Drama Exemplars

AS 90009 (1.4) Perform an acting role – Level 1, Version 3

This standard involves preparing for and performing an acting role in a scripted production for an audience. The primary evidence for this standard comes from the active participation in the production process, as documented by teacher and/or student, and from the demonstration of the acting role within the performance itself.

Explanatory Note 5 of the standard states that “students will be required to record the stages of preparing for and carrying out their acting role by keeping an on-going collection of evidence in a portfolio (in visual, oral or written form) from initial discussionto the performance. It should clarify why decisions are made. This means that supporting documentation must be provided as evidence for achievement in the standard. However, there is no step upwards in the Merit or Excellence grade for the quality of this documentation. The ‘effective’ use of techniques at Merit and the ‘accomplished’ use of techniques at Excellence are to be found within the performance itself.

Achieved / Merit / Excellence
Communicate a role demonstrating appropriateuse of voice, movement and space / Communicate a role demonstrating appropriate and effective use of voice, movement and space / Communicate a role demonstrating appropriate, effective and accomplished use of voice, movement and space

Commentary:

Explanatory Note 6 defines “appropriate” as “in keeping with the agreed concept of the production”. This means that students should make reference in the supporting documentation to a production concept. Decisions for the playing out of the role must be able to be linked directly to the production concept. Whether these choices are demonstrated ‘effectively’ or in an ‘accomplished’ way in performance will make the difference between Achievement and attainment of the higher grades.

Explanatory Note 4 outlines possible ways for students to participate in preparing for the performance role. The supporting documentation should provide evidence of this preparation.

The following exemplars provide extracts from recorded documentation to support thesecond criterion of the standard. This information forms partial evidence only.

The evidence has been provided in a two column format. The first column has the student evidence. The second column provides comment explaining why the evidence just supports the Achieved grade.

Extracts of student evidence / Comment
Student A
Evidence that does not meet the requirements of the standard :
  • Try and figure out what I’m going to wear – I’ve found what I’m going to wear but I still need to look for something else.
  • We’ve read over our whole script but we still need to keep practising so we can at least memorise our lines
  • Try feel confidence in yourself. Practise in front of people so you get the hang of it. Learning your lines back to back is really relaxing plus the lines come straight to your head so you don’t have to think because it’s right there.
  • Make changes if needed. We practised our whole play and we changed the narrator’s part and also some bits in the middle of our play because it didn’t make sense.
  • We’ve plotted all our bits where we wanted the lights to be and we have made some changes on our script just so it makes sense.
  • We performed in front of the teacher so that kind of got my confidence high so now I have confidence in myself to perform in front of an audience.
/ This student provides no specific detail about the role. There is clear indication that the student has participated positively in a process of preparation for performance but each comment is very general and does not add to evidence for preparation of the specific role. Costume and lighting are not the concerns of the acting role unless the studentneeds to make specific comment on how the technologies are going to impact on performance choices. For instance, a particular kind of costume might impact on movement; set might impact on use of space.
Student B
Evidence that just meets the requirements of the standard :
This play is a conversation between two friends. It deals with the breakdown of a relationship. I am 13 years old. I am short, skinny and smart. I am not very strong. I talk with my hands. When I’m nervous I play with my fingers/hands, look around and kind of hunch. My character’s major desires are wanting to fit in, changing her ways to make herself feel happy. She likes people to like her for who she is, not what she has e.g. money. She likes to improve herself and her ways. She cares about her friend, Lockie.
My character’s major dislikes are people misjudging her, feeling out of place and not connecting with someone or a group of people. When people don’t listen to her and get the wrong idea e.g. when Lockie compares her to other smart girls, thinking she is like one of them. She doesn’t want to be unhappy or make anyone else unhappy.
Lockie really likes my character. He gets angry at her because she doesn’t want to pay any attention to him and doesn’t want to talk things out with him about their relationship.
The requirements to my role are anger and sorrow. I have to picture myself being alone and scared of being judged by others. At times I need to sound insecure and scared. / The student has provided some pertinent information about the role over several entries in the portfolio. There is little demonstration of development during the rehearsal period such as comments that indicate the student has taken these ideas and begun to trial the use of techniques to communicate them. Such development might have included peer comment or teacher feedback during the rehearsal period. There is no evidence for activities to develop role such as ‘hot seating’ or ‘role on the wall’.
This student provides low evidence for preparation for the acting role.
My responsibility is to learn my lines thoroughly. And come up with emotions and actions to support our performance. I have to make my character seem real and put effort into what I’m doing and support my partner. / While these comments demonstrate a positive attitude to rehearsal they do not add to evidence for the actual preparation of the role.
Reflection: I didn’t really come across any problems when we were performing. We didn’t argue with each other as team members. Everything went in place as time went on. Not facing any problems meant that we were on track. We didn’t get distracted. I tried to make the audience feel what my character was feeling. I did this by really expressing my emotions through sadness, anger and distrautness to the audience. / There is very little evidence for preparation for role in this response.
Student C
Evidence that clearly meets the requirements of the standard :
  • This is an action packed fairytale that is traditional and typical with enchantment in characters and storyline.
  • Our production concept is to produce a traditional fairytale. Enchanted woodland theme with puns and fun twists – created by colours of warm browns, reds, golds and greens.
  • I play Hook in Peter Pan
  • The aspect of my character that is typical of fairy tales – trying to look bigger and then being defeated and looking defenceless and pathetic is a trait for all evil villains. For Hook this is evident when knocking Peter Pan to the floor and pacing confidently – a few moments later he is crawling pathetically and scrambling to the side of his ship on all fours.
  • The physicality of Hook is deformity from the past. Baddies from fairy tales often have a scar or permanent feature that has deformed them and given them character. I have a hook and as well as making me look more evil, tells the past story of my defeat.
  • I have a confident personality. I’m cocky. He would not admit at the beginning that Pan cut off his hand.
  • Hook is deceitful. The evil character always tricks someone into doing something by their deceiving personality. Just like I have my hidden agenda to kill Peter once gotten Tink to do what I ask under my comforting and evil charm. I am deceitful also because Hook knows that Tink is upset and turns it to hate.
  • I hate Peter Pan – I want to kill him. I am interested in Wendy – she tells stories. My face changes when Wendy tells stories. I am interested in them. I am older than all the other characters so I dislike their childish, annoying ways. I don’t like the fact that the lost boys are smiling when they are about to be killed. I think they are mocking me.
  • A mannerism I use is rubbing the tip of my hook with thumb and forefinger to show my menacing side. I also hold up my good hand with rings and wave this around (I took this off Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Carribean). These mannerisms compliment the stance and evil expressions of my face.
  • I am a classy, confident pirate so I walk with a slow, steady pace unless in action where my steps are quick and accurate. I stick out my chest and keep my voice loud and manly.
  • Tinkerbell is a fragile fairy so Hook is comforting (in a deceitful way) to her so that she is convinced that this plan is just to benefit her. Hook strokes her cheek with his hook and listens to her when upset. To Hook, Peter is an annoying boy. This is why he talks down to him. They are enemies so both sides are cocky.
  • His hook is on the right hand so I will need to practise a left hand sword fight which will be challenging.
/ This student demonstrates wider preparation than just the role itself. There is an indication of research into style of performance and the stereotypical nature of the role.
There is indication of the wider sense of purpose for the production and how the role fits into this.
The student provides clear details about the character’s motivation and links these to performance choices.
The student provides evidence of brief, on-going reflection on the development of the role.