GCSE Drama practical - watch other groups or not?

[twosoups1972]

Year 11 dd has her practical drama exam tomorrow. She’s cross because they all have to miss a whole day of lessons to watch and support the other groups.

Is this usual practice? Her exam is in the morning but she’s expected to watch all afternoon instead of going to lessons.

Of course she should watch. As the others will watch her.

Apart from anything else, it’s always better to perform with an audience.

They all watched each other the other day for the parents’ performance. LAMDA exams don’t allow an audience so what’s the difference?

As Bertrand has said - totally normal.

How the audience respond is taken into account. It’s not a LAMDA exam it’s a GCSE.

I can’t see anything about audience response in the specification.

Fair enough, twosoups. You’re right and your dd should refuse to watch her classmates. Next!

Yep had to do it when I did my drama gcse and we did it when I did my drama a level and degree. Just because it's not in specification drama is about group work, learning and adapting from each other. Watching and learning helps you get better yourself.

Ok fair comments thank you. She’s just worried about missing an important topic in a science subject. Every lesson counts at this stage but suppose it can’t be helped.

bertrand there’s no need to be rude, I am taking comments on board.

Yep - DD will be watching/supporting the other groups. Her GCSE class also had to watch/support the ALevel girls, and that was after school. She did the lighting for them as well.

I think it is all part of the "working with others" element of the drama courses. You aren't marked on it, but it is a good life lesson.

For DDs drama they had to join the audience. It gives the performers something to work with rather than just the camera/examiner.

Only make sure any phone is turned completely off. A peer of DD's phone went off whilst watching another performance, there was talk of disqualification though I don't know what happened at the end.

It’s not much different from going to a sports match or on a school trip or being ill. The science teacher will understand.

Oh no teen!

Thank you for your responses, I get the 'working with others' aspect and dd is always happy to stay behind after school to watch and support others (as she did this week to watch the other groups). She just hates missing lessons!

Yes it's usual, it lets you critique and watch other methods instead of being self obsessed. We did it a decade ago in my drama GCSE... it's fun.

(I got one mark off of full marks preens)

Hi op, my ds is also doing GCSE drama and done his final set piece last month.

They all watch each others performances as standard and ds said it's actually quite helpful to do so.
He's a real worrier and like your dd, was worried he would miss a certain topic in another subject so he went to see the teacher and was given notes/links of what he had missed.
Ds also said it's good practice to perform in front of an audience

Good luck to your dd.

Just to add, some other subjects may well have situations too where they miss lessons in the run up. e.g.

• Food tech practical
• Art exam
• Geography field trip

Though I accept these are all 'doing' rather than watching.

Update - all went well and in the end, they finished early so dd could get to her lesson.

Found out from dd part of the reason she was annoyed was that in previous years, it wasn't like this: you did your exam and you could then leave.