AQA GCSE Drama Student Book: Revised Edition

SET PLAY 3: Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell 3 Practical explorations of characters, themes and style When writing about performing, you should demonstrate that you understand the play’s characters, themes and style. The practical activities below will help you to explore these aspects of the play. Family The only characters in the play are the members of the Price family. Their past, relationships and dreams are the heart of the play. Use the following exercises to explore the family dynamics. TASK 10 Choose ve moments from the play when all or most of the characters are onstage. Create a still image for each moment to show the relationships between the characters. Discuss their use of facial expression, proximity , gesture and posture. TASK 11 a Work in a small group. Each member of the group should take on the role of someone in the Price family. Let each character, one by one, sit in the hot seat while the rest of the group asks them about their childhood, when they were most happy, how they feel about their lives, and so on. b Then, staying in character, two family members should face each other and take turns to say: something that they admire about the other character something they dislike one memory they have of them something that they want from them a secret they have kept from them. For example, Rosie might tell Mark: why he is her favourite how she dislikes it when he doesn’t communicate with her a childhood memory of him helping her the way she would like them to be together in the future and the secret fears she has. c After each character has been in at least one pair, look at scenes between those characters and see if your discoveries could affect how the scene is acted. If, as in the example above, you have worked on Rosie and Mark, you might then rehearse ‘As Winter Turns’, using your discoveries to in uence how you play the scene. 81 SECTION B STUDY OF A SET PLAY KEY TERM: Proximity: the distance between people or objects; how near or far.