GCSE Essay Guide for Improvisation in Drama

GCSE Essay Guide for Improvisation in Drama

To write this essay well you need to give answers that tell your reader:

	What you did – explain the theatre techniques that you used.
	Why you used these techniques – how did these techniques improve your work?
	How you used the techniques – what did you decide to do to use them well?
	What problems you had and how you solved them – to show your use of techniques.
	How well your performance worked – did it turn out as well as you expected?

What did YOU do in the creation of the play?

	You need to write a short summary of the plot of your play. Remember this section is about YOU.
	How did you make the play? What did you do in the planning stages? Did you discuss/research/rehearse.
	What was in the play? Did you use techniques such as advert theatre - movie trailer - monologue - duologue - music and movement - still pictures - physicalisation - image of the abstract - documentary theatre - news report theatre - cartoon theatre? Why and how did you use these? Did they work well?
	What was the style of your play? Was it naturalism – stylised – physicalised – melodrama? Did your choice of style work? How did your choice of theatrical styles fit in with the overall style of the play?

What parts or characters did you play in your production?

	What characters did you portray in your play?
	What were the characters you played like?
	What was their background?
	How did you create these characters? (Did you discuss - research - rehearse - try other characters?)
	Why was your choice of character good for you play?
	How did your characters behave during the play? (Use of voice and body language/posture)
	Why did you use these characters in your play? (Were they important to the play? How did they fit in with the theatrical styles that you used? Were they used to help the audience understand something? Were the characters used to help link scenes together? Were the characters representative of something else? Was your character a stereotype?)
	Did you play any objects or images? (Why did you play an object? Did it help to link to the next section? Did it help to improve the image on stage? What was that object used for and why was this important?)

The Stimulus

The stimulus was ___________________ . When I was first told about this stimulus for a play I thought _______________________________ .

You need to explain whether you were interested or excited. You need to explain why you were interested or excited. Explain whether you thought the stimulus gave you opportunities to use a variety of theatrical styles. Explain why you thought you could use a variety of theatrical styles.

Was it a very visual stimulus? Was it a stimulus that allowed you to use your imagination and be creative?