Drama
Personnel
Miss Bramall became Head of Drama at Oxford High School in 2006. She enjoyed a professional acting career for ten years after leaving LAMDA and before becoming a teacher in 2001. She id thrilled to be working with superb talent on a daily baisis and with students who are full of enthusiasm, creativity and commitment. She can be contacted on j.bramall@oxf.gdst.net.
Extra-Curricular – Speech & Drama Tuition
Jennifer Rudnay, RADA trained actress and Mrs J Clewett tutor girls (years 7-13) for the Trinity/Guildhall Speech and Drama examinations. These are accredited qualifications. Girls are taught in small groups and the lessons develop vocal technique as well as performance skills. Please contact j.bramall@oxf.gdst.net if you need more information.
Curriculum
In Years 7-9 Drama is an integral part of the timetable within the school year (on a rotation basis with other creative subjects). It also forms part of the General Studies programme in the 6th Form and can be enjoyed as a complementary subject in Years 10-11.
Taking Drama as a GCSE
Examination board: WJEC
GCSE WJEC DRAMA is a two year course in Year 10 and it has a wealth of possible outcomes. The course fosters candidates’ creativity, personal growth, self confidence and analytical skills. The course also
- Develops personal confidence, management skills and concentration.
- Builds on a strong emphasis of good communication and presentation skills.
- Sharpens responses to live productions through detailed analysis.
- Expands an awareness of social, historical and cultural influences through the study of play texts and other styles of dramatic presentations.
- Provides significant opportunities for expressing cultural and personal identity.
THE OUTLINE OF THE COURSE IS BELOW
(but further information can be found on www.wjec.gdst.net)
Students will devise practical performance based on a theme, linked with a practitioner or genre. The emphasis is on developing the performance skills of voice, movement and gesture whilst positively encouraging creativity and confidence.
A written report is needed for the practical work they completed through a Controlled Assessment.
Students will be assessed on their acting skills in a scene/extract from a published play. This is externally examined. There is also one 1 ½ hour written examination based on a studied set text.
Students are invited to on-site workshops on various practitioners as well as being invited to see a wide variety of live production work.
Drama and Theatre Studies AS (AQA)
The Drama AS (and A2) course is designed to be enjoyed from a practical perspective whilst developing an understanding of the social, cultural and historical influences on the development of drama and theatre. There is a strong ethos within the subject teaching to nurture a variety of theatrical skills, foster creativity and encourage a student’s imagination through devised and scripted work. There are many opportunities, through the study of Drama, for students to develop strong presentational skills, confidence and vocal training which are highly regarded skills in the work place.
The AS course covers:
- An exploration of Drama and Theatre through one set play (example. The Doll’s House by Ibsen)
- A focus on theatre practitioners (Brecht, Stanislavski, Berkoff)
- Trips to the theatre (Oxford Playhouse, RSC, National Theatre, Bath Theatre, Burton Taylor Theatre) to extend theatrical knowledge
- Close analysis of live productions in terms of design, directorial concept, lfx and sfx etc.
- Extensive reading of playwrights (Kane, Ravenhill, Berkoff, David Hare)
- A student choice of play to extract a scripted performance which is externally moderated at the end of the Easter term (40%). The piece must be accompanied by supporting notes
- There is a written examination at the end of the AS course on a set text and a live piece of theatre (60%)
Drama and Theatre Studies A2 (AQA)
The A2 course covers:
- An exploration of two set texts (eg; Berkoff’s ‘The Trial’ and Chekhov’s The Seagull) to prepare for the written examination at the end of the A2 year.
- A construction of a devised piece of theatre. The piece must be accompanied by supporting notes
Extra-Curricular Activities and Achievements
The students at Oxford High School are encouraged to write and produce their own plays – in the past productions have included ‘Knives and Forks’, ‘Under Milk Wood’, ‘Anthony and Cleopatra’, adaptations of ‘Hamlet’ and mini-plays for festivals and assemblies.
The theatre is visited on a regular basis. Recent trips have included ‘War Horse’ (2010), ‘Blasted at the Lyric Theatre, London (2011), ‘The Wild Bride’ by kneehigh at The Oxford Playhouse.
Each year there is a Lower School musical/play and past productions have included ‘The King and I’ (2010), ‘Sweeney Todd’ (2009), ‘Cold Comfort Farm’ (2009) and ‘Sound of Music’ (2007).
There is a Drama Scholarship that may be applied for in Year 11.
Latest News
The White Devil
Why do we want to put on and watch this play, four hundred years after it was first written and performed? Maybe it’s because its obsessions remain our own. Flamineo and Vittoria’s dying rejection of the court, with its flattery and its malice, express our own contemporary mistrust of the fawning and viciousness of government and the press. Real tenderness and regret are in the play too, as Flamineo weeps at his mother’s deranged grief: ‘I have a strange thing in me, to th’ which/ I cannot give a name, without it be/ Compassion.’
The greatest pleasure, as always, has been working with the cast as we’ve discovered together the bizarre jokes of 1612 and the disturbing veins of fantasy and misogyny that run through the play. All life is here and, if it makes us squirm with recognition at some points, that’s no bad thing.
The Shakespeare Schools’ Festival
Directed by Mr Hypher and Mrs Redston
Mr Hypher (Head of Physics) and Mrs Redston (Teacher of English) skilfully directed this beautifully staged piece of ‘Macbeth’ with a cast of Year 8s and Year 9s. The reduced half hour play was part of a festival and OHS joined with three other schools to celebrate Shakespeare. The words ‘To Scone!’ ended the play on a rising inflection of hope, leaving a feeling that peace was restored. I left the theatre rejuvenated. This was no ‘star-led’ piece but a huge, masterfully choreographed ensemble work. As the SSF’s Head co-ordinator said at the end: ‘the clarity of language, the maturity in the understanding of the text….made it a delight to relish the language’. She claimed that she was ‘gobsmacked’… I have to say that I was too! Bravo to all the company, the two directors, cast, musicians and the production team!
Lower School Production of ‘The King and I’
The ‘King and I‘ is a musical with an extraordinary structure that is built around a duologue between Anna and the King. Pandora Dewan (8H) and Hannah Tillmann-Morris’ (9S) professionalism and talent exceeded all expectations in both roles. ‘The Ballet’ sequence involves Tuptim revealing her hatred of being ‘a slave’ to the king’s polygamy. The piece is set to impress the British Empire and prevent The King from being seen as a ‘barbarian’. The ‘Temple Dancers’ , led by Janaki Desai (12G), were a spectacular treat and I could hear gasps of surprise and joy from the audience as they ‘wowed’ us all with their beautifully choreographed movements. The musicians accompanied this extraordinary production – some playing in the pit for the first time! They played their hearts out and the sound they all produced was awe-inspiring for students so young. The whole cast and production team were a delight to work with and ‘getting to know them’ was terrific fun!
Women Beware Women
It’s a cruel world that Middleton forces us to watch but perhaps the play’s power lies in how it can suddenly and surprisingly move us. Livia’s grief at Leantio’s death reminds us that even the corrupt can feel love’s power and Bianca’s fabulous attack on the Cardinal overturns any certainty that there is only one way to be virtuous.
To act in Jacobean tragedy in the sixth form prepares you for most theatre and possibly even for life! Although we are unlikely to ever see our loved ones strung up in wax effigies or witness a strangling or someone being poisoned with flaming gold, the cruelties and hypocrisies are familiar enough in our world too.
I hope you enjoy looking at theses photos, taken by Jonathan Nicholl at the Sunday rehearsal before our Dress. See you at next year’s show.
Cathy O’Neill
‘FAME – The Musical’ in the New Hall!
The new term of 2010 was an exciting time as the school returned to see how the new facilities had been progressing. Wow! A new Main Hall! A new lighting board, raked seating, a new backstage……For three months the cast of FAME were involved in rehearsing many songs and dance numbers and couldn’t wait to use the new facilities on the opening night. The show was a wonderful triumph and OHS was proud to work in conjunction with Senior boys from four other local schools. A mass of legwarmers and lycra… the show will stay in all our minds for a very long time to come.
Miss Bramall
