One of the biggest misconceptions of GCSE drama is that it's easy. As an GCSE drama student, I can hereby confirm ... it is not. Just like any other subject, there are things to memorise, stuff to research and many, many essays. Despite this, it remains my favourite subject.
For me, the most difficult tasks are the essays. We are taught not only to think like an actor/actress, but as if we're the director and designer; though, the most important thing to remember is the audience. In drama, everything quite literally revolves around them. All of this requires a decent amount of focus and since starting year 10, focus hasn't exactly been a friend of mine.
Regardless, the paragraph structure we follow in Drama, compared to English seems like rocket science. There's no need for PEEL or PETAL. All we need is DRE; decision, reason and effect. Unfortunately, if you're anything like me, a paragraph that should only take 5 minutes to complete will end up taking 20.
As a class, we are currently reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller. It is a play that happens to be an allegory for the McCarthy trials (a time in the early 50's when random individuals - commonly media workers such as actors and writers - were accused of being Communist. The only way to escape conviction was by accusing other people of communism). The play is based on the Salem witch trials and is genuinely much more interesting than I can make it sound.
Last week, we were given the opportunity to see Wicked. I've been lucky to have already seen it, and so I was aware of what was to come. Nonetheless, I was still flabbergasted by the voice of the actress playing Glinda - never in my life have I heard someone sing such unreachable notes for such prolonged amounts of time.
In conclusion, GCSE Drama is by no means an 'easy A'. It involves a lot of hard work; there are times when you'll have to work with complete strangers in scenarios entirely out of your comfort zone.
But this is why it is perhaps, one of the most useful GCSEs - it enables you to function under pressure in stressful situations. In other words, it prepares you for the real world.
