Drama and Theatre Studies

Exam board: Edexcel

Course content & assessment:

This new syllabus will engage students through encouraging creativity, focusing on practical work which reflects twenty-first century theatre practice and developing skills that will support progression to further study of drama and a wide range of other subjects.

Edexcel A Level Drama and Theatre Studies consists of two coursework components and one externally examined paper.

Component 1: Devising – Devise an original performance piece. Use one key extract from a performance text and a theatre practitioner as a stimuli. A written portfolio submission of between 2500–3000 words which documents the devising process. Centre choice of text and practitioner. Internally assessed and externally moderated.

Component 2: Text in Performance – A group performance of one key extract from a performance text. A monologue or duologue from one key extract from a different performance text. Externally assessed by a visiting examiner.

Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice –

Section A – Live theatre evaluation. Section B – Practical exploration and study of a complete play text. Section C – Interpreting a Performance Text.

Entry requirements:

There is no prior learning or other requirements for this qualification. Students who would benefit most from studying this qualification are likely to have a Level 2 qualification such as a GCSE in Drama.

Progression routes and careers:

Students can progress from this qualification to:

• Drama schools, university courses that relate directly to drama and theatre.
• University courses that will benefit from the skills acquired from this A Level for example are law, human resources and people management.
• Employment where people skills are essential, for example management, retail, nursing, industry and business environments.
• Employment where time management, confidence, the ability to work collaboratively and to meet deadlines are desirable.