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Notes on BBC Bitesize Devising Info

Bold is things that need to be considered

Make sure to consider plot:

Need to have a timeline of interesting events to keep the audience's attention

Needs a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in order - non-linear plays switch between the past and present – can help keep the audience engaged

Can have more than one plot - two running side by side - called fractured narrative

Action in drama:

What happens between characters

Also need to think about the themes and issues presented in the play - i.e. political views, family, hope etc.

Form:

The way the play is done and how physical/vocal skills are used to achieve this

Consider different forms like musical theatre, farce, satire, commedia dell’arte

Characters:

Look at these once a basic timeline is constructed

Characterisation is when you change your own gait, voice, movements etc. to fit the character being played - very important because interesting characters will engage the audience

Voice - think about accents, tone, pace, lisps etc.

Body language + facial expressions - think about what the character is feeling to find appropriate physical skills

Hot seating + improvisation are both ways of deciding how to play a character - lets you see how they would react

Climax/anticlimax:

Building or releasing tension in the play - gives the audience a feeling of anticipation, make them think the play is building towards an exciting moment

A play with multiple climaxes and anticlimaxes will hold the audience's attention for the longest

Pauses build tension - leaving scenes on a cliffhanger keeps the audience’s interest

Contrast:

Contrast also holds attention – e.g. cross-cutting (changing scene, then changing back to the original)

Conventions:

A well-used action e.g. slow motion - the audience relates the action to a specific meaning

Think about soliloquys, narration, songs, multi-roling and fourth wall breaks

Symbols:

Something which actually represents something else - useful for reminding the audience of the themes

Physical skills can be symbols - e.g. every time somebody spins in a circle represents chaos