how do I begin?

[paulears]

GCSE Drama is simply terrible, and really doesn't have any real world acting in it. It has drama - lots of it. Move on to A Level and the standard goes up, and they do acting, but in short easily doable chunks. Somebody leaving education with an A Level, let alone GCSE in drama is not able to go straight into work. They are ill equipped by a specification that does not have a great deal of acting in it at all. I too, work professionally in the business, always have done - and in my quiet times I do some supply teaching at a range of schools from horrid to really posh and private. While behaviour certainly changes between them, they are all doing the same specification.

I've actually had some younger people who did a great audition and are around 18-19, and on the first day of production week made a pretty good job of script work under direction - like the others. However, after three or four days, the rest are script down or at least close - these drama people struggle with what really are quite small parts. They have never had to learn a full script in a short time, they know little of the nuts and bolts of practical acting, mainly because it's not in the spec, and the teachers only teach to the spec - there is no time for anything else.

People who do drama at school and are in the local admiral company do sooooooo much better!

I try to avoid teaching music, drama or performing arts in schools I work at because it is truly soul destroying. Doing anything remotely serious with year 7 and 8 is impossible - too much messing around. The kids are often told that they need lights, need music and need a stage to perform on. They don't really get much proper content until year 10-11, and by then it's gone downhill for many.

There are of course some good kids who really understand what is going on - but they have to do group work with complete idiots who spoil everything. Frankly, at most schools (not all, I have to admit) drama is a doss subject. An excuse for rough and tumble and messing around. Music is nearly as bad.

By the time they are doing A Level, then they will understand Brecht and Stanislavsky and will have done a bit of Shakespeare and maybe some Berkoff.

Until they get to university or stage school they just have so much missing.

I had a few years out and was a college course leader (A Level and BTEC), but went back to doing it for real when it drove me mad!

Having a rough count up of the places I have been to in the last year in Norfolk and Suffolk, one drama teacher was an ex-actor. Head of drama at one school is one of my old college BTEC students, and she's now deputy head. Quite a few of my old BTEC students are now teachers in schools. In colleges, it's different - the majority are ex or current professionals. In schools it is rare in my experience, and I suspect most pro's would absolutely hate the limited possibilities of GCSE - 6th form is a bit better, but then it's better in most subjects, isn't it?

[jennifer1972]

I think, brighterthanthestars, that regardless of views on school based drama, the common theme from the comments is to get as much experience as possible, paid or unpaid, professional or amateur, outside of school, that would make your CV stand out amongst the thousands of others. Best of luck and let us know how you get on

[riverdancefan]

I know four drama teachers personally , one in a 6th form college and the other three are in academies.
The three I know well have been the FIRST ones to admit to me - urge
me not to put my DS on any drama GCSE course unless he just wants to do for a distraction - and certainly not to give up his outside private class and LAMDA examinations.
Without fail they have told me DS would be wasting his time , he would be in a class of such varied ability and expectations he would gain nothing and the level of teaching is dumbed down to the lowest level.
This is honesty from the teachers( good teachers ) I know well and I'm grateful to them for being honest with me.

I took that advice and DS isn't doing GCSE drama.

[riverdancefan]

I would also add that often, the students who have a scathing attitude towards school based Drama and think they are above their peers, are in fact not as talented as they think they are and lack the discipline that school based Drama requires. I'm not saying this applies to the OP, but it is fairly commonplace.

Talking of sweeping statements.....I pretty much think the above is rather sweeping, my DS in no way thinks he's above his peers, and neither do I , I simply believe he is at a level where he would not benefit from drama GCSE and time is too precious to waste rejecting another GCSE in favour of it.

[Brighterthanstars]

Thanks for all the replies! I hope I haven't stirred up anything

From a students point of view, I love drama in school. I can see how it hardly reflects acting as a career, but for me it's some sort of creative outlet when you're bogged down with tons of academic exams! In gcse years (in my school anyway) people are generally pretty serious about drama and our teachers are very good.

Most of the people I know do drama at gcse because they enjoy it. In my class there are only 2 or 3 of us who definitely want to be professional actors, and we all do youth theatres aswell.
Drama teaches us things that are applicable to all areas of life and I think it's very useful in that sense, hence why so many people take it that don't want to take up acting as a career.

With that in mind, they therefore have to provide a course that will benefit every student. This is why we are assessed on teamwork and analysis so much. If it was solely based on acting I think that it would be less appealing to many students.

Then again I do think that some of the drama in school benefits actors because part of being an actor is being able to analyse text and medium.

I don't know where I'm going with this; I just wanted to shed some light on drama in school as a student who actually has experienced drama lessons in school.

No hate!

[riverdancefan]

^^very sensible and engaging post

[alwaystryingmybest]

Thought I'd add in my 2 cents, again from a students perspective, although I can only comment on Scotland's equivalent qualifications. For me, studying drama at N5 (GCSE level) and higher (as level) while not being greatly beneficial to my acting, I learnt a lot about technical theatre and design. Also my comphrension skills have improved loads from studying drama benefitting me in most of my other subjects. I'm not sure if this is the case where you are, but where I live it is only the pupils who are serious about theatre who take drama as for most you have to travel to a different school to take the subject, obviously putting off many who are not prepared to commit to extra periods and long journeys (90 minutes each way via 3 different buses for me) so there are usually only a couple dedicated students from each school.

[paulears]

Northern Ireland also have better drama at Level 2 in schools - come to think of it, most of their school work is better, because they behave like our English schools were 20 years ago. Very strict, proper rules, no 'modern' treatment.

Drama is a mess about subject, for many of the kids in the groups. Streaming is common in many subjects, but less common in drama, as it is considered once of the 'fluffy' subjects. The redbrick universities still have their unofficial dislike of anything with 'studies' on the end, and this filters through, leading to big class sizes for drama. If anyone can suggest how to keep control of 30 mixed ability kids doing one of the work study areas in the "how to teach drama" text books practically every school follow as the bible, I'd be interested to hear it. A small room with maybe 6 groups of kids, all working on their own little bit of drama, all shouting and moving about is simply chaotic. You can teach history in a classroom, but drama in a classroom size space is awful - as a result progress is slow, and mind numbing for the ones who got it first time. Doesn't happen everywhere - but if parents saw how the kids really behave, they'd despair.

[Katymac]

Paul - that is exactly DD's experience of Drama

2 children 'chose' to do it the other 24 were put in that group; each were put in groups with under achievers with the more middle achievers in groups together to 'pull up' the other kids.

DD passed & started at vocational school doing MT 3 months later - so perhaps she isn't exactly awful at drama

[francescasmum]

Picking up on hat Paulears said. I have 3 children, 2 in their late 20s and one 12 year old. I noticed a massive difference in the way they were taught, so much so that I took youngest dd out of the education system to teach her myself.

[paulears]

That's interesting. I suspect that in most subjects, and I think I've done practically all of them now, a 'normal' person could do it pretty well, get so much more done and cover far, far more than the teaching to the specification that newly qualified teachers with few real life skills can do. If any of you have kids doing drama, ask them if they can bring a text book home. You find it full of 'tasks' - these are what the teachers get the kids to do, and some are useful, others are completely daft.

So much school work now is designed to be done in groups, and this, I feel, is where it falls down. Quality of work in a group is set by the weakest person. Quite how the strong ones can get the credit they deserve is beyond me when partnered with people who just don't want to do it. I even had one girl refuse to show the other groups what they had done, because she cannot do it in front of others. What is the point in having somebody in a group who cannot take part in the activity once other people watch? I've noticed many schools have drama clubs, and this is where the proper work is done - not in the normal classes.

[pg]

Brighter than stars - don't worry about having started a debate

There are bound to be differing opinions on an internet forum

You sound like a very thoughtful and intelligent student who is serious about a future career. This in itself is likely to be the best start!

Some GCSE teachers are wonderful, some less so - but GCSE drama and A level theatre studies were never designed to be *acting* training.
What you could learn during the lessons could be interesting and can help with your broader drama education, but I would recommend looking ahead to training at 18 plus on an accredited course. You can find lots of useful details on http://www.dramauk.co.uk

In the meantime, I would agree with many posters here that extra curricular drama (amateur dramatic societies and anything else you can find) will be more useful experience ( unless you are *very* lucky with your school ).

If you want a career as an adult actor, there is no *need* (though I understand the desire) to work professionally before training.

My ds went straight from school (with rather weak drama there when he was there) to drama school. He'd done lots of am dram, had formed his own theatre company with mates while at school and he attended a local Saturday club. He did no professional work to speak of.

Since graduating he has had lots of professional theatre work and is currently in the West End in "Oppenheimer".