discussions and reflection on what your
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Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
learners have seen is as important to their understanding of techniques for devising material, as reading
about it. In particular, many small-scale touring companies provide workshops that explore the dramatic
techniques they use or the issues on which their piece is based, and this is an invaluable resource to
learners of Pre-U Drama and Theatre.
You are encouraged to make DVD recordings of your learners as they work through the devising process.
This is very helpful in enabling learners to stand back from their work and reflect critically on it – both on the
structure and effectiveness of the piece and on their own performance skills.
3.3 Keeping your teaching aligned to the marking criteria
Your schemes of work should include several opportunities to devise pieces in preparation for the assessed
activity in this component. In aligning these activities with the marking criteria, a number of workshops early
in the course are recommended, to cover the following activities:
•
creating character
•
crafting dialogue
•
releasing physicality
•
handling proxemics
•
interpreting a stimulus
•
structuring a message
•
handling transitions
•
production values
The exact number of formative pieces is left to your/the school’s discretion, but it is recommended that you
cover a range of types of stimulus. Indeed, it would be possible to structure devised activity in the course
by having your learners devise a piece in each of the first three terms of the course, leaving the second year
free for the assessment activity.
3.4 Use of specimen stimuli
The specimen stimuli can be profitably used as the basis of a number of formative devised pieces during
the first year of the course. The stimuli themselves are drawn from a variety of cultures and geographical
locations, and it is important to ensure that this international dimension is not lost in learners’ devised
work. In order to encourage learners to develop approaches to working with different types of stimuli, the
following areas may be useful to explore.
3.4.1 Working with pictures
Images can be helpful to learners in offering a ready-made scenario, either through implied narrative or
characterisation. There are a number of broad areas in which it is helpful to encourage learners to ask
questions:
Creating physicality from image
24
•
What physical characteristics of the characters are implied in the picture?
•
Is there any physical movement implied in the image?
•
Can any aspect of the picture become a motif with which to structure the piece?
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
Structure
•
What is the structure of the picture?
•
What is the eye drawn to most?
•
Is that the centre of the picture?
•
What is the context of the picture?
Themes
•
Are there recurring themes in the picture?
•
What is the balance between things that appear only once and things that are duplicated in the picture?
•
Are these themes related to a story, or are they essentially abstract?
•
Is there an implied story to the picture?
•
Does the context of the picture have a naturalistic dimension to it?
•
Does the picture have a strong emotional mood?
Space and colour
•
How are light and shadow, black and white, or a variety of colours used in the picture?
•
What levels are used in the picture?
•
Can these levels be translated into scenes or episodes?
3.4.2 Working with historical events
Historical events provide both temporal setting and narrative framework whilst allowing considerable
freedom to engage with a variety of questions:
Historical setting
•
What period of time is covered by the commission?
•
Are there parallels with more recent times?
•
Does the devised piece have to be set at the actual time when the ‘event’ took place?
•
Is there anything controversial, mysterious or intriguing about the event that might allow you to take an
original angle on it?
Time line
•
Is it possible to cover this effectively in a naturalistic manner, or would it be better to avoid simply telling
the story to ensure a better expressive integration of art forms?
•
Is it possible to take episodes in the order they happened, or could you adapt the historical time line?
Characterisation
•
How many characters are involved in the situation (bearing in mind that this may have to be adapted to
the group size for examination purposes)?
•
What interaction between the characters is essential to the story?
•
Could an invented/symbolic character assist in expressing the event?
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Section 3: Devised Drama (Component 3)
3.4.3 Working with poems
Learners may bring to a poem a number of expectations, particularly concerning narrative, structure and
rhyme. In creating and shaping a devised performance from a poem, encourage your learners to think about:
Organisation of the poem
•
How is the poem structured?
•
Are there individual sections that could be turned into performance episodes?
•
Are there repeated lines that could be used as structural or thematic devices?
Rhythm and metre
•
Is there a rhythmic structure to any of the lines that could be used to create tempo, rhythm or govern
pacing?
•
If the poem is irregular, can that irregularity become a dramatic feature?
•
Could any of the words be set to music?
Story
•
Does the poem tell a story?
•
Are there actual or implied characters, and can these form part of the drama?
•
When does the story take place, and is there any variation in the time line?
•
Does the poem have a strong emotional mood?
3.4.4 Working with performers
There are specific challenges in producing a piece based on an aspect of the life of a performer, not least
of which is the question about how the person will be represented in the piece. Some groups will tend to
give one member the role of the performer being portrayed and then devise all other roles as subsidiary to
that, which can produce a lopsided approach in which the other members of the group struggle to find roles
that are meaningful. At the opposite extreme, other groups may decide to represent the performer in more
abstract ways. Whichever approach is chosen, the following questions should be considered:
26
•
What is this person’s best-known contribution to the world of performing arts?
•
On what aspects of the person’s career, life or skills does the piece focus?
•
What is the time span of the chosen aspects within this person’s life?
•
Are there key moments that can be used as separate episodes?
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
Please refer to the ‘Description of Components’ pages in the syllabus (for the year of the examination)
where they relate to Component 4 before reading this section.
The Performance Investigation is an individual project for each learner which will culminate in an essay of
3000 to 3500 words, representing the particular interests and enthusiasms of that learner. Although the
whole class may have shared a general area (for example a period, genre, playwrights, plays) and done
background work together, the title of the essay will be individual to each learner.
The essay will involve significant engagement with drama and theatre and will represent an important piece
of project work. Exploration may be by genre, period, theme or other appropriate concept.
The emphasis on the individual area of interest and the individual title, together with the insistence upon
properly researched work following accepted academic conventions, will be an excellent preparation for the
demands of university-level work.
Proposals for each learner’s area of study (comprising no more than 500 words), including the title, must be
submitted to Cambridge for approval. The Outline Proposal Form (9801/04/OPF) is provided in the Appendix
and copies can also be downloaded from the Teacher Support site if teachers would prefer to complete
them electronically.
A class may share a general area – a period, theme, playwright and plays – and conduct background work
together before each learner settles on an individual title.
The following suggestions for areas of study are included in the syllabus:
•
a playwright’s style and influence (e.g. Brecht’s Epic theatre)
•
dramatic techniques in a non-western tradition (e.g. Asian shadow-puppetry)
•
detailed dramatic analysis of a play or a significant extract
•
cultural influences on a dramatic style or period (e.g. Revenge drama in England in Shakespeare’s time)
•
a particular work and its impact (e.g. Show Boat and its influence on Musical Theatre in the 20th
century)
•
a portfolio of theatre reviews focusing on the stylistic intentions of the productions and the audience
reactions (minimum six reviews from three contrasting styles of drama)
•
a particular period/movement and its impact (e.g. European Theatre of the Absurd)
•
influence/importance of a particular performer/director/designer/theatre company (e.g. Laurence Olivier/
Vsevolod Meyerhold/Ming Cho Lee/Complicite)
•
theatre history and historical performance conditions (e.g. Restoration theatre)
Teachers will no doubt have a wealth of other ideas for suitable areas of study. Suggestions for
supplementary topic study in Section 1 also widen the opportunities that may come from the main topic
study.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
27
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
4.1 What to consider if you are new to delivering the course
Early on in planning, schools will need to take a strategic view about teaching for this component. There
is a clear choice between (i) allowing learners free rein across any areas of study that they find interesting
and (ii) teaching a topic area and then allowing learners to make choices within that area. Schools should
be wary of limiting choice too much as this can mean that all of the work comes out as potentially similar.
Even if the area chosen is the same, investigation proposals should be distinct, in order to allow individuality
of exploration. There may be a temptation, too, to teach particular areas of study that learners can choose
from, and this is counter to the spirit of the syllabus which states that ‘the Performance Investigation must
be entirely the candidate’s own work’. The vital thing is that schools find a way of teaching this unit that
suits their own particular needs as well as keeping to the requirement and spirit of the syllabus.
4.2 The proposal
What is vital is that the choices for learners’ proposals are firmly centred on the study of drama and/or
theatre, with the prime focus on the exploration of how performance texts create meaning.
The ultimate success of the Performance Investigation will very much depend on getting the proposal
right in the first place. For example, if learners try to cover too many aspects of their chosen area of study
there will be a temptation to go for coverage not depth; too few, or too limited a focus, and there will not be
enough to sustain and develop a variety of comparisons. Above all, the learners need to remember that their
obligation is to work from dramatic detail towards the big ideas, not to try to come up with an argument
and then make the detail fit it. The checking of proposals by Cambridge will, of course, help to ensure that
the scope and thrust of a piece fulfils syllabus requirements, but it is the exchange between teachers and
learners that will really ensure that these investigations offer stretch and challenge to learners, whatever
their ability.
Schools will find it best if learners phrase their proposal (at least to themselves) in terms of a question. For
example, ‘How did Joan Littlewood change and influence theatre?’ gives the learner more to work with in
the ‘process’ and in the implications of ‘change and influence’, whereas the title ‘Joan Littlewood and the
Theatre Royal Stratford East’ might simply become a descriptive narrative. Focal texts for this topic might
include Oh What a Lovely War! and Fanshen (Hare).
As an extension of work inspired by the topic ‘Jacobean Tragedy’ a learner could usefully ask the question:
‘How do modern tragedies differ from Jacobean tragedies in how they present the topic of death?’ (which
could then allow them to explore texts as diverse as Dr. Faustus, Death of a Salesman, One Flew Over The
Cuckoo’s Nest and Blood Wedding for example).
The question or statement – the final title of the piece – may well emerge later in the course of thinking and
note-making. In other words, the initial area of interest expressed by the learner does not have to nail down
the exact words of the proposal, because that limits the scope of ‘investigation’ that should rightly emerge
from the process. Schools will want to guide learners towards including a ‘trigger’ word in the question/
title such as: ‘effect’, ‘present’, ‘dramatise’, ‘structure’, ‘language’, etc. All these will help to ensure that the
learner remains focused on how playwrights use language, structure and form to create meaning and how
they work upon their audiences. Although learners will, of course, want to seek out different interpretations
of works and look at relevant critical debate, they need to remember that all this is part of the development
of their personal response, not a replacement for it. A synthesis of other critics’ views, no matter how
competent, will not be highly rewarded.
As teachers are not allowed to intervene once the process of writing has begun, the groundwork needs to
be very carefully laid. Departmental planning will have to allow for a couple of individual tutorial meetings
with each learner, one for kicking round some ideas for the proposal, another where the learner presents a
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Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
draft proposal in advance and then has to defend the proposal to ensure that it is robust enough and offers
sufficient challenge. Vetting by Cambridge will, of course, also act as an added security to both schools and
learners. Precautions such as these will help to ensure that learners do not waste time or drift later on in the
process whilst teachers imagine that they are getting on with the job.
4.3 The writing process
For many learners, the Performance Investigation will be their first attempt at writing a dissertation-style
academic essay. They need to be very clear, therefore, that the purpose of the piece is to provide an
overarching argument supported by close textual and supportive reference. They need to be reminded
that the syllabus requires them to make ‘direct engagement with drama and/or theatre’, and this
focus should be the basis of their planning and must be maintained throughout. By definition, this direct
engagement will involve learners in complex writing skills which will stretch even the most able and help to
guard against plagiarism.
Teachers can help with this before learners begin to write by ensuring that they have a suitable vocabulary
for this type of discourse. Some learners will intuit what is required; others may need to be taught how to
put together an extended argument by either addition (moreover, furthermore, firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.)
or by difference (on the other hand, in contrast, similarly, etc.). Learners should also be told exactly what
is meant by ‘the conventions of academic writing’ (setting up of quotations and references, for example),
possibly by being given a style sheet.
Learners should constantly ask themselves whether an examiner would be able to deduce from each
paragraph of the essay exactly what the task is that they are attempting.
Learners may complain that the word limit is too constraining. Often this means that they do not realise that
they have included too much background information, either contextual or theoretical. The best learners
will punch home points about their chosen play, playwright, style, movement, etc. from the very beginning
rather than providing justifying background paragraphs. Similarly, if a learner has done a good job of arguing
a case, there should be little need for lengthy conclusions of the ‘In this essay I have shown…’ type. Often
learners who feel constrained have not focused the topic clearly or are failing to see that editing their work
might lead to greater clarity of approach. Experience shows that much of the best work at this level is
actually well within the word limit. Churchill, Eliot and Twain are all credited with the line “If I had had more
time I would have written less”, and the point is relevant to the Performance Investigation: the process
of editing should be as time-consuming and focused as the process of writing. Schools will need to be
conscious, therefore, of a need to allow time for this second phase to take place, possibly setting up interim
deadlines to ensure that students are not leaving everything to the last moment.
4.4 Performance Investigation administration and guidelines
We know that teachers often have detailed queries about the administration of the Performance
Investigation. The following guidelines may prove useful.
4.4.1 The Performance Investigation in a pre-university context
Cambridge Pre-U is specially designed to prepare learners for the demands of university courses and its
emphases reflect this aim. It is worth remembering that some five or six months after learners present their
Pre-U Performance Investigations in Drama and Theatre and other subjects, they are likely to be writing
university essays employing all the same skills, but without the guidance of a teacher; relying upon their
own personal resources, many of which have been developed or consolidated during the Pre-U. All the
practice they have gained during this time – in analysis, evaluation, reading widely and critically, gathering
relevant material, shaping it appropriately, expressing it clearly and cogently and properly acknowledging
sources they have drawn on – will ensure their success at university essay writing.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
4.4.2 The Performance Investigation in a Pre-U Diploma context
Not all Centres will be aiming for the Diploma at the outset. However, two of its core elements – the Global
Perspectives course and Independent Research Report – are intended to be taught as consecutive one-year
courses and can be pursued independently of the full Diploma. Global Perspectives demands a 1500 word
essay and a 15-minute presentation as well as assessing critical analysis skills through a short examination.
The Independent Research Report is a 4500–5000 word written report. Both of these Pre-U core elements
will help to develop the research and presentation skills so useful for subject-based investigations in
year two of any subject course. The Independent Research Report could focus upon an area of interest
generated by one of the principal subjects taken by the learner.
By the time learners come to prepare and present their Performance Investigation therefore, they could
already have had the experience of developing the skills required through the Global Perspectives course
to prepare them for writing a lengthy, structured project essay suitable for internal or external assessment.
They will take this competence and the associated confidence in their own abilities into the next stage of
their subject work.
4.4.3 The Performance Investigation in its syllabus context
In Drama and Theatre the Performance Investigation, weighted at 20% of the total assessment, is one
of four components which contribute to the development of the full range of skills in the subject at Pre-U
level. Component 1 works on the close analysis, interpretation and evaluation of texts; essay practice
for this component focuses particularly on choice of relevant material and appropriate presentation of
ideas in a structured manner, with apt illustration, to answer a particular focused question. Components
2 and 3 continue the theme of critical analysis, but also incorporate the theory of practical theatrical skills
in application. The work on Components 1, 2 and 3 comes together and plays an essential part in the
Performance Investigation.
4.5 Avoidance of plagiarism
Universities and schools have rightly been concerned by the relative ease with which learners can obtain
material from the internet and other sources which could then be used illegitimately in the place of personal
thought, response and expression. The following reminders and suggestions are made in the knowledge
that the majority of schools already have their own procedures for dealing with the problem.
•
By the time learners are writing the Performance Investigation, the Cambridge Pre-U course should
have developed individual response and writing skills to a high degree. Confident learners are less likely
to try to pass off someone else’s work as their own.
•
Teachers help learners to formulate unique and individual essay titles to reflect their interests; they
assist in the resolution of problems at an early stage (see below) and they will have discussed marking
criteria with learners.
•
The requirement to engage directly with theatre and drama as a personal response in a specific essay
makes plagiarism very difficult.
•
Most schools already have a culture in which plagiarism is seriously discouraged, with appropriate
measures to suit their particular circumstances.
4.6 The role of the teacher
4.6.1 What teachers can do
•
30
Offer detailed guidance on selection of appropriate material and further reading from a wide range of
suitable texts.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
•
Give individual guidance to each student on the choice and wording of the Performance Investigation
title – this will in turn be vetted by Cambridge.
•
Give individual guidance on the early resolution of conceptual and practical problems, reminding each
learner of matters such as structure, balance and the importance of good introductions and conclusions.
Essay plans in bullet-point or list form can be looked at as they do not constitute ‘writing’ (defined
as connected prose paragraphs); particular attention can be paid to the sections of the main body of
the essay. It is suggested that at least two individual sessions for each learner are given, with the
participation of more than one member of staff.
•
Have realistic target dates to keep learners on course for completion.
•
Draw learners’ attention to the importance of the declaration they will be required to make about the
work being their own.
•
Feel confident, in the light of these measures, about countersigning learners’ work.
4.6.2 What teachers cannot do
•
Check and correct early versions of the Performance Investigation or the completed task.
•
Give detailed advice on how to improve the work once writing has begun, either to individuals or groups.
•
Contribute any writing at all to the learner’s essay.
4.6.3 A word on drafts
Unlike some other courses, the teacher cannot advise on or mark a candidate’s first draft of the
Performance Investigation. What they can do is offer individual guidance at the planning stage relating to
structure and balance and give general advice on the importance of a good introduction and conclusion.
Once the candidate has started to write, however, and produced a first draft, teachers are no longer able
to comment. In any case, if planning has been managed thoroughly, the first draft will be very similar to the
final submission and so it should not be necessary for the teacher to intervene at this stage.
Good preparation throughout the course should ensure that each learner has the skills and experience
to write a Performance Investigation which is genuinely personal and which the teacher can confidently
countersign.
In a very few cases, teachers may find, upon reading an essay before countersigning it, that a learner has
entirely failed to follow her or his detailed plan or has failed to answer the agreed question. Under these
very exceptional circumstances, and after consultation with the Head of Department and other colleagues, a
teacher may allow a learner to rewrite the essay. The learner must be reminded again of all the principles of
the Performance Investigation.
A note to this effect signed by the Head of Department should be attached to the teacher’s
countersignature of the work. It must be stressed that these are very exceptional circumstances and should
not prejudice the principle of fairness to all.
4.7 Marking and annotation
As with Component 2, learners need to have a clear idea of the areas in which they will be assessed.
The teacher must mark the work of each candidate for Component 4 and award a mark out of 20 for each
of AO1 and AO3. The marking criteria are provided in the syllabus. Make sure you are looking at the syllabus
for the year of the examination.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
31
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
The mark scheme for Component 4 is arranged in seven bands, each one describing a more accomplished
performance than the one before it.
View and make notes on the work that clearly relate to the marking criteria and then make a ‘best fit’
judgement as to which band to place it in. Very often you may see qualities that fit more than one band, so
always use two bands at least and come to a decision between them. You can trade off the strengths and
weaknesses in the work against the criteria in the different bands (comments on these are therefore also
helpful for moderation purposes). Lastly give a specific mark from your chosen band.
If all the criteria in a band fit your judgement, award the highest mark and check the band above, just in
case. If most of the criteria fit your judgement, award a mark nearer the bottom and check the band below,
just in case.
When you assess all of your own Centre’s coursework assignments, place them in rank order, and award
the marks accordingly, paying special attention to the borderlines. Try to differentiate between assignments
that lie within the same band.
Be careful not to crowd too many of your candidates on to a single mark, particularly the bottom mark of a
band. Where an excessive number of candidates are placed on the same mark, an external moderator will
rarely agree that the work of each is of the same quality.
It is essential that there is proof of the teacher’s judgement on every essay. There should be a comment
on the strengths and weaknesses at the end of each piece, and errors should be annotated in the body of
the work or in the margin. This annotation is an important a message to the moderator because it helps to
explain the mark that you have given. Annotation should clearly relate to the marking criteria. In addition,
the Individual Candidate Mark Sheet has a space for a comment justifying the marks given for the complete
portfolio.
4.8 Advice on internal moderation
4.8.1 Advice on internal moderation
Planning for assessment: standardisation meetings
Where two or more staff are involved in the marking it is important that staff hold a standardisation meeting
at the earliest opportunity, during which all teachers agree on the quality of specimens of work.
At such a meeting there should be consideration of:
•
the marking criteria
•
three pieces of work that illustrate three different mark bands.
Teachers should ensure that they give equal importance to each strand of the marking criteria.
At the meeting there should be a discussion of the quality of the work. Each example should be assigned to
a mark band and lastly, a mark should be decided upon. Exact agreement on the mark is unlikely, but there
should be general agreement.
It is most important that there should be agreement on the rank order of the work considered at the
meeting.
It is very beneficial to hold similar meetings at intervals during the course as material becomes available.
This saves time when internal moderation takes place.
32
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
The internal moderation meeting
This meeting is essential if there are two or more teaching sets entering candidates from the Centre and
they have a different teacher/assessor.
The function of the meeting is to establish a single, reliable rank order for all the candidates in the Centre
and it must be held just before the marks are submitted to Cambridge.
While it is possible for all the teachers to meet for this purpose, it is expensive on staff time, and the
process takes longer because different teachers have to see large numbers of coursework assignments and
agree on the marks, which can take a great deal of discussion.
The Centre may therefore choose two teachers who are known to be reliable assessors, to meet to assess
the marking of each set in turn. They must first of all agree on the marking of each other’s candidates.
They then examine a sample from each of the other sets in turn. There should be ten coursework
submissions in each sample, covering the range from the highest to the lowest mark awarded. The marks
may be approved, or judged to be consistently severely or generously marked, in which case the marks
should be appropriately amended. It may be decided that marks only need to be amended in a particular
range of the marking, for example the bottom third. Consistent marking allows moderators to amend severe
or generous marking traits across all of a teacher’s marking based on their judgement of a sample of the
work, this is called ‘scaling’.
If the moderating teachers are not sure how to adjust marks, they may call for more samples of work from a
teaching set. Where the marking is inconsistent, they should try to work out why this has occurred and ask
the teacher concerned to submit a new rank order.
Where marking is inconsistent, it is usually because one of the strands in the marking criteria has been
considered more important than the rest. Another common issue is when an unduly large number of
candidates have been given the same mark and it is impossible to agree that the work is of the same
quality. This can usually be resolved by asking the teacher to redistribute the candidates over a three or even
four-mark range.
When a set has been internally moderated, you will no doubt wish to consult a colleague about the
outcome. You may decide to ask a colleague temporarily to join the meeting if there are unresolved
problems with the submissions.
When the process is at an end, the Internal Moderator should make sure that all the amendments to the
marks are recorded on the Individual Candidate Mark Scheme (ICMS) and that these are the final marks to
be submitted to Cambridge.
4.8.2 Submission of marks
An Individual Candidate Mark Sheet (Form 9801/04/ICMS) must be completed for each candidate. The
teacher’s comments on the form need to be specific rather than general and should relate to the marking
criteria and be detailed enough to support the mark awarded. Where internal moderation has taken place,
details of any amendments to the marks must be clearly indicated on the form.
Marks for all candidates must be submitted to Cambridge no later than 30 April in the year of examination.
What to send to Cambridge for external moderation
After the marks have been submitted, Cambridge will provide a list of candidates whose work is required for
external moderation. See the syllabus for more details about the sample size.
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
33
Section 4: Performance Investigation (Component 4)
Centres then need to send the following to Cambridge:
•
the completed Individual Candidate Mark Sheets for all candidates (including those not in the sample)
•
a signed printout of the electronic marks file submitted to Cambridge
•
the sample of work. A completed Cambridge Pre-U Cover Sheet must be attached the front of each
piece of work.
All forms are provided in the Appendix and copies can also be downloaded from Teacher Support
(http://teachers.cie.org.uk) if teachers would prefer to complete them electronically.
34
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Appendices
Appendices
9801/02 Repertoire: Individual Candidate Mark Sheet (9801/02/ICMS)
9801/02 Repertoire: List of Options (9801/02/OPTION)
9801/02 Repertoire: DVD Cover Sheet (9801/02/DVD)
9801/03 Devised Drama: Programme Notes (9801/03/PN)
9801/03 Devised Drama: DVD Cover Sheet (9801/03/DVD)
9801/04 Performance Investigation: Outline Proposal Form (9801/04/OPF)
9801/04 Performance Investigation: Individual Candidate Mark Sheet (9801/04/ICMS)
9801/04 Performance Investigation: Cambridge Pre-U Cover Sheet (9801/04/PUCS)
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
35
Appendices
36
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/02 Repertoire
INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATE MARK SHEET
Centre Number
Centre Name
Candidate Number
Candidate Name
June
2
0
Teacher Name
PART 1: DUOLOGUE
Name of play/playwright
Name of duologue partner
Teacher’s comments Comments should be made in relation to the marking criteria published in the syllabus and should be
detailed enough to support the mark awarded.
Mark
(out of 20)
PART 2: MONOLOGUE/DESIGN SKILLS
Option chosen (tick one box)
Monologue
Set Design
Costume Design
Mask Design
Name of play(s)/playwright(s)
or name of chosen tradition*
Teacher’s comments
Comments should be made in relation to the assessment criteria published in the syllabus and should
be detailed enough to support the mark awarded.
For candidates offering Monologue, note below the marks awarded for each piece. Add the two marks
together and then divide by two to give the final mark. Round up half-marks
Monologue 1
Mark
(out of 20)
Monologue 2
* For Mask Design only
Total mark
(out of 40)
9801/02/ICMS
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
37
Appendices
38
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/02 Repertoire
LIST OF OPTIONS
Centre Number
June
Centre Name
2
0
Teacher Name
Indicate below the option selected by each candidate for Component 2, Part 2. The completed form should
be sent to Cambridge by no later than 30 April in the year of examination.
Please list candidates in candidate number order.
PART 2: MONOLOGUE/DESIGN SKILLS
Mask
Design
Costume
Design
Candidate name
(tick one box)
Set Design
Candidate number
Monologue
Option
Continue on further sheets if necessary
9801/02/OPTION
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
39
Appendices
40
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/02 Repertoire
DVD COVER SHEET
Centre Number
June
Centre Name
2
0
Teacher Name
PLEASE LIST CANDIDATES IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR ON THE DVD(S).
Please make sure that all candidates are clearly identifiable and announce themselves to camera before
each performance. It is the Centre’s responsibility to ensure that the recording is of good quality.
PART 1: DUOLOGUE
Candidate names
Title of play/name of playwright
PART 2: MONOLOGUE/DESIGN SKILLS
Mask
Design
Costume
Design
Set Design
Candidate name
Monologue
Option (tick one box)
Title of play(s)/name of playwright(s)
or name of chosen tradition*
* For Mask Design only
9801/02/DVD
Continue on further sheets if necessary
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
41
Appendices
42
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/03 Devised Drama
PROGRAMME NOTES
All candidates in the group must contribute to and agree on the information provided in these Programme
Notes. Centres are required to send the Programme Notes to Cambridge at least two weeks in advance of
the visit.
Centre Number
June
Centre Name
2
0
Title of piece:
Stimulus:
Cast list
Candidate number
Candidate name
Character
Photograph (in costume)
9801/03/PN
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
43
Appendices
Synopsis of the piece (max 500 words)
Credits for technical production
Candidate name
Technical role
Any additional information regarding technical production roles:
9801/03/PN
44
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/03 Devised Drama
DVD COVER SHEET
Centre Number
June
Centre Name
2
0
Teacher Name
PLEASE LIST GROUPS IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR ON THE DVD(S).
Please make sure that all candidates are clearly identifiable and announce themselves to camera before
each performance. It is the Centre’s responsibility to ensure that the recording is of good quality.
GROUP 1 (List all members of each group)
Title of piece
GROUP 2 (List all members of each group)
Title of piece
GROUP 3 (List all members of each group)
Title of piece
GROUP 4 (List all members of each group)
Title of piece
Continue on further sheets if necessary
9801/03/DVD
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
45
Appendices
46
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
OPF)
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/04 Performance Investigation
OUTLINE PROPOSAL FORM
Please read the instructions printed overleaf before completing this form
Name of Centre
Centre Number
Candidate Name
Candidate Number
Syllabus Title
Drama and Theatre
If this is a re-submission, please check box
Examination/Assessment Session:
June
Syllabus Code
9801
Component Number
04
Year
Title of Proposal
Details of Proposal (see over)
Date
Adviser’s comments:
Adviser’s Initials
For CIE
use only:
APPROVED
APPROVED
WITH
PROVISO (see
comments)
NOT
APPROVED
More
information
required
Date
Approval not
required; please
see comments
9801/04/OPF
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
47
Appendices
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF THIS FORM
1. This form should be sent to Cambridge by email by 31 May or 31 October in the year before
examination, or earlier.
2. One form should be used for each candidate. If extra space is required to complete the outline proposal
a second OPF should be used.
3. Please ensure that the appropriate boxes at the top of the form are completed. If this portion is not
correctly completed, it will be necessary to return the form.
4. The outline should normally include:
i.
the title or aim of the piece of work;
ii. the methods to be used to collect and analyse information and data and, where possible and
appropriate, a brief list of sources;
iii. a bibliography.
5. The completed form must be emailed before the candidate starts the work. The form will be
returned with the adviser’s comments and should be included in the completed study after the
title page.
6. The form should only be completed after reading the relevant Performance Investigation sections of the
syllabus and emailed, via the Centre, to CIEOPF@cie.org.uk. A copy of the proposal form should be
retained.
7. Proposals which are being re-submitted must be accompanied by the original proposal; those
candidates adjusting their proposal in line with the adviser’s comment need not resubmit.
8. Centres should expect an acknowledgement within 10 working days of submission. If this is not
received please telephone Cambridge International Examinations Customer Services on 01223 553554.
48
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
(9801/04/ICMS)
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre
9801/04 Performance Investigation
INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATE MARK SHEET
Centre Number
Centre Name
Candidate Number
Candidate Name
June
2
0
Teacher Name
AO1 Communicate knowledge and understanding of the nature and interpretation of drama and theatre
using appropriate vocabulary.
Teacher’s comments
Comments should be made in relation to the marking criteria published in the syllabus and should be
detailed enough to support the mark awarded.
Mark
(out of 20)
AO3 Analyse and critically evaluate aspects of drama and theatre, making independent decisions
and judgements, within appropriate cultural, historical, stylistic and theoretical contexts.
Teacher’s comments
Comments should be made in relation to the marking criteria published in the syllabus and should be
detailed enough to support the mark awarded.
Mark
(out of 20)
Total mark
(out of 40)
9801/04/ICMS
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
49
Appendices
50
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
(980 /0 / UCS)
Appendices
Cambridge Pre-U Cover Sheet
Each personal study and investigation submitted for assessment must be accompanied by a Cambridge
Pre-U Cover Sheet.
Candidates must complete Part A and the teacher responsible for teaching the Pre-U course must complete
Part B. Completed forms must be attached to the front of the relevant work.
Part A
Centre Number
Candidate Number
Syllabus
Component
Candidate Name
Session/Year of Submission
Please tick the box if this is a resubmission
Candidate Declaration: I confirm that the enclosed personal study is all my own work. I have not copied
or based my work on any sample personal studies that I have had access to. Any work taken from another
source has been appropriately referenced and acknowledged.
The total number of words (excluding bibliography and appendices) is
Signature
Date
Part B
Teacher Declaration: I verify I have supervised sufficient work to enable me to sign this statement of
authentication with confidence and that this personal study is the candidate’s own work. This personal study
has been fully checked and these checks included looking for:
† Copying from any sample personal studies
† Copying from other students
† The possibility of a third person writing the work
I also confirm that syllabus regulations on the role of the teacher have been observed.
Teacher Comments (Optional):
Signature
Teacher Name
Date
9801/04/PUCS
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
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Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
Cambridge Pre-U Drama and Theatre 9801
53
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