Exam Requirements
| Exam Duration | 15 minutes |
| Task 1 | The candidate will perform from memory one poem chosen from the Anthology. |
| Task 2 | The candidate will perform from memory one poem OR a piece of prose OR a piece of drama of their own choice. The performance of this piece must not exceed one minute. |
| Task 3 | The candidate will answer questions on the meaning of the pieces selected and the words used. The examiner will also award marks by assessing the candidate’s ease of manner, readiness to respond to the examiner, poise and confidence. |
| Exam Duration | 15 minutes |
| Task 1 | The candidate will perform from memory one poem chosen from the Anthology. |
| Task 2 | The candidate will perform from memory a piece of prose or drama of their own choice. The performance of this piece must not exceed one and a half minutes. |
| Task 3 | The candidate will answer questions on the meaning of the pieces selected and the words used. The examiner will also award marks by assessing the candidate’s ease of manner, readiness to respond to the examiner, poise and confidence. |
| Exam Duration | 15 minutes |
| Task 1 | The candidate will perform from memory one poem chosen from the Anthology. |
| Task 2 | The candidate will perform from memory a piece of prose or drama of their own choice. The performance of this piece must not exceed two minutes. |
| Task 3 | The candidate will answer questions on the meaning of the pieces selected and the words used and what they liked most about the pieces. The examiner will also award marks by assessing the candidate’s ease of manner, readiness to respond to the examiner, poise and confidence. |
| Exam Duration | 20 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 2 pieces from memory, one of which will be chosen from the Handbook (the own choice piece not to exceed 2 minutes). Two of the three forms – verse, prose and drama – must be chosen. |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will bring to the examination a Folder of Work. It will contain 6 pieces of work that the candidate has found interesting. The pieces will present examples from each of the forms of prose, verse and drama. The Folder will conclude with a Personal Reflection on what the candidate found attractive in one of the pieces. The candidate must describe their feelings for the piece in detail. The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Performance pieces – the meaning, vocabulary and choice. b) Folder of Work – the reasons for the choice of pieces; the content of the Personal Reflection. |
| Exam Duration | 20 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 2 pieces from memory, one of which will be chosen from the Handbook (the own choice piece not to exceed 2 minutes). Two of the three forms – verse, prose and drama – must be chosen. |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will bring to the examination a Folder of Work. It will contain 6 pieces of work that the candidate has found interesting. The pieces will present examples from each of the forms of prose, verse and drama. The Folder will conclude with a Personal Reflection in which the candidate should contrast two of the pieces to bring out the differences in mood and feeling. The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Performance pieces – the meaning, vocabulary and choice. b) Folder of Work – the reasons for the choice of pieces; the content of the Personal Reflection. c) Point out the differences between a phrase and a sentence. |
| Exam Duration | 20 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 2 pieces from memory, one of which will be chosen from the Handbook (the own choice piece not to exceed 2 minutes). Two of the three forms – verse, prose and drama – must be chosen. |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will bring to the examination a Folder of Work. It will contain 6 pieces of work in which the language used has made an impact on the candidate. The pieces will present examples from each of the forms of prose, verse and drama. The Folder will conclude with a Personal Reflection on the imagery of one piece which particularly arrested the candidate’s attention and what emotions these images called to mind. The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Performance pieces – the meaning, vocabulary and choice. b) Folder of Work – the reasons for the choice of pieces; the content of the Personal Reflection. c) Give an example of a ‘sense’ pause from one of the texts in the folder. |
| Exam Duration | 20 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 2 pieces from memory, one of which will be chosen from the Handbook (the own choice piece not to exceed 2 minutes). Two of the three forms – verse, prose and drama – must be chosen. |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will bring to the examination a Folder of Work. It will contain 6 pieces of work linked by a theme of the candidate’s choice. The pieces will present examples of prose, verse and drama. The Folder will conclude with a Personal Reflection which will describe how the linking theme came to be chosen as well as an analysis of how the candidate would approach, prepare and deliver one of the pieces in performance. The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Performance pieces – the meaning, vocabulary and authors. b) Folder of Work – the reasons for the choice of pieces; the content of the Personal Reflection. c) The ‘end of line’ pause and how it helps to shape a poem. |
| Exam Duration | 20 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 2 pieces from memory, one of which will be chosen from the Handbook (the own choice piece not to exceed 2 minutes). Two of the three forms – verse, prose and drama – must be chosen. |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will bring to the examination a Folder of Work. EITHER this will be in the form of a scrapbook about the theatre visit – a recent visit to a play, a musical or any performance that is theatrical will be accepted. This should include a one-page description of the event as well as 5 pages of supporting material, such as programmes, pictures, sketches, diary entries or scripts and any background preparation for the visit. OR a selection of up to 3 pages of favourite passages from a single author of the candidate’s choice. A one-page description of the content and themes must be provided. The Folder will conclude with a Personal Reflection on both the significance of the visit and the particular performance values that impressed the candidate and have been a direct help to them in their Speech and Drama OR on how the candidate discovered the author’s writing and what lasting effect this discovery has had for the candidate. The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Folder of Work – content, including the personal insights gained. b) The candidate will demonstrate a breathing exercise and explain its purpose. |
| Exam Duration | 25 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 3 pieces from memory (one each of prose, verse and drama), one of which must be chosen from the Handbook, as follows: • one piece written after 1956 • one contrasting piece written before 1956 • one own choice piece (not to exceed 3 minutes) |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Pieces – the interpretation and performance demands. b) Theory – to explain the term ‘modulation’ in relation to the performance of the pieces and to show that while consonants give clarity and texture to our speech, vowel sounds give warmth and colour. Illustrate how vowels colour speech. c) Literature and Theatre – to discuss a Portfolio the candidate has produced on a post-1956 work EITHER on a major theatre movement OR on a significant literary figure OR on an art-form of the period related to theatre. You should ensure you include at least one side of A4 showing what insights you have gained during your research into your chosen topic. |
| Exam Duration | 30 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 3 pieces from memory (one each of prose, verse and drama), one of which must be chosen from the Handbook, as follows: • one piece written before 1900 • one contrasting piece written after 1900 • one own choice piece (not to exceed 3 minutes). |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Pieces – the interpretation and performance demands. b) Theory – to explain how consonants give clarity to speech and also the importance of articulation and rhythm in performance with reference to the pieces presented. c) Literature and Theatre – to discuss a Portfolio the candidate has produced on a work before 1900, EITHER on a major theatre movement OR on a significant literary figure OR on an art-form of the period related to theatre. The candidate should include at least one side of A4 explaining how they would bring out their responses to the work in performance. |
| Exam Duration | 35 minutes |
| Performance | The candidate will introduce and perform 3 pieces from memory (one each of prose, verse and drama), one of which must be chosen from the Handbook, as follows: • one piece written by Shakespeare or one of his contemporaries (who wrote before 1620) • one piece written by Wilde, Chekhov or Ibsen • one own choice piece (not to exceed 4 minutes). |
| Sight Reading | The candidate will read aloud a passage provided by the examiner. |
| Questions and Folder of Work | The candidate will be asked questions on the following topics: a) Pieces – the interpretation and performance demands. b) Theory – the elements of effective voice production, including projection and resonance, with particular reference being made to one of the chosen pieces; to demonstrate some knowledge of resonators and to explain what exercises are personally beneficial to improve voice production. c) Literature and Theatre – to discuss a Portfolio the candidate has produced either on a 1580–1660 work or an 1830–1910 work, which can be on a major theatre movement, a significant literary figure or an art-form from the chosen period related to theatre. The candidate must include up to 3 sides of A4 explaining in detail how their view of the world has been changed by the focus of their study. |