Blood Brothers Play Guide for AQA GCSE Drama

Assessment focus: AO3: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how drama and theatre are developed and performed. What the specification says... Students are expected to know and understand: 4 the characteristics and context of the whole play they have studied. One extract from each set play is printed in the question paper. Students answer questions relating to that extract, referring to the whole play as appropriate to the demands of the question. KEY TERMS Practical: Something that can actually be physically done, rather than simply an idea. Interpretation: Bringing out a particular meaning by making specific choices. In this case, how a play could be performed or designed in order to get across a particular meaning. There might be many different interpretations possible. Genre: A category or type of music, art or literature, usually with its own typical conventions. Plot: The sequence of main events of a play, film or novel. Style: The way in which something is created or performed. Characters: The people involved in the action of a play, film or novel. Sean Jones as Mickey and Simon Willmont as Eddie in Blood Brothers 22 COMPONENT 1: UNDERSTANDING DRAMA SECTION B STUDY OF A SET PLAY: BLOOD BROTHERS For Component 1, Section B, you will study one of six set plays. One of these set plays is Blood Brothers by Willy Russell, which is covered in detail in this chapter. All page numbers given refer to the Methuen Drama Modern Classics edition of the play (ISBN 978-0-413-76770-7). The features of drama In Section B, you will have the opportunity to share your understanding of Blood Brothers and your ideas about how it could be performed and designed. Writing about drama is different from writing an English Literature essay. In Drama, you are expected to demonstrate a practical understanding of how acting and design choices can create a particular interpretation of a text and how those choices will have an impact on the audience. Characteristics of a play 4 Genre 4 Style 4 Plot 4 Characters . Context 4 The time period in which the play is set 4 The location of the play 4 The political or social concerns expressed in the play 4 The fashions of the time 4 The music, entertainments and other cultural factors of the time 4 The backgrounds of the characters. Examples of practical understanding 4 How a play could be acted, including physical and vocal skills 4 How it could be staged, including staging configuration and placement of characters on stage 4 How it could be designed, including costumes, set, props, lighting and sound.