AQA GCSE Drama Student Book: Revised Edition

SET PLAY 3: Things I Know to be True by Andrew Bovell 3 TASK 22 a Look closely at ‘And It Ends Like This’, from ‘A telephone is ringing’ to ‘the roses lie strewn across the lawn’. Note any suggested or speci ed actions, such as entrances, reactions or exchanges of items. b Choose a stage con guration. Sketch this and mark where entrances and any pieces of furniture will be. c Decide the effects you want to achieve in this scene, for example tension, surprise, sorrow or pity. d How will you use the stage space to help with this? You could try the following interpretations for the beginning of the scene: Bob standing centre stage (facing away from the audience), with his children in a wide semi-circle facing him. Bob moving in slow motion towards the phone, while his children move in normal time around the stage. All the characters moving in slow motion towards the phone. Bob standing at one end of the stage while his children pass the phone to him to answer. e Experiment with different reactions, such as facial expressions, eye contact, gestures and movements: What is Bob’s expression when he hears the news? What gestures, facial expression or movements do the children make when they speak? Are there any moments when the children move towards or touch each other? How does Bob move when he tears up the rose bushes? Is it slow or quick? Calm or chaotic? How much effort is involved? What is his facial expression like? f Try different ways of performing the scene then answer the following question: You are performing the role of Bob . Focus on Bob. Explain how you might use the performance space and interact with the actors playing Ben, Pip, Mia and Rosie to show the audience Bob’s reaction to Fran’s death. Answering a question about character interpretation If you choose to answer Question 4, you will write about how you would use acting skills to interpret a character both in the extract provided and the play as a whole. An example of this sort of question might be: You are performing the role of Rosie . Describe how you would use your acting skills to interpret Rosie’s character . Explain why your ideas are appropriate for: • this extract • the performance of your role in the play as a whole. It wasn’t meant to be like this. they’d be I tHoUgHt better than us. like us. Better versions of us. But 89 SECTION B STUDY OF A SET PLAY