Bertolt Brecht and Complex Performance Skills Essay

Submitted By jessmariemcb
Words: 5062
Pages: 21

2015
Howick College Drama Department
Internal Assessment Resource
Student Name: _________________________

DRAMA
Level 3
Achievement Standard AS91515 version1
Drama 3.4
Select and use complex performance skills associated with a drama form or period
Credits: 4
“The Truth is Concrete” Bertolt Brecht

Image taken from Google Docs.
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Student Instructions Sheet

This assessment task requires you to select and use complex performance skills associated with a drama form or period. (This means you will need to integrate your chosen performance skills)For this particular trial you will be exploring Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre and you are required to demonstrate your selection and use of complex performance skills for this task and standard.

The texts on offer this year are Bertolt Brecht’s:
“The Caucasian Chalk Circle” which was written in 1943-45. The play is about a peasant girl who, rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its rich parents. Initially taking ideas form the biblical story and putting a mothers’ love to the test.
Brecht’s “The Good Person of Szechwan” written in 1939-1941. Is about a young woman in Szechwan who strives to remain a good person and live up to the pressures of the Gods who dictate over her village. In her struggle she creates an alter ego in the battle to survive.
“Mother Courage and Her Children” written in 1939. Again Brecht looks at the 30 year war from 1618 in Europe where Mother Courage illustrates the lengths an individual will go to survive war and prosper whilst she loses all three of her children in the process. (She lives off the war)
And “The Mother” 1930-31. Draws upon the Russian Revolution to tell the story of Vlassova who wants to give her son soup but all he does is eat! It explores the revolution and the lengths a mother will go to protect her son. (last explored in 2012)

Your teacher will discuss this with you for the best option.
You are expected to work in groups of 2-4. Once you have read through the texts available and engaged in preliminary exploration tasks that focus upon Brecht’s Epic Theatre and “V” effect you will need to explore the text and decide upon a scene or scenes that work collectively to present your interpretation of the text, clearly illustrating your use of complex performance skills that support Brecht’s Epic Theatre form. You will need to rehearse your chosen scene(s) so that the performance is convincing and captures the essence of the dramatic context.
You also need to: submit a statement of intention for your performance, indicating role, setting, situation and action as well as the key ideas or messages you seek to communicate. In addition you are required to indicate the performance skills of the theatre form you will use in performance. (This being Epic Theatre for this task) This can be done on the annotation template provided. (You will also note examples have been provided where possible to support you)
Your supporting written evidence is due (COMPLETED IN FULL & TYPED) by the start of class on the same day of your assessment. Failure to submit this on time will result in Not Achieved.

This activity will take place over approximately 5-7 weeks and will involve class and out-of-class time. The assessment will take place in Term One, Week 9 on: Thursday 3rd April in the college theatre to an invited evening audience.

Achievement Standard AS91515 version 1
Subject Reference
Drama 3.4
Title
Select and use complex performance skills associated with a drama form or period
Level
3
Credits
4
Assessment
Internal
Subfield
Drama
Domain
Drama Performance
Status
Registered
Status date
4 December 2012
Planned review date
31 December 2016
Date version published
4 December 2012

This achievement standard involves selecting and using complex performance skills