Criterion A – Theatre in Context: The Tradition

A1 To what extent does the student research a world theatre tradition they have not
previously studied and demonstrate an understanding of the theatre tradition’s cultural and
theoretical context?

 Do not spend too long on A1 and give equal time to A2

 The best work includes SAD research on the tradition = Space, Action, Design.
(What is the SPACE that it is performed in, what is the ACTION in the space, what do the
actors do? and what are the DESIGN elements of the tradition - set, lights, costumes, props,
masks and make up?)
 The area of context enquiry should include a mix of the following: dates, places, myths,
events, famous people, evolution of tradition and links to other theatre forms and be based
on cited research.
 You should base your RP on the full name of the tradition on the list e.g British Pantomime
NOT just Pantomime.
 Sourcing is extremely important. If you use a PowerPoint then all images need to be
sourced, on the slide or in the bibliography.
 You should mention where information comes from, ideally using in-presentation citations,
and make sure all the sources you mention are in the bibliography.
A2 To what extent does the student select a performance convention from the theatre
tradition and demonstrate its relationship to the theatre tradition and its contexts?

 You must focus on the one convention that you will demonstrate during your moment of
theatre.

 You should state what the convention is, as this is what will be examined later in the
moment of theatre, and if it is not clearly stated then the work becomes vague and would be
considered ‘limited’ or ‘underdeveloped.’

 This convention must be a performance convention, and you needs to have specific research
that you have done that focuses on this convention.

 This criterion examines how well you explain the convention, so you need to put it in context
of the tradition itself and explain how it works (alongside other conventions, if applicable)
within a performance.

 Be careful not to blur the line between this criterion and B1, which focuses on practical
0exploration. In this section you are not expected to demonstrate the convention, as at this
stage you are still sharing research and explaining to the audience what you have discovered
through research.

Examples of good conventions

Tradition – British Pantomime

Convention – The use of slapstick (using face, movement and voice)

Convention – The pantomime dame in performance (using voce, body, gesture)

Tradition – Rakugo

Convention – The use of two props of the hand towel and the face (Using movement and gesture)

Convention – Portrayal of characters (using voice, body, gesture)

Conventions with issues that do not meet the requirements

Tradition – English Renaissance Theatre

Convention – Monologue structure ( literary conventions)

Tradition – Shadow puppetry, Chine

Convention – colour design ( a production convention)