Student Name:______________________________
Semester 1 Examination
Drama Stage 3
Exam
TIME ALLOWED FOR THIS PAPER
Reading time before commencing work:
Working time for paper:
10 minutes
2 hours and 30 minutes
MATERIAL REQUIRED / RECOMMENDED FOR THIS PAPER
TO BE PROVIDED BY THE SUPERVISOR
This question/ answer booklet
Yellow answer booklet to be used for Section Two and Blue answer
booklet to be used for Section Three
TO BE PROVIDED BY THE STUDENT
Standard Items: Pens, pencils, eraser, ruler, highlighters
IMPORTANT NOTE TO STUDENTS
No other items may be taken into the examination room.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have any
unauthorised notes or other items of a non-personal nature in the
examination room. If you have any unauthorised material with you
hand it to the supervisor BEFORE reading any further.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
2
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER
Part
I
Format
No. of
questions
available
No. of
questions
to be
attempted
Marks
available
Suggested
time
(minutes)
Analysis and
Interpretation of a
Drama Text
Short
responses
2
2
40
60
II
Australian Drama
Essay
2
1
30
45
III
World Drama
Essay
2
1
30
45
Total Marks = 100
This paper is worth 50 per cent of the total marks for the Examination in this
subject. The marks available and suggested times are provided to assist your
time management. The remaining 50 per cent of marks will come from the
practical component of this examination.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
All responses are to be written in the spaces provided in this Question/Answer
Booklet. Follow the instructions given at the start of each section. Questions may
be answered in any order.
You should address the specific requirements of the questions you choose to
answer. In your responses you should try to show that you can do the following:






understand and discuss the use of dramatic forms, conventions and texts
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of historical, social and cultural
contexts of drama
understand relationships between performance theories and styles, texts and
contexts
explore and discuss the structure and performance of drama using appropriate
terminology
analyse and discuss drama and its impact on audiences
support your points of view with reference to specific examples of drama.
.
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3
DRAMA STAGE 3
Section One: Analysis and interpretation of a drama text
40 Marks
Study the drama text and answer the questions which follow it.
Write answers to the two questions using short answer forms in the spaces provided in
this booklet. Lists, summaries, diagrams, sketches, tables and graphic organisers are to
be used where appropriate to the question.
The drama text includes: a script excerpt with four scenes and other information about
the play including director’s notes and images from a production of the play.
Suggested working time: 60 minutes.
DRAMA TEXT
Bench – the tale of an old sow, a rooster and a crazy ballerina
Hellie Turner
A chance meeting on a park bench results in an old sow (a sow is a term used for adult
female of pig, bear, mink, badger and hedgehog), a lame rooster and a crazy ballerina
battling for territory as they struggle to hold on to their various versions of reality.
Bench is a poignant and poetic comedy which illuminates our notions of time, memory
and friendship.
Bench won the 2003 Western Australian Premier's Award for best script.
Characters
Edith, an old sow
Dolly, a crazy ballerina
Forbes, a rooster
SCRIPT EXCERPT
Music… Big Band or Swing music from the 1940s.
Scene 1
The streetlight comes up to reveal Edith sleeping on the bench. There is a battered shopping
trolley containing an assortment of “stuff” next to her. There is a big clock visible in the trolley.
Lights fade.
Music… same music from the Forties.
Scene 2
Daylight comes up to reveal Dolly and Forbes. Forbes is sitting on the bench reading a
newspaper. Dolly is poised in a ballet pose with one leg up on the back of the bench. Forbes
gives Dolly a perplexed look and sighs visibly.
Lights fade.
Music… same music from the Forties.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
Scene 3
The streetlight comes up to reveal Edith sitting on the bench, knitting, staring straight ahead. The
end of her knitting protrudes from the trolley. The big clock is on the bench next to her. She
begins to cough and pauses to take a bottle of cough medicine from her coat pocket. She takes a
swig from the bottle.
Edith: Young at the start … like one of them camellia flowers, openin’ up in the morning dew…
pink and fresh and perky. Old in the middle … when the petals start to bruise and shrivel…
you hardly notice the first little blotch but soon enough… the brown floral corpse falls rotten
to the ground.
Pause.
Plop!
She puts the bottle back in her pocket and wipes her mouth on an old tea towel from the
trolley … and resumes knitting.
Bruised … shrivelled … and leeched.
Pause.
Plundered … like a piece of earth. Ploughed, planted and harvested … over and over … ‘til
all the goodness is sucked away. Nothing grows there anymore …nothin’ can. And ignorant
fingers rake that dyin’ dirt, without ever knowin’ … or feelin’ … or believin’ in, its one true
worth.
Pause.
We wasn’t always empty.
She stares out across the audience and points.
Pigeon on the roof … since the other day … a homer.
Pause.
Maybe it’s a sign.
She stops knitting and sighs, coughs and gasps.
Maybe not.
She closes her eyes.
Lights fade.
Music…same music from the Forties.
Scene 4
Singing is heard off stage. Dolly is singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow from the movie
of The Wizard of Oz in a delicate and committed way.
Daylight comes up to reveal the empty bench.
The music fades as Forbes and Dolly enter along the path. Dolly is dancing.
Forbes is not impressed.
Forbes: Someone will see you.
Dolly: I hope so.
Forbes: And lock you up.
Dolly: Jealous, jealous, jealous!
Forbes: Silly girl.
Forbes reaches the bench first and sits.
Dolly freewheels around the bench first then sits in a balletic “dying swan” movement.
She remains still then looks up at Forbes.
Dolly: Clap, Forbes.
Forbes: I will not.
Dolly: Clap
Forbes: No!
Dolly sits up straight.
Dolly: You used to.
Forbes: Never did.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
Dolly: You were my biggest fan!
Forbes: Tallest.
Dolly: Greatest – stop teasing me!
Dolly stands and pirouettes on the spot.
Forbes: Stop misbehaving.
Dolly slumps petulantly onto the bench.
Dolly: Philistine! Hypocrite!
She studies her nails. Forbes, with exasperation, stands and begins to walk away from
the bench.
Come back! Don’t leave me! I’m a beautiful but wretched girl all alone on the glacier … and
the Guatemalans are approaching fast. Who knows what atrocities they will reek upon a poor
defenceless damsel like me. Help! Help!
Forbes: (storming back.) Guatemalans on a bloody glacier!
She gives Dolly a swipe with her cane.
Dolly: Owww!
Forbes: Show off.
Dolly: Bully!
Forbes: Nuisance!
Dolly: Spoil sport!.
Pause. Forbes sits on the bench. They sit in silence.
Forbes: Oh, for heaven’s sake … stop sulking!
Dolly: I’m not. I’m reminiscing.
Forbes: Sulking.
Dolly: I’m thinking about the good old days.
Forbes: Which ones?
Dolly: The good old days when I was famous.
Forbes: Dolly dearest – you were never famous.
Dolly: I was so.
Forbes: Poppy-cock.
Dolly: I distinctly remember being famous.
Forbes: You rarely remember anything.
Dolly: I was born in a drawer, backstage – theatre coursed through my veins … I ate applause
for breakfast … toured from stage to stage … huge posters with my name on them … I
sang … I danced … and then …
Forbes: You turned off the television. That was Judy Garland in A Star is Born, you goose. We
watched it a few weeks back.
Dolly: Oh … (pause) Are you sure?
Forbes: Always tell you the truth. (Dolly looks quite sad) very pretty though … and you did win
the odd eisteddfod.
Dolly: Did I?
Forbes: For the millionth time.
Dolly: Oh, yes, yes, I did. (She stands and breaks into a chorus of The Good Ship Lollipop
with gusto. She stops abruptly.) Perhaps I should enter another one.
Forbes: They are for youngsters.
Dolly: I’m only twenty-nine.
Forbes: Sixty-nine.
Dolly: I still have my beautiful blonde hair.
Forbes: White.
Dolly: Jealous.
Forbes: Your hair is white.
Dolly: (Sitting again.) When did that happen?
Forbes: Who can remember?
Dolly: I distinctly remember being famous.
Forbes: (Standing) Oh for goodness sake! I’m taking a walk. If you promise not to wander
off I’ll bring you a donut from the bakery.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
Dolly: Pink!
Forbes: (Turning back to Dolly) I don’t want to come back to a roaring crowd like the last time,
with you hitching your skirts up and can-canning for the masses.
Dolly: I made eleven dollars forty five.
Forbes: You made a bloody fool of yourself.
Forbes exits along the path.
Dolly: It’s not my fault. They adore me! (Pause.) I’ve got the legs for it. I can still get them
up, even at twenty-nine. (She takes out her compact.) She’s just an old rooster. (Looking off
in the direction of Forbes exit and crows loudly.) Cock-a-doodle-do! They love my legs.
Boris King did.
Dolly starts to sing Somewhere over the Rainbow quietly. Gradually she starts to move then rises
from the bench and starts to dance.
Edith enters pushing her trolley. She stops to watch Dolly.
Dolly is oblivious for a while then realises she has an audience and she dances and sings more
vigorously. As she finishes the song, she comes to halt in front of Edith and bows prettily. Edith
claps.
Lights fade.
Music… same music from the Forties.
END OF SCRIPT EXCERPT
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7
DRAMA STAGE 3
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
Our production of Bench will focus on three
levels.
1. Firstly, we will focus on these three
eccentric women and their extraordinary
lives. Who are they? Why are they living
their lives this way? What are their backstories? Do we just laugh at these
eccentrics or is there some underlying
thread of all humanity that makes them
interesting and appealing to us as
audiences? We want to explore the literal
lives we are presenting on stage.
2. This is also a script with potential for
exploring symbol and metaphor. Why does
Edith push a trolley? What is the symbolism
of the large clock in her trolley? Why are
Edith and Forbes referred to with animal
imagery? How can Forbes be a rooster
(roosters are male animals – what is
rooster like about Forbes?) We want to
explore how drama symbolically represents
and presents ideas.
3. This is also a play that provides a social
commentary. What is this play saying about
contemporary attitudes to our society’s
treatment of the elderly, the eccentric and
the outsiders? How do we treat the lonely?
What is society’s attitude to memory and
loss? We want to explore how this drama
comments on society and culture.
As we begin rehearsals, build your characterisations
and designs around a scaffold of these three main
concepts.
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8
DRAMA STAGE 3
PRODUCTION IMAGES
..
Images from the 2004
Perth Theatre Company
production of Bench
Edith: Laura Black
Dolly: Jenny Davis
Forbes: Rosemary Barr
Left to right: Edith and Dolly
Left to right: Dolly and Edith
Left to right: Edith, Forbes and Dolly
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END
OFnext
DRAMA
TEXT
9
Question 1
DRAMA STAGE 3
(18 marks)
Designer
You are a designer who has been asked to focus on creating mood for a production of this
script excerpt.
 Summarise your overall vision for creating mood.
(6 marks)
 Sketch and annotate your design ideas for shifts in mood between scenes 3 and 4.
Show both a floor plan and elevation.
(6 marks)
In addition, 3 marks may be awarded for your appropriate use of drama terminology and
language and 3 marks for your use of communication skills.
Remember to answer this question using short answer forms and to write only within the
spaces provided.
Summary of your overall vision for creating mood
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10
Question 1 continued. Show both a floor plan and elevation.
Scene 3: Design ideas for mood
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DRAMA STAGE 3
11
Question 1 continued. Show both a floor plan and elevation.
Scene 4: Design ideas for mood
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DRAMA STAGE 3
12
Question 2
DRAMA STAGE 3
(22 marks)
Actor
You are at the first rehearsal for this play. As indicated in the Director’s Notes, there is a focus
on the social contexts of the characters.
 List how actors would use elements of drama to convincingly portray the social contexts
of one of the characters.
(8 marks)
 Justify your choices with evidence quoted from the drama text.
(8 marks)
In addition, 3 marks may be awarded for your appropriate use of drama terminology and
3 marks for your use of communication skills.
Remember to answer this question using short answer forms and to write only within the
spaces provided.
Name the character you have chosen:
Use of Drama Elements
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Justification
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13
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DRAMA STAGE 3
DRAMA STAGE 3
13
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
Write only within the space provided.
Drama Elements
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Justification
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DRAMA STAGE 3
14
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
Section Two: Australian Drama
30 Marks
This section contains three (3) questions. Answer one question only.
Suggested working time: 45 minutes per question.
Write your answer for Section Two in the Blue Answer Booklet. Use extended answer
form. Indicate clearly at the start of your response which question has been answered.
Sketches or diagrams may be included if they are appropriate to your answer. They are
to be included if specified in the question.
Answers must relate to one of the studied set texts below
Set texts: Australian drama
Matt Cameron: Tears from a Glass Eye;
Hannie Rayson: Hotel Sorrento;
Ruby Moon
Inheritance
Jane Harrison: Rainbow’s End
Dorothy Hewett: The Man from Mukinupin;
Nowhere
Jenny Kemp: The Black Sequin Dress; Still
Angela
Stephen Sewell: The Blind Giant is
Dancing; Myth, Propaganda and Disaster
in Nazi Germany and Contemporary
America: A Drama in 30 Scenes
Version 1.0: CMI: A Certain Maritime
Incident; Wages of Spin.
Justin Monjo and Nick Enright: Cloudstreet
Nick Enright: Man with Five Children
David Williamson: Dead White Males; Face
to Face
Question 3
Dramaturge
As a dramaturge you have been commissioned to research staging conventions. The
production is intended to present a reflection of Australian Identity and cultural
resonance to the audience.



Present your findings about how your production could be staged using these
conventions
Discuss how choices about these dramatic conventions might change the
audience’s interpretations of the play
With close reference to one scene or section of the play, show how these
dramatic conventions might be used to emphasise the Australian Cultural Identity
intended for this production.
Make detailed reference, including quotations, to your set text to support your answer.
Answer the question in the role specified.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
15
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
Question 4
Director and Manager
You are a director and manager of a state theatre company planning a production of
one of the set texts for a student audience. Your vision is to use a range of theatrical
techniques to encourage the audience to appreciate the Australian Cultural Identity
contained within the play.



Discuss how your vision will relate to the themes and cultural context of the play
Explain the marketing approach you would take to promote this production to its
intended audience
With detailed reference to one scene or section of the play, explain the theatrical
techniques you will use.
Make detailed reference, including quotations, to your set text to support your answer.
Answer the question in the roles specified.
Question 5
Designer
Australian plays evoke memories of particular places and times that imaginatively
communicate themes to a wide audience.
As a designer, choose one significant scene from your set text that communicates to the
audience the themes of the text.
 Illustrate your design ideas for communicating the mood and images of particular
places described in the text.
 Explain how your designs communicate the mood and images of particular
places described in the text, and how this relates to the themes of the text.
 Explain how your set text communicates an Australian story across cultural
boundaries, relating your evidence to the themes of the text.
Make references to your set text, including quotes and annotated drawings or diagrams
to support your choices.
Answer the question in the role specified.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
16
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
Section Three: World drama
30 marks
This section contains three (3) questions. Answer one (1) question only.
Suggested working time: 45 minutes
Write your answer for Section Three in the Yellow answer booklet. Clearly indicate at
the start of your response which question has been answered. Sketches or diagrams
may be included if they are appropriate to your answer.
Answers must relate to one of the studied Set texts below
Set texts: World drama
Samuel Beckett: Endgame; Waiting for
Harold Pinter
Godot
Ashes to Ashes; The Homecoming
Bertolt Brecht: The Caucasian Chalk
William Shakespeare: Macbeth; The
Circle; Life of Galileo; Threepenny opera
tempest
Caryl Churchill: Mad forest; Top girls
Tom Stoppard: Arcadia; Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead
Moises Kaufman and Saul Belber: The
Laramie Project
Theatre Workshop: Oh, What a Lovely
War!
Kuo Pao Kun: Descendants of the eunuch
Admiral; The Spirits Play
Cameron, Matt: Ruby Moon
Question 6
Dramaturge
As a dramaturge you have been commissioned to research staging conventions and
the context of your set text. The production is intended to present a reflection of
Australian Identity and cultural resonance to the audience.



Present your findings about how your production could be staged using
conventions of drama.
Discuss how choices about these dramatic conventions might change the
audience’s interpretations of the play.
With close reference to one scene or section of the play, show how these
dramatic conventions might be used to emphasise the Australian Cultural Identity
intended for this production.
Make detailed reference, including quotations, to your set text to support your answer.
Answer the question in the role specified.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
17
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
Question 7
Actor and Director
You are the Actor and Director of a small cast, taking on multiple roles as part of your
performance of your set text. As the director you have to give advice on how to perform
multiple roles in a small cast performance.



Explain your approach to performing your own characters.
Discuss how you could use voice and movement to respond to the form and style
of the play as well as connect with your audience.
Critically analyse one scene which best demonstrates how your approach to
character communicates the form and style of the play.
Make detailed reference, including quotations, to your text in order to support your
answer and justifications. Answer the question referencing the roles specified.
Question 8
Designer
As a designer working for a state theatre company’s touring arm you have been asked
to choose one significant scene from the set text you have studied, that creates strong
impressions of the social and cultural contexts of the play.



Critically analyse the scene discussing the social and cultural contexts that are
evoked.
Explain and justify how your touring production design could be unified by key
symbols to emphasise the social and cultural contexts
Illustrate, label and annotate your designs.
Make detailed reference, including quotations, to your set text to support your answer.
Answer the question in the role specified.
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DRAMA STAGE 3
SEMESTER 1 EXAMINATION
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