WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Drama: Revision Guide

We all know how unhelpful it is to hear ‘keep still’ and ‘don’t fidget’, especially if you are nervous – so try giving yourself a list of do’s instead of don’ts. • Do a warm-up before a rehearsal or performance to relax your muscles. Warming up your body and voice is like tuning a musical instrument before a performance: necessary if you want the best performance. • Do think what your character wants – if you forget a line, remembering what you are trying to achieve in the scene may help you to find it. • Do keep the scene going – it is better to muddle a line a bit and stay ‘in the world of the play’ than come out of character to apologise or look at your director or audience. • Do write a draft of your main points before you start writing an answer. With a plan to follow, you won’t need to panic or rush. What does your character want? What is your scene about? The more simply you can answer these basic questions, the easier you will find it to select dialogue, dramatic devices, gestures, movement and stage effects to communicate your ideas – and to cut out anything that is not necessary to tell the story. Simplicity applies to your written work too: straightforward, clear sentences convey your meaning better than anything over-complex or too long. Your audience – or reader – is looking for meaning. If the words help to communicate meaning – great. If not – cut them. Relaxation Simplicity For physical and vocal warm-up exercises, see pages 12–14. LINK Cut! 10 INTRODUCTION