Drama

We follow a structure of three components: 

Component 1: Devising 

Here, you must devise an original performance piece, with the stimulus of one key extract from a text and the influence of a theatre practitioner.  

An example:  You study Churchill’s ‘Love and Information’ influenced by Peter Brook. You work in a group of 4 performers to produce a 20-minute piece. 

You must also produce a portfolio which charts your research, the creative process and evaluates the devised performance (up to 3000 words). 

There are the options to be assessed as a designer and to voice record the portfolio.  

This counts for 40% of your final grade. 

Component 2: Text in Performance  

Here, you must be part of a group performance of one key extract from a performance text, and then a monologue or duologue from a different play.  

An example: You design costumes for a group scene in Macmillan’s ‘People, Places and Things’ which lasts its 4 actors 40 minutes to perform; you then perform the role of Nina in a 6-minute duologue from Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull’.  

There is a free range of plays and role combinations (performer and/or designer). 

This counts for 20% of your grade. 

Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice 

Here, you must take a written exam, lasting 2 hours 30 minutes and containing Sections A, B and C.  

• The exam requires practical exploration beforehand as well as seeing live theatre. 
• You must evaluate a live theatre performance that you’ve seen; respond to performer/designer-based questions on an extract from a play you’ve studied; finally, you must demonstrate how you might interpret a performance text, referring to the influence of a theatre practitioner and the play’s historical context.  
• The texts and practitioners upon which your responses are based come from Edexcel’s set lists.  

An example: You study Wilson’s play ‘Fences’ and Sophocles’ ‘Antigone’, with Punchdrunk as your practitioner. Your teacher takes you to see ‘The Glass Menagerie’ at The Old Vic Theatre in London for your live theatre evaluation. 

This counts for 40% of your grade and completes the A-level qualification.     

In addition to the A level course, we offer: 

• Opportunities to take part in masterclasses and workshops with celebrated professionals. Chesterton Drama Department has established links with world famous director Ian Rickson, Golden Globe award-winning actress Rosamund Pike and Olivier award-winning playwright Patrick Marber, among others.  
• Chances to perform in extracurricular events, plays and musicals with Chesterton Youth Theatre. Our sister company, Achilles’ Heel, has toured to Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Oxford University; our most recent NT Connections production at the Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton, was professionally reviewed with the critic’s acclaim that “Chesterton’s performance of ‘The School Film’ was the greatest Connections (he had ever) seen. Just so truly brilliant from the cast and director…”. 

• Invitations to receive coaching for auditions for drama schools with experienced professionals. In 2021, eight members of Chesterton Youth Theatre were awarded places with National Youth Theatre/National Youth Music Theatre, following Chesterton-based workshops and with Chesterton-facilitated financial support. 
• Theatre trips to see cutting-edge productions in the West End and in a range of local venues. Chesterton students have frequently received reduced-price/free upgrades for tickets at Cambridge Arts Theatre; we have also been given tailored workshops at London’s Royal Court Theatre prior to seeing its new plays.  
• We plan to extend our annual Drama retreats to Burwell House and introduce residential visits to Stratford-Upon-Avon, to experience the Royal Shakespeare Company’s repertoire.  
• Spaces for rehearsal and performance are plentiful, from the homely Drama Studio to the newly built Atrium Theatre. We have also staged performances in promenade and as outdoor productions including sponsored shows at a local luxury housing development.  
• Students have access to state-of-the-art LED and halogen lighting fixtures in our performance spaces, plus sound equipment and a large store of costumes and props. 

Chesterton Drama Department is a boutique-like centre for excellence. Our Head of Drama was responsible for winning the Good Schools Guide Award for the Best Girls’ AS Drama Results in the Country when leading another sixth form centre in 2015. We always aspire to mirror the best of professional practice and nurture each individual student who forms a vital part of it.  

You can expect personalised provision from a team of passionate, experienced and diverse drama practitioners who are dedicated to their roles. The ethos will be one that balances hard work with team play, which has innovative, ensemble-style theatre that ‘speaks the truth’ at its heart.