WJEC/Eduqas GCSE Drama: Revision Guide

A sound-effects and Physical Theatre storytelling game. 1 Form a circle. One member of the group should be the director. The director turns to the student next to them in the circle and looks that person in the eye, while performing a star jump and saying ‘Eek!’ That student turns to the person next to them in the circle and copies the action and sound. Repeat, so the ‘Eek!’ and action is passed around the circle. 2 You can change direction by turning on the person who ‘Eeked’ you, holding up your hands like claws and saying ‘Grrr!’ The person next to you should copy the sound and gesture so the ‘Grrr!’ travels back the way the ‘Eek!’ has come, until someone challenges the ‘Grrr!’ by going back to the ‘Eek!’ You can also throw a sound across the circle, by pointing both arms at the person you want to send it to and saying ‘Aagh!’ (with fear, as if you are seeing a ghost). 3 Anyone who hesitates is out and sits down in their place in the circle. The more people are out, the more the remaining players have to concentrate. How does this help me to devise? Words are just the surface of a scene. However good the dialogue, what reaches the audience most is how truthful the emotion (shown by your face and voice) is. Any sound – or sound-effect – can be made meaningful. 3 “Eek! Grr! Aagh!” A gibberish game to boost your mime and voice skills. 1 Stand in a circle, with a large acting space in the middle. 2 Two actors volunteer to go into this ‘improvisaton circle’. 3 One actor makes an ‘offer’ of an idea to begin a scene. For example, Actor 1 might be a child begging an adult to let them go to a party or they might be an adult teaching a child how to cross the road. The clearer and more specific the physical actions, tone of voice and idea in your head, the easier to show in performance. 4 BUT … the only words you can say are ‘pickled onions’! Every word must be replaced by this phrase. All the meaning must come from tone of voice, physical movement and facial expression. How does this help me to devise? It encourages you to express your meaning in ways other than words, so that when you say lines you fully inhabit them and bring their meaning to life. 4 “Pickled onions” Even a sound like a sigh, a cough or a scream should be the phrase ‘pickled onions’ for the audience to believe in the scene. TIP You could use one of these games to develop your scene. If you do this, explain how you have used it, and perhaps take a video of it (you can recreate key moments after the game). This could then be included in your portfolio of evidence. FOR YOUR PORTFOLIO Remember, in every drama scene that includes more than one actor, ‘offers’ are being made and accepted all the time. TIP DOWNLOADABLE 20 part 1 DEVISING THEATRE Try replacing the suggested sounds with ones from ideas of your own, or with individual words, to instantly build a devised text scene. TIP