Drama GCSE

Director

Responsible for the overall creative vision of the show.

Performers

Job is to perform within a production. Must maintain a high-quality performance each night.

Set designer

Responsible for designing the set.

Costume designer

Responsible for designing the costume, hair and makeup.

Lighting designer

Responsible for designing the lighting within a production.

Sound designer

Designing the use of sound within a production.

Puppet Designer

Responsible for designing puppets within a production.

Playwright

Responsible for writing a play. Can be commissioned by theatre companies or producers.

Understudy

Learns the lines and blocking of a regular performer in a production if the regular performer is unable to perform.

Stage manager

Responsible for backstage during a production. Lead a stage management team.

Technician

They may be involved in rigging the lighting, sound equipment and set. They may also operate technical equipment during a show.

Theatre manager

Responsible for the front of house team. Permanent employee of the a theatre building.

Proscenium Arch

End-on staging on only one side of the stage, but in an older style theatre with a decorative arch framing the whole stage. Appropriate for naturalistic productions- creates a fourth wall. Disadvantage- audience can be quite far from the stage.

End-on

When the audience sit on one side of the stage only, facing it in the same direction. Blocking is simple and audience face one way.

In the Round

When the audience are placed all around the outside of the performers' playing space. The stage area may be circular or square, with entrances and exits through the audience. Performers need to change their positions frequently. Hard to design- set pieces can't obstruct audience view etc.

Traverse

Audience sitting either side like a catwalk. Scenery must be low and no backdrops so it doesn't cause obstruction.

Thrust

Audience sit on three sides of the stage. Back wall that can be used for backdrops.

Promenade

The audience move to follow the performers around the space. Performances are often site-specific. Performances can be unpredictable and blocking can be challenging. Increased risk of safety hazards.

Social Context

The way people lived and what they believed when the play was written and set.

Cultural context

The arts and popular interests associated with a particular time and place.

Historical context

What was happening in the world when the play was written and set.

Genre

Type of story being told.

Style

How theatrical ideas are presented on stage.

Comedy

A light-hearted drama that is played for laughs.

Tragedy

A type of drama in which characters undergo suffering or calamity and which usually ends with a death. A sad or catastrophic event causing suffering or death.

Epic Theatre

A style or movement of theatre that focuses on political ideas, ensuring that the audience are engaged and questioning the action. Bertolt Brecht’s ideas are usually categorised as Epic theatre.

Physical Theatre

A style of theatre where the storytelling or emotional content is achieved through physical movement.

Melodrama

A style that features a highly dramatic plot.

Stock Character

A classic and two-dimensional character, often seen as a cliché.