Reception: 01227 463567 Essential Emails Parent Links Home About Information Curriculum Sixth Form Research Admissions Drama Drama from Years 7-13 at The Langton builds a range of vital life skills, notably; confidence, creativity and cooperation. These are learnt through practical Drama exercises and the study of professional theatre productions. Lessons focus on developing individual confidence and group communication skills, sharing creativity, broadening imagination and practising self-reflection. In KS3 every boy has a weekly lesson of Drama in small classes which cover scripted narrative work from Beowulf and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night time. Improvisations, physical theatre training and mask work all explore non-verbal communication, help to build trust and cooperation and develop a wider cultural understanding of current theatre styles. Trips to The Globe Theatre and The National Theatre in London, as well as to smaller London venues are a regular part of the Drama experience to support the curriculum and as extra-curricular enrichment. We organise after school visits to The Marlowe and Gulbenkian Theatres in Canterbury several times a year and our students perform at The Gulbenkian Theatre as part of the annual Shakespeare Schools’ Festival. Visiting theatre companies, academic researchers and expert practitioners deliver specialist workshops at The Langton to GCSE and A level pupils to extend their knowledge and learning beyond the examination syllabus, and this helps students to produce work of the highest standard. Drama GCSE is an exciting and enjoyable course which gives students a practical and theoretical grounding in the dramatic arts of British and European culture. Students work creatively through practical and academic tasks exploring devising processes, play texts and theatre history. Students comment on increased levels of self-confidence and the new friendships they make in what is a group-based subject where developing communication skills is a central focus. Lessons and performances take place in the well-equipped Drama Studio (A1) and in our new rehearsal space The Box. Parents are invited to join the class to make an audience for the assessed projects which take place after school hours in A1. The course is designed as a series of performance projects giving ample opportunity to develop drama skills in acting and technical production. Projects include scripted duologues, a devised Christmas Pantomime for a year 7 audience and small group performances of larger set text extracts. Devising theatre alternates with text-based drama projects. Each project includes written tasks during the process and after performance when the students evaluate their own work. Devising describes a variety of methods which students use to make their own theatre. This includes script-writing and improvisation. There is freedom within the course for students to choose the themes they explore and the plays they stage with close guidance from staff. Theatre visits are arranged to local and London theatre venues to enable students to develop their theatre review skills. This year we have visited the National Theatre, The Globe Theatre and both Canterbury Theatres. Joining these visits is an essential part of the course and we do have to ask parents to contribute towards the costs of theatre tickets and transport. Theatre visits, rehearsals and performances often take place after main school hours. Teaching methods include a combination of individual and group based activities which involve collaboration with other classmates. Performance is a significant part of the course and students may choose to develop their skills as actors or opt for a technical option such as lighting, set, costume or sound design. Drama is taught at KS3 for one hour a week in our specialised and well equipped teaching spaces A1, The Studio and C2, The Box. Students can opt to take the GCSE Drama course and later, A-Level Drama and Theatre Studies is available to all students on entry to the sixth form. The department has three teaching staff members, Miss Taylor, Mrs Passfield and Mr Skinner. Drama At KS3 Drama is taught at KS3 for the equivalent of one hour a week in our specialised and well equipped teaching spaces The Studio and The Box. During the pandemic we teach Drama in the open air on the Amphitheatre, in The Woodland classroom and under a marquee cover known as The Big Top. Students can opt to take the GCSE Drama course and later, A-Level Drama and Theatre Studies is available to all students on entry to the sixth form. The department has three teaching staff members, Ms Taylor, Dr Passfield and Mr Skinner. The KS3 course is a practical and physically active experience for students and focuses on creativity, collaborative working skills, building student confidence and presentation skills through drama practice. Students explores contemporary themes, theatre styles and theatre history, learning how to develop and structure narratives and create characters for presentation to an audience. Each unit offers performance and review opportunities and exercises the imagination. Technical theatre skills are taught and students study lighting design and operate the lighting boards, use sound for performance and make set design choices. The use and handling of costumes and properties are part of a number of units including acting with masks. Aspects of technical theatre teaching have been limited due to the ongoing pandemic. Students can join the Drama club programme and produce plays for performance to parents and friends throughout the year. Ks3 Outline Of Units Year 7 Unit 1: Seven Ages Of Man and Shakespeare’s language: Exploring tableaux, character and mime. Unit 2: A) Mime B) Once Upon A Time: Story-telling and Beowulf (Seamus Heaney translation) using prepared improvisation and mime. Unit 3: Introduction To Theatre Design, Lighting, Set, Costume And Properties. Pompeii: Prepared improvisations, historical context and flash-backs. Unit 4: Reviewing Professional Theatre: National Theatre productions on-line Unit 6: Theatre Styles: Contemporary theatre texts, adaptations and staging different theatre styles. Unit 7: Summer Year 7 Drama Evening To Parents. Year 8 Unit 1 : Machine Gunners: Rehearsal and performance as a year group. Unit 2: Reviewing Professional Theatre: National Theatre on-line Unit 3: Elizabethan Comedy: Unit 4: Commedia Del’Arte: character, status and improvisation Unit 5: Ancient Greek Theatre: Staging Oedipus on the Amphitheatre and The Chorus Unit 6: Masks, Music And Costume – Trestle theatre masks. Year 9 Unit 1: Physical Theatre And Ensemble Skills / Devising Original Theatre: Based on Augusto Boal Unit 2: Shakespearean Tragedy: Hamlet, interpretation and delivering a soliloquy Unit 3: Song Scenes: Playwriting Unit 4: Page To Stage: Scripted performance Unit 5: Public Speaking: Rhetoric, famous speeches and individual presentation experience Unit 6: Introduction To GCSE Drama. Small group devised theatre project. Drama At KS4 Drama GCSE is an exciting and highly enjoyable course which gives students a practical and theoretical grounding in the dramatic arts of British and European culture. Students work creatively through practical and academic tasks exploring devising processes, play texts and theatre history. Students focus on either acting or technical theatre design skills in their practical examination units, with theatre lighting and set design being popular options. Students comment on increased levels of self-confidence and the new friendships they make in what is a group-based subject where developing communication skills is a central focus. Lessons and performances take place in the well-equipped Drama Studio (A1) and in our rehearsal space The Box. Parents are invited to join the class to make an audience for the assessed performances which take place after school hours in A1. The course is designed as a series of performance projects giving ample opportunity to develop drama skills in acting and technical production. Projects include scripted duologues, a devised Christmas Pantomime for a year 7 audience and group performances of larger set text extracts. Devising theatre alternates with text-based drama projects. Each project includes written tasks both during the making process and after performance when the students evaluate their own work. Devising describes a variety of methods which students use to make their own theatre. This includes script-writing and improvisation. There is freedom within the course for students to choose the themes they explore and the plays they stage with close guidance from staff. Theatre visits are arranged to local and London theatre venues to enable students to develop their theatre review skills. This year we have visited the National Theatre, the Globe Theatre and both Canterbury theatres including seeing live streaming events at The Gulbenkian. While students need see only one play to sit the final exam and fulfil the requirements of the GCSE, joining these visits is an enriching part of the course and we do have to ask parents to contribute towards the costs of theatre tickets and transport. Please be aware that financial support in available where applicable and theatre visits often take place after main school hours. Homework includes research, written evaluation, reading and line-learning tasks, as well as lunchtime and after school rehearsals in preparation for assessed performances. Excellent attendance to class and commitment to group work is essential as frequent absence disrupts practical work and can have a significant impact on other students. Drama GCSE Is Divided Into Three Components: Component One: Understanding Drama is examined through an end of course written paper ( 1 hour 45 minutes) worth 40%. 80 marks. The current set text is The Kneehigh Company’s adaptation of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ – a political, anarchic comedy about resilience and courage. This is assessed in a written examination along with an analysis of a Live Theatre Production seen as part of a school visit. There will be at least three theatre visits available to students during the course, so the students will select their preferred production for the examination question. Component Two: Devising Drama is examined through a devised theatre performance (10%) and a written devising log worth 30%. 80 marks, marked by the teacher and moderated by AQA. Parents, family and friends are invited to create the audience. Component Three: Text In Practice is examined through performances of Extract 1 (10%) and Extract 2 (10%). 50 marks. This is marked by an AQA visiting examiner during an evening performance in the Spring term of Year 11. Parents, family and friends are invited to create the audience. Professional Theatre Workshops With Local Experts: Drama at Langton Boys is proud to have links with local theatres, Drama practitioners and research academics. When possible we host Drama professionals in lessons to provide expert workshops in a range of Drama skills from acting to lighting and puppetry. After GCSE Drama? This course develops creative thinking and communication skills, personal confidence and presentation skills, all invaluable and transferable skills. GCSE Drama is an excellent foundation for A Level Drama and Theatre Studies which is a recognised subject for university applications to study humanities degrees. Each year a number students use GCSE Drama and A level Drama as their platform for Drama School and Drama degree applications. Students value the exposure to professional theatre which often contrasts to the styles and creative aims of film and internet viewing they access. GCSE Drama can therefore offer a new perspective on entertainment and culture which we hope fosters a life-long interest in theatre going. Drama And Theatre Studies At KS5 Drama and Theatre Studies is a challenging subject which combines academic study with practical workshops and assessed performances. Students can focus on acting or technical theatre and are assessed through end of year written papers, portfolio evidence of creative processes and practical performance projects. The weighting of the assessment is 50% practical and 50% written. The course explores a wide range of classic and contemporary play texts alongside theatre devising processes and theatre practitioners. Experiencing live theatre is a significant and essential part of the course and evening visits to a range of venues in Kent and London are arranged throughout the year to which students are expected to join. Examination essays will be chosen based on the productions seen on these visits. This year we started the course with a visit to The Globe seeing a production of Othello followed by a visit to the Gulbenkian Theatre to see the devised piece Medusa by the physical theatre company Jasmin Vardinom. When appropriate for the course we attend the National Theatre’s A level Study One-Day Conferences, featuring key academics invited to give lectures on the performance to be seen in the evening. To develop performance and technical skills the course includes performance opportunities such as the monologue evening and presentations of practical work to invited audiences. The department produces a school play each year, based on material related to the course, for which students are invited to audition. Our set texts from AQA syllabus are: The Caucasian Chalk Circle, by Bertolt Brecht (1948); Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, (1988); Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, (1891) and guided choice of late 20th century and 21st theatre scripts for the student-directed Texts in Practice unit. Studying Drama and Theatre requires students to collaborate effectively in groups, develop their self-awareness, exercise their creativity and develop communication and presentation skills. High levels of engagement, self-motivation and reliability are central to success in this subject. Students are required to research thoroughly the context of texts studied including plays which are seen for live theatre analysis. We are fortunate to have two purpose-built studios as our classrooms, which students can book for rehearsals during study periods and after school. Drama and Theatre Studies offers opportunities to develop knowledge of the theatre arts, essay writing skills and self-confidence. The course is ideal for students looking to study at University, Drama School and those wishing to build a career in the Arts Industries. Drama and Theatre Studies combines particularly well with English, History and Music while some students opt for the Year 12 course as a contrast to their other learning environments. It is possible to offer the AS course within the A level course for students who are required to take certain subjects for career choices such as medicine but wish to continue to study drama at A level. If you are new to Drama and Theatre Studies, please do come to the school open evening to discuss what the course might offer as part of your sixth form experience. It is not essential to have studied GCSE Drama to take this A level course. 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