IGCSE+Drama+9

**Welcome to IGCSE Drama 9 Semester One 2009-2010.** This page contains the assessment tasks and rubrics for the Grade 9 IGCSE drama class. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me either through the discussion thread for this page or by email: ngregoriades@stmaur.ac.jp.

__ASSESSMENT ONE: The Actor's Portfolio.__ This portfolio is designed to introduce you to three elements of theatre: ensemble acting, performance analysis and devising drama. Each element will be assessed by a separate task but all three will be combined into one portfolio grade.

Choose a scene from a film from a list provided by me (TBA) and write a mini review focusing on the actors' performances. Briefly explain what is going on in the scene. Then, comment on the aspects of acting studied in class such as: voice, physicality/movement, energy, focus and believability, as well as the interaction between the characters. You should express an opinion on the quality of the acting that is backed up by specific, detailed examples of observable acting technique. Do NOT comment on film technique such as: lighting, cinematography, set, costume, props, sound design or anything else that is not part of the acting. We will practice this using a brief scene from //Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind// in class
 * 1) TASK ONE - Performance Analysis.
 * __ Task Title: Performance Analysis. __**



 ||  || ** Grade D ** ||   || ** Grade C ** ||   || ** Grade B ** ||   || ** Grade A ** ||

// Do you describe briefly what is happening in the scene? Do you comment on the actors’ performances referring to the element of acting studied in class? Do you provide an opinion on the quality of the acting in the scenes? Is this opinion backed up by specific evidence from the scene? // ||  || You briefly describe what goes on in the scene but do not comment on the actors’ performances. ||  || You comment on the actors’ performances but not in enough detail OR without reference to the elements of acting studied in class. You offer an opinion on the quality of the acting but don’t provide any evidence from the scene to back it up. ||  || You comment in detail on all of the actors’ performances referring to most of the elements of acting studied in class. You offer an opinion on the quality of the acting using evidence from the scene to back your ideas up. ||  || You comment in detail on all of the actors’ performances referring to most of the elements of acting studied in class AND you comment on the interaction (chemistry!) between the actors. You offer an opinion on the quality of the acting that is well founded from evidence from the scene. ||
 * **//__ Content __//**

// Do you express your ideas clearly? Does the analysis flow smoothly? //  ||  || Your language is somewhat clear but there are whole sections (longer than one sentence) where your ideas are difficult to understand. ||  || Your language is mostly clear but there are a few words and phrases which are difficult to understand. ||  || Your language is consistently clear. ||  || Your language is consistently clear. Furthermore, your analysis flows smoothly from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. ||
 * **//__ Language __//**

2. TASK TWO - Devising Theatre. Write a script that is between one and two pages in length (Times New Roman font size 12 with normal margins in case you were wondering!). You have a choice of adapting an already existing story or coming up with a scenario of your own. For example, you might want to adapt a short story or novel that you have read in English class or on your own. You may even want to adapt a poem. However, you cannot adapt or transform an already existing play or film script. OR you may want to come up with something completely original. The script should be clear enough for any of your fellow actors in the class to pick up and start using as a blueprint for performance. Think about how you will use dialogue, stage directions and appropriate, clear formatting to present your script to the rest of the class. 
 * __ Task Title: Script Writing __**



 ||  || ** Grade D ** ||   || ** Grade C ** ||   || ** Grade B ** ||   || ** Grade A ** ||

// Are the characters interesting and believable? Is the use of language appropriate to the characters and the situation they are in? Is the situation they are in interesting and is there a change or development of some kind in the story? Is an atmosphere conveyed through the script? //  ||  || You achieve only one of the elements mentioned in the Grade A category. ||  || You achieve two of the elements mentioned in the Grade A category. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You achieve three of the elements in the Grade A category. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You achieve all four of the following elements: 1. Characters have interesting and believable traits exhibited by what they say and do. 2. The language in the dialogue suits the characters and the situation they are in. 3. There is some development or change in the story. 4. An atmosphere (could be funny, sad, mysterious, exciting, anything!) is conveyed through the script. ||
 * **//__ Content __//**

// Do you use a mixture of stage directions and dialogue? Does your script adhere to the proper format for play scripts? // <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-decoration: none;"> ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">The script uses a mixture of dialogue and stage directions but one or the other is not used effectively. Very little adherence to the proper formatting for scripts. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">The script uses a mixture of dialogue and stage directions effectively. Some adherence to proper script formatting. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">The script uses and mixture of dialogue and stage directions effectively. Most of the script adheres to the proper formatting. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">The script uses a mixture of dialogue and stage directions effectively. There are almost no errors in formatting. ||
 * **//__ Format __//**

3. TASK THREE - Ensemble Performance. As we will be spending the next two years together creating theatre, it is only appropriate that we begin with a piece that will help unite us as an ensemble. For this task, you will be assessed on your acting technique (which you will have hopefully developed over the course of the semester) AND, perhaps more importantly, your ability to work well with others in the ensemble. The piece will be your first showcase (and we will perform it in front of an audience) of your group working together. The piece may be based on one of the scripts from task two of this portfolio or something entirely new and different. Whatever it is, it should be something that YOU are interested in and that says something about YOU as a group.
 * __ Task Title: Ensemble Performance __**

||  || ** Grade D ** ||   || ** Grade C ** ||   || ** Grade B ** ||   || ** Grade A ** ||

||  ||  Your section of the performance relates to the theme but is quite superficial. ||  ||  Your section of the performance relates to the theme in an interesting way. ||  ||  Your section of the performance relates to the theme in an interesting way. AND You use voice, body, facial expression, gesture, energy and focus. However, those don’t always fit the story you are trying to tell. ||  ||  Your section of the performance relates to the theme in an interesting way. AND You use voice, body, facial expression, gesture, energy and focus in a way that helps tell the story. ||
 * **//__ Content __//**
 * // Is your section of the performance related to the theme? Do you present it in a way that is clear and expressive? //**


 * **//__ Ensemble Skills __//**
 * // Do you work well with the group to devise, rehearse and perform the piece? //** ||  ||  You work well with the group some of the time but sometimes you do not contribute to the rehearsal process OR you dominate it.  ||   ||  You work well with the group consistently but only in one of the three domains (development, rehearsal, performance).  ||   ||  You work well with the group consistently in two of the domains (development, rehearsal, performance).  ||   ||  You work well with the group consistently in all three of the domains (development, rehearsal, performance).  ||

__ASSESSMENT TWO: Monologue Performance.__ Early in semester one, you will be given a packet of monologue to look at. Choose one of them OR another that you have found by yourself that you would be interested in developing into a performance. If you don't choose one from the packet, let me know well in advance so that I can make sure that it is appropriate for assessment. Develop this monologue into a performance. You will have to think not only of all the acting technique that we will have covered in semester one, but also how you can use stagecraft elements such as set, costume, props, sound, lighting and make-up to enhance your performance. Remember that the goal always is to make your performance clear and interesting for an audience. We will have an audience for the dress rehearsals of this performance but we won't have one when we film the piece as part of your IGCSE coursework. In semester two, you will do what I call a solo performance which is similar to a monologue except that you write/create it yourself instead of developing it from an already existing script. At the end of the year, you will choose EITHER your monologue OR your solo performance to send off to Cambridge for your IGCSE coursework. Monologue Rubric

<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-decoration: none;"> ||  || **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Grade D **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">  ||   || **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Grade C **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">  ||   || **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Grade B **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">  ||   || **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Grade A **<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;"> ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">


 * **//__<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Performance Skills __//**
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Does your use of voice, movement, body language, gesture, blocking, pacing, tension and contrast make the story clear and engaging for an audience? //** ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">There is an attempt at using some performance elements but they do not help to make the performance clear or engaging. ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">All performance elements are used to make a clear performance with some minor lapses. ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">All performance elements are used to craft a performance that is consistently clear and occasionally engaging. ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">All performance elements are used to craft a performance that is consistently clear and engaging. ||

Stagecraft elements enhance the performance. ||
 * **//__<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Stagecraft Elements __//**
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Do the elements of stagecraft (lighting, sound, costume, props) fit in with the ideas and atmospheres you want to create? Do they enhance your performance? //** ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">Stagecraft elements occasionally fit in with ideas and atmospheres in script. ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">Stagecraft elements sometimes fit in with ideas and atmospheres in script. ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">Stagecraft elements mostly fit in with ideas and atmospheres in script. ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msoansilanguage: EN-AU; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; text-align: center;">Grade B +

__ASSESSMENT THREE: Rehearsal Log Wiki.__ Throughout this course, you are asked to record and reflect on your rehearsal process at least once a cycle. I firmly believe that an actor who is aware of the choices he/she makes ends up delivering much richer performances than an actor who doesn't spend any time thinking about his/her performance outside of the rehearsal room. In order to complete this task, you will need to create a wiki of your own and link it to the page on this wiki called "IGCSE Drama 9 Students" (NOT to be confused with this page which is called "IGCSE Drama 9"). You need to see this as a kind of diary or journal but with pictures and videos (and maybe even sound files, such as track of music or sound effects you want to incoporate into your performance, if you wish). You can take cameras into the rehearsal space to record the development of your and your classmates' performances. In addition to commenting in detail on the decisions you make as you create your performances, you will need to give detailed, constructive feedback on AT LEAST ONE of your classmates' rehearsal process. Finally, you will make connections between your own work and the outside world. You will be graded on the depth and quality of your writing, your use of other media (mainly visual but possibly also audio, if it applies to your performance) and connections between your performances and the outside world (either aspects of your own life, what is going on in the world around you and/or other pieces of theatre that you have seen either live or on the internet).
 * __ Task Title: Rehearsal Log Wiki __**



<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; mso-bidi-language: X-NONE; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-decoration: none;"> ||  || ** Grade D ** ||   || ** Grade C ** ||   || ** Grade B ** ||   || ** Grade A ** ||

// Do you write at least once a cycle? Do you explain the choices you make in rehearsal and why? Do you comment on what is and is not working and why? Do you offer constructive feedback on a classmate’s performance? // ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You write one entry per cycle but it does not say much about your rehearsal process.(i.e. “This was good.” OR “This was bad.” without explaining what was good or bad about it or why it was good or bad.) ||   || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You write at least one entry per week which gives a few details about your rehearsal process. (You cover some of the aspects mentioned in the Grade B category but not all of them.) ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You write at least one entry per week which offers considerable insight into your rehearsal process. You mention what is working and why, what isn’t working and why as well as what changes and new decisions you have made and why. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You fulfil everything required for the Grade B category AND you comment constructively on at least one other person’s rehearsal process. ||
 * **//__ Writing __//**

// How much other media do you use? Do you use it to comment effectively on the development of your performances? Examples of other media include: pictures, diagrams/drawings, videos, links to websites, sound files. // ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">There is evidence of use of other media in your wiki but it does not add to the explanations about your rehearsal process. (For example, you have a picture but you don’t explain how it fits in with your performance.) ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You incorporate a bit of other media and make brief comments about how it is connected to your rehearsal process and your performance. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You incorporate some other media and make some good links between it and your rehearsal process and performance. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You incorporate a variety of other media and the links between it and your rehearsal process are clear and valid. ||
 * **//__ Use of Other Media __//**

// Can you connect what you are doing to activities done in class? Can you show links to the real world? Real world links include: what is happening in your own life, in school, in the wider world around you and what other theatre companies (that you have seen live or on the internet) are doing. // ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You make a few valid links between your rehearsal work and class activities OR the real world. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You make a few valid links between your rehearsal work and class activities AND the real world. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You make some valid links between your rehearsal work and class activities AND the real world. ||  || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; msobidilanguage: X-NONE; text-align: center;">You often make valid links between the rehearsal work and class activities AND the real world. ||
 * **//__ Connections to Class Activities and the Real World __//**