AQA Drama GCSE

remember to keep yourself calm. staying calm not only makes you less nervous, but any nervous sweat will ruin your make-up. keep your voice down if you're off-set during the performance and get ready for your cue line!

don't worry if you miss or forget a line, or if someone else does... keep it smooth and roll with it. the examiner doesn't know what your script is, and neither does the audience! it's live theatre, no sweat!

• keep an eye on the characters, but NEVER turn your back to the audience, even in rehearsals! try to keep away from side-shots too.
  
• if you have a costume change, keep it ready... nothing like a tidy backstage to make a performer happy!
• make sure to get out of your comfort zone and into the realm of acting. if the examiner can tell you're not playing yourself, thats kudos for you.
• force yourself to not giggle around school and at home, this will help when you're performing
• play around with different accents and behaviours. but don;t change them mid-play during the performance. looks bad. really.
• keep to the theme stated in your comission. if you have been asked to do somethign to get kids to read and its on the theme of fantasy, don't do a sci-fi with nothing about reading in it!

when adding to your portfolio, personalise it! and i don't mean scribble all over it... i mean add in things which will make everybody know it's yours! if you have a load of videos of you acting on youtube, add in a page saying about it, with your youtube URL in it. if you have been to acting schools or go to one, mention that too! go wild!

In your portfolio, add in any written work you do in lessons... stuff about skills development from since the start of high school. have yourself write up lessons. gone on a trip to a thearte? take some leaflets, put them in, and then write up an evaluation of the trip!

don't expect your teacher to do this/tell you to do this for you!

• Keep it tidy!
• Keep it full and up-to-date!
• love it! it will get you most of your marks!
• make sure that it has relavent information in it.
• upon seeing your commission, the examiner will ask to have them in (oh and don't forget to put your performance evaluation in it too!) if he/she sees that you are different to the character you played from the way you write, and the analysise and stuff that you put in, you will get better marks. so put as much detail into it as possible.

have a good time doing drama, and don't worry about out of drama stuff when you do your lessons, because its the final mark you need. if you don't remain focussed and happy while you are doing it, nothing will work. you need that A*! learn your lines, use expression, learn about drama, remember about your portfolio, and all will go swimmingly.