In our Acting exams there are tasks that require candidates to devise a performance, i.e. create an original piece rather than working from a script. In this blog, we will explore how teachers can support candidates with the devising process.
In our Solo and Pair Acting exams candidates perform a character development task, where they are asked to take a character(s) from one of their scripted performance pieces and create an original scene, with different stimulus or context for each grade.
In our Group Acting exams at the lower grades - Initial to Grade 4 - candidates perform one piece from memory, and from Grade 5 onwards they perform two pieces. These can be a scripted piece, a devised piece, or a combination of both. As with all of our exams there is free choice of performance pieces – so candidates have freedom to create completely original pieces that suit their interests.
Devising a drama performance can be exciting but, without some structure, it can also drift or feel unfocused. A teacher’s role in supporting the devising process isn’t necessarily about giving ideas- it’s about giving frameworks that help students generate, test, and refine their own. The trick is balancing creativity with clear direction. Here are practical tips that could help in rehearsal:
Exploration
In the initial devising stages encourage your students to explore lots of ideas, generating material quickly and not overthinking at this early stage. Use improvisation and activities like hot seating and freeze frames to produce lots of ideas fast, that they can refine later.
In our Solo and Pair Acting exams candidates will have some instruction to work from, for example at Grade 3 they are asked to create an original scene that takes place immediately before or after the events of the piece performed in Task 1. When candidates are creating an original scene based upon a scripted piece, it could be easy to end up recreating scenes from the play or retelling the story. Therefore, to get your students thinking creatively, you could ask them to quickly devise or improvise some short scenes using a stimulus such as ‘What is a missing scene you would have liked to have seen in this play?’, ‘What if one key decision changed?’, or ‘What if we saw this scene/story from a minor characters perspective?’.
In Pair exams when developing an original scene, it can be helpful to focus on how the established characters relate to each other. You can do this by exploring power dynamics and status shifts. For example, ask candidates to play with swapping the status of the characters, or exaggerating the difference.
Doing these initial activities can help candidates to understand the devising process and how they might approach the Character Development task, before introducing the specific requirements of the grade they are taking.
For our Group exams candidates have free reign, so it can be a good idea to either give your group some stimulus ideas, or ask candidates to bring some into rehearsals, so that they have something to respond to. This could be a theme, an image, news story, piece of music, or even a question. For example, companies like Frantic Assembly often begin with physical or emotional prompts rather than scripts.
You could use activities such as a ‘stimulus carousel’ where you give groups multiple starting points (images, quotes, music, news headlines). Every 5-10 minutes, they rotate and create a quick response (freeze frame, short scene, or movement). This can encourage groups to create ideas without overthinking and helps students discover ideas that interest them.
You could also set some challenges or constraints to get students thinking and working creatively, for example, ‘create a 1-minute piece in 10 minutes’ or ‘create a scene using only 3 lines of dialogue’.
Development
Once your candidates have decided on some ideas for their original scene, they then need to develop these. This means they will need to start thinking about structure, meaning and also staging. For example, what is the beginning, middle, and end of this scene? Is there a clear narrative or theme? What is the style or tone of the piece?
As a teacher you should also be clear about any expectations or requirements at this stage, such as the length of the performance. In a Group exam, where candidates are asked to perform two pieces, there must be contrast between the pieces so ensure the contrasts are considered from the get-go.
In Solo and Pair exams the original scene is supposed to assess the candidates understanding of, and their ability to sustain the character, so work with candidates to ensure this objective is not lost in the devising process. Will the scenario/environment/object etc chosen provide the candidate with opportunity to explore and learn about their character(s)?
Group Acting exams could allow candidates to introduce physical theatre or stylistic elements. Devised theatre often stands out because of movement and staging. Groups could think about levels, spacing, ensemble movement, and symbolism. Again, companies like Frantic Assembly are known for this physical storytelling approach.
Rehearsal & refinement
Once your students have developed their piece, they then need to polish it. A huge part of this process can be editing. Not every idea deserves to stay, if something doesn’t serve the piece, cut it-even if it’s clever. Strong devised work is usually tighter than you expect. After a rehearsal ask students to consider:
Feedback can be a really useful part of the devising process. If possible, encourage the students to perform their pieces for one another and give peer feedback asking such questions as ‘What was the clearest moment?’, ‘Where did you lose interest?’, ‘What confused you?’
Another option is to film rehearsals and watch this back. This encourages reflection but also ensures you don’t forget any good moments, as devising often relies on capturing accidental brilliance.
Building in time during rehearsals for reflection and evaluation can also help candidates doing Solo and Pair exams prepare for the Reflection task.
For more ideas our Drama Games resource has lots of games and activities that can support with the devising process.
Comments & Replies