5 top tips to help you succeed in your Drama exam

It is easy to feel overwhelmed in the run-up to GCSE or A-Level Drama exams but focusing on these key areas will ensure you are well prepared, helping you succeed in getting the grades you need. 

Tip 1 - Learn your lines

The best advice for practical exam prep? Learn your lines QUICKLY and ACCURATELY. Avoid paraphrasing. Yes, learning lines is incredibly boring but it must be the first – not the last -thing you do. Rehearsals will then become far more productive. Being off book will free you up to experiment and try new things. This will ultimately develop your character and allow you to polish your performance. 

Of course, learning entire scripts can be very daunting. And because it seems like such a big task, it can be tempting to keep putting it off.  But that will leave less time to focus on character development and refining the detail of your performance – the things that will get you higher marks.  

Additionally, working as a member of a group means you are part of a team. By learning your individual lines quickly and thoroughly, you are doing your bit to ensure the group can make good progress. And you wouldn’t want to be the last one in the group to learn your lines, would you?

Parents can help by regularly monitoring progress and helping to run lines daily. Identify what I call danger areas (iffy sections!) and focus on getting them thoroughly learned.

Need extra help? There is a free app called RUN LINES WITH ME, available from your usual app store. Download it to your phone, record your lines and then listen to them back.

Tip 2 - Learn your blocking

Along with learning lines is memorising the blocking. Blocking is movement that has been set in rehearsal at a given cue point in the script. It generally includes entrances, exits, or any movement around the set or stage space. 

Learning blocking moves usually comes easily with the repetition of rehearsal. That said, it is always helpful to note down any moves you have set, directly onto your script as you go along. As you progress through the rehearsal process, your annotations will act as a reminder as you learn the script. Do you need to use a prop at any point in the scene? Then write this directly onto your script, too, as a reminder. That way, you are being thorough and leaving nothing to chance.

Tip 3 - Revise the written paper thoroughly

This next tip seems rather obvious. It is easy to dupe yourself into thinking you know a topic or section thoroughly, which, when tested, reveals the opposite. Don’t leave anything to chance. Know your stuff!

The written exams for Drama GCSE and Drama A-Level are tough. Prepare for them rigorously.  Revision should begin months before the exam, and you should avoid cramming.

Here's my advice on revision.

 1.   Take a section at a time and work systematically through it. There are many different approaches to revision depending on what kind of learner you are. I favour a study- buddy approach. Work with a classmate, support and test each other as you go along. Partnering up makes the process more bearable, but be careful not to get distracted from the task.

2.   Re-read your set play(s). Revise the contexts, characters, and acting /design implications. If you have a textbook - use it! They are brilliant and can make revision much easier. Check the final chapters - they have practice questions too.

3.   Revise your theatre practitioners. Know the characteristics of their style, their contribution to theatre development, their theories and rehearsal techniques with actors. Refresh the ways in which they influenced you and your practical work.

4.   Watch the live/digital theatre performance again to refresh your memory of the plot, key scenes, and stand-out moments. Pay particular attention to the actors' performance skills and techniques and note the scenic lighting and sound moments. Learn the names of the crucial creatives involved - especially the director! Remember to evaluate the impact the production had on you. Personalise your comments.

5.   Revise the language of drama and specialist design glossaries.

Tip 4 - Plan exam timings and stick to them

A good tip for approaching the written exam is to figure out a time plan. It’s useful to know how long to spend on a section - even a question. Remember, the time spent per question should be proportionate to the number of marks it carries. Sticking to time will ensure you complete the paper.

Your teachers will, I am sure, have already spoken about or even coached you through the issue of managing time. It all sounds a bit obsessive but being aware of - and sticking to time - is vital in an exam situation. Many students find the management of time very stressful. I encourage you to try some practice questions at home under timed conditions. I know that sounds quite torturous, but it WILL get you used to thinking and writing quickly. Examination rules stipulate that a clock must be visible to everyone in the exam hall. When you are in there, have your time plan ready and make good use of that clock!

Tip 5 - Read the questions carefully

Failing to read an exam question properly is one of the most common and frustrating mistakes. Glancing at a question without really understanding it, is the best way to flunk an exam. Make sure you arrive at your exam equipped not just with the obligatory black pen but a highlighter too. When you open the question paper, use it!

Read the question carefully

Highlight command words and instructions

Understand what it is asking

Respond precisely

Essay questions in particular can be long, requiring you to focus on several different elements. Make sure that you have a handle on the detail. A student of mine recently failed to read the live theatre review brief properly. The question called for a focus on ONE ACTOR. Instead, the student wrote about ONE CHARACTER.  Unfortunately, this character was played by TWO ACTORS! Consequently, the essay did not meet the exam requirements and cost my student 32 valuable marks.

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© Adrian Waller, A* Drama Tuition