DRAMATIC ARTS
GRADE 12
NSC PAST PAPERS AND MEMOS
SEPTEMBER 2017

GENERAL COMMENT FOR EXAMINERS/EDUCATORS: 

  1. Candidate must refer to the Dramatic Arts theory and contextualising within the play  studied. Full marks cannot be awarded unless the candidate shows an  understanding of the theories of the subject. The answers must be discipline  specific. Use What, Why and How with pointed references to examples in the text.
  2. Tick clearly to indicate the learning which is being assessed. Markers should  engage actively with the answers.
  3. Chief markers should facilitate the rubric with markers. The level descriptors of  Dramatic Arts must be used to guide the marking.
  4. Have regular rounds of consultation to ensure marking is standardised.
  5. In the case where a candidate writes more than the suggested number of words – do  not penalise (essay question).
  6. The answers in the marking guideline are a suggestion and do not offer all the  answers for a question. Markers should take this into account and be open to  candidate’s responses and make sure that different teaching styles do not  disadvantage the learner.
  7. Spend the first day to unpack the quality and quantity of the evidence in the marking  guideline and standardise and find common definitions and concepts.
  8. Markers to align Broad Topics and Topics with the questions.
  9. The suggested answers are often beyond what most candidates at Grade 12 level  can manage and should be regarded as a learning tool for markers.

MEMORANDUM 

SECTION A: 20TH CENTURY THEATRE MOVEMENTS (-ISMS)
This question is COMPULSORY. 
QUESTION 1: 20TH CENTURY THEATRE MOVEMENTS (-ISM) 
The candidate must answer this question in the form of an essay and use the play  text he/she has studied as an example. Theatre of the Absurd, Epic Theatre OR  Postmodern Theatre. 
Candidate should choose any THREE of the sub topics suggested in the question. 
The essays should be marked using the rubric grid and the notes provided below.  Take into consideration the candidates’ approach to the topic. Motivated, original  answers that show insight should be given credit.

CATEGORY

MARKS

DESCRIPTOR

OUTSTANDING
METACOGNITIVE
KNOWLEDGE
CREATIVE

27-30
90-100
A+

  • Thinking process: Adapts factual, conceptual, procedural and meta-cognitive knowledge in the question, source and integrates the demands of the  question. Quotes in a differentiated, interpretative, creative and original manner.
  • Evaluates examples in the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within an expansive range of insightfully chosen  theoretical, practical and aesthetic content.
  • Designs and creates an argument in a new and unique pattern that proposes reflexive creative, critical and analytical thinking.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates an ability to create, reorganize, synthesize, discover, renew, change, elaborate, and improve.

EXCELLENT
METACOGNITIVE
KNOWLEDGE
EVALUATE

24-26
80-89
A

  • Thinking process: Appraises factual, conceptual, procedural and meta-cognitive knowledge in the question, source and content and integrates the  demands of the question. Quotes in a differentiated, interpretative and interesting manner.
  • Appraises/Assesses examples in the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within a significant range of appropriately  chosen theoretical, practical and aesthetic content.
  • Compiles an argument in an interesting pattern that proposes reflective critical and analytical thinking.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates ability to judge, critique, recommend, report, evaluate, predict, invent, and propose.

MERITORIOUS
PROCEDURAL
KNOWLEDGE
ANALYSE

21-23
70-79
B

  • Thinking process: Analyses, distinguishes and explores factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge in the question, source and the content and  integrates the demands of the question. Quotes in a differentiated and interpretative manner. 
  • Analyses/Dissects examples in the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within a broad range of appropriately chosen  theoretical, practical and aesthetic content.
  • Compiles an argument that proposes critical and analytical thinking.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates and ability to analyse, infer, deconstruct concepts, interrelate, attribute, discover.

SUBSTANTIAL
PROCEDURAL KNOWLEDGE
APPLY

18-20
60-69
C

  • Thinking process: Analyses and distinguishes factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge in the question, source and content and integrates the  demands of the question. Quotes in an organised, differentiated and interpretative manner.
  • Integrates examples from the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within a wide range of appropriately chosen theoretical,  practical and aesthetic content.
  • Provides an argument that proposes critical and analytical thinking.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates an ability to apply, construct, integrate, simulate.

ADEQUATE
CONCEPTUAL 
KNOWLEDGE
UNDERSTAND

15-17
50-59
D

  • Thinking process: Explains, interprets and rephrases factual and conceptual knowledge in the question and source and content and integrates the  demands of the question. Quotes in a differentiated manner.
  • Interprets examples in the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within a general range of theoretical, practical and  aesthetic content. Predictable.
  • Provides an argument that proposes analytical thinking.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates an ability to interpret, infer, exemplify, classify, summarise, compare and explain.

CATEGORYC

MARKS

DESCRIPTOR

MODERATE
CONCEPTUAL
KNOWLEDGE
UNDERSTAND

12-14
40-49
E

  • Thinking process: Explains and interprets factual and conceptual knowledge in the question, source and content and integrates the demands of the  question and quotes in a differentiated manner.
  • Explains examples in the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within a predictable range of theoretical, practical and  aesthetic content.
  • Writes an explanation within a range of predictable/general thinking processes.
  • Demonstrates the ability to interpret, infer, exemplify, classify, summarise, compare, and explain.

ELEMENTARY
FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE
REMEMBER

10-11
30-39
F

  • Thinking process: Defines and applies knowledge from memory and integrates the demands for the question. Quotes in an  uncomplicated/straightforward and fundamental manner.
  • Selects examples in the play text, the theatre movement and other additional sources within a narrow range of theoretical and aesthetic content.
  • Writes an explanation within a range of predictable thinking processes.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates an elementary ability to problem solve, identify, list relate, and define.

NOT ACHIEVED 
FACTUAL 
KNOWLEDGE 
REMEMBER

1-10
20-29
G

  • Thinking process: Remembers and applies disjointed/irrelevant knowledge. Demonstrates limited to basic ability to solve the demands of the  question.
  • Chooses examples from the play text, the theatre movement and other sources.
  • Writes an explanation within a basic range of thinking processes that is decontextualized.
  • Cognitive level: Demonstrates a limited ability to identify, list, relate, define, interpret, and differentiate.

NOT ACHIEVED 
FACTUAL 
KNOWLEDGE 
REMEMBER

0
H

  • Demonstrates no understanding of the question or source, unable to write an essay, provides no examples from the play text or the theatre movement. OR
  • Presents a few facts, unrelated to the question. OR
  • Unable to identify, list, relate, define. OR
  • Presents memorized information and content that does not answer the question

The following are notes based on the conventions of the 20th century theatre  movements. Candidate has to show this knowledge in their response regarding the  instructions of the question. This knowledge must also be demonstrated in relation  to the text of study as prescribed by the Department of Education. 
EPIC THEATRE 
Along with Constantin Stanislavski, Bertolt Brecht was one of the two most influential  figures of 20th century theatre and the most significant practitioner since  World War II. Brecht’s theories for the stage, including his well-known epic theatre  form and distancing techniques, made him a force to be reckoned with. 
Although it is well documented Brecht had a team of workers around him to ease the  load, his creative output was nothing short of prolific. He was a theorist, poet,  playwright of over fifty plays, an essayist, and above all a practitioner who  painstakingly applied his theories to the works of one of the great theatre companies  of the world, the Berliner Ensemble. 
Unlike Grotowski, Brecht preferred to demonstrate his concepts for epic theatre in  performances instead of acting exercises. Unlike Artaud, Brecht’s ideas were  concrete and translatable for actors for generations to come. A staunch Marxist,  Brecht’s plays often had a political and social message for those viewing them.  Accordingly, his works included songs that drummed home the message of the play,  storytellers and narrators, projection, placards, and actors directly addressing the  audience. 
THEORY 

  • Brecht loathed the theatre of realism
  • He likened the realistic theatre to the effects of a drug, in that a realistic  performance pacified its audience
  • Brecht’s plays were didactic and aimed to teach or instruct their audience ∙ Brecht used the term ‘Lehrstück’, meaning ‘learning-play’. Social activist theatre  wanting the spectators to make change in their own world outside the theatre  walls
  • In 1926 Brecht embraced Marxism and his theatre techniques after this point  served his Marxist beliefs
  • Brecht’s umbrella title for a range of non-realistic techniques is  ‘verfremdungseffekt’
  • Verfremdungseffekt, or V-effekt (German)/A-effect (English), short for ‘alienation effect’ misleadingly translated over the decades as ‘distancing effect’ recent and  more accepted translation is ‘to make the familiar, strange’ or ‘estrangement’ 
  • Epic’ borrowed from the great poems of literature (The Iliad, The Odyssey, The  Mahabharata, Ramayana)
  • Brecht was influenced by (German) expressionism and had an interest in the  cabaret scene in Berlin

FORM 

  • Brecht’s form of theatre was known as ‘epic theatre’, most likely coined by  collaborator, Erwin Piscator.
  • Some scholars argue the term ‘epic theatre’ was already in use in European  experimental theatre
  • Epic plays employed a large narrative (as opposed to a smaller plot), spanning  many locations and time frame
  • Brecht called scenes ‘episodes’, with each scene being relatively self-contained  in the story
  • Epic plays used non-linear, fractured plots, where the events of an episode were  not necessarily a result of the preceding episode
  • This juxtaposition of scenes employing multiple locations and time frames  created a montage effect
  • He used his acting troupe at the Berliner Ensemble to perfect his theories on  acting and the theatre
  • Focus was always on the society being presented in the play, not individual  characters
  • Events in plays were sometimes told from the viewpoint of a single storyteller  (alienation device)
  • Brecht wrote his plays with no act or scene divisions; these were added later
  • Long scenes told the main events of the story and were interspersed with  occasional short(er) scenes 
  • Short(er) scenes normally involved parables, used to emotionally detach the  audience marginally
  • Parable scenes often involved the use of song, an alienation device employed by  Brecht to help deliver the (Marxist) message of the play
  • ‘Historification’/’Historicisation’ was a Brecht term defining the technique of  setting the action of a play in the past to draw parallels with contemporary events
  • ‘Historification’/’Historicisation’ enabled spectators to view the events of the play  with emotional detachment and garner a thinking response
  • Brecht crushed Aristotle’s model of the three unites of time, place and action (one  location, single day) 

MOVEMENT AND GESTURES 

  • Mix of realistic and non-realistic movement
  • Movement was at times graceful, but at other times forceful
  • Brecht used the Latin word ‘gestus’ to describe both individual gestures and  whole body postures
  • Character gestus denoted one’s social attitude and human relationships with  others (linked to Marxist principles)
  • Some Oriental gesture used (Brecht’s influence of a Balinese dance showing)
  • Groups of characters often positioned on the stage for functional and not  aesthetic reasons
  • Characters grouped according to their social relationships in the play (Marxist)

SPACE AND ACTOR AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIP 

  • Brecht’s plays were performed in traditional proscenium arch theatre houses
  • However, the stage curtain was often dispensed with or a half curtain used  instead of a full one
  • Brecht preferred to call the audience ‘spectators’
  • Direct address by actors/characters to audience was a strong and  unconventional technique used by performers
  • Direct address broke the (invisible) ‘fourth wall’ and crushed traditional  realistic/naturalistic conventions 
  • The narrator was a common figure in Brechtian dramas (Brecht was probably the  father of the modern narrator) 

STAGECRAFT 

  • Costume was not individually identifiable e.g. the farmer’s costume represented  ‘a (typical) farmer’
  • Costume was sometimes incomplete and fragmentary e.g. tie and briefcase for  the businessman
  • Costume often denoted the character’s role or function in society (plus  wealth/class)
  • Sets were sometimes non-existent or fragmentary (either partial sets or one  object representing many of the same)
  • At other times sets were industrial e.g. ramps, treadmills (influence of  Meyerhold’s constructivist set design)
  • Some makeup and mask use, but non-realistic and ‘theatrical’ e.g. grotesque  and/or caricatured
  • Makeup and costume used to depict a character’s social role in the play, not that  of his/her everyday appearance
  • Signs/placards used to show audience a range of information
  • Screen projection used to reinforce play’s theme/s (to garner an intellectual  response, not emotional)
  • Open white light only (as colour would generate an emotional response from the  audience)
  • If the house lights were left on during a performance, open white light also  allowed for the spectators and performers to share a single same-lit space
  • Lighting instruments in full view of audience (no attempt to hide them, but rather  remind the audience they were watching a play)
  • Music and song used to express the play’s themes independent of the main  spoken text in the play (in parable scenes)
  • Music was used to neutralise emotion, rather than intensify it (opposite to a  modern-day musical) 

ACTING AND CHARACTERISATION 

  • Actor was never to fully become the character, as in the realistic/naturalistic  theatre
  • Actor was asked to demonstrate the character at arm’s length with a sense of  detachment
  • Often characters tended to be somewhat oversimplified and stereotyped yet  other characters were sometimes complex historical, real-life characters in some  Brecht plays some (but not all) character names were generic e.g. the worker,  the peasant, the teacher
  • Mix of presentational and representational acting modes

ABSURD THEATRE 
The theatre of the absurd was a short-lived yet significant theatrical movement,  centred in Paris in the 1950s. Unusual in this instance was the absence of a single  practitioner spearheading the form. Largely based on the philosophy of  existentialism, absurdism was implemented by a small number of European  playwrights. Common elements included illogical plots inhabited by characters who  appeared out of harmony with their own existence. The typical playgoer had never  seen anything like this on the stage before. The theatre of the absurd will be  remembered in history for many things, the most significant of these being Samuel  Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting for Godot, one of the great plays of the 20th century.  Absurdism is commonly studied in senior high school and university drama and  theatre courses. Below are the main conventions of the theatre of the absurd. 

BACKGROUND 

  • NOT a conscious movement
  • EXPONENTS of the form were a disconnected group of playwrights
  • THE term theatre of the absurd was first coined by scholar Martin Esslin in his  1961 text The Theatre of the Absurd
  • TRUE absurdist playwrights are few in number: Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco  and Jean Genet (with some scholars including Arthur Adamov)
  • OTHER playwrights whose selected works have been labelled absurdist by  others include Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, Tom Stoppard, Fernando Arrabal,  and Peter Weiss (though most deny the label of absurdist playwright) 
  • THE beginnings of absurdism lie in avant-garde experiments of the 1920s and  30s, while some argue absurdist elements exist in plays such as Alfred Jarry’s  Ubu Roi (1896) and even in ancient Greek dramas 

THEORY 

  • THEATRE of the absurd is otherwise referred to as absurdism ∙ ABSURD originally means ‘out of harmony’ (in a musical context) – its meaning  in the theatre of the absurd is different to the everyday meaning of the word as  ‘ridiculous’
  • ABSURD in the context of absurdism can mean:
    • Without purpose
    • Illogical
    • Out of harmony
    • Useless
    • Devoid of reason
    • Meaningless 
    • Hopeless
    • Chaotic
    • Lacking order
    • Uncertain
  • LYING in the background to absurdism is the notion of existentialism
  • EXISTENTIALIST philosophers who influenced absurdist playwrights were  Frenchmen Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) and Albert Camus (1913–1960) – both also playwrights themselves
  • Existentialism refers to a particular view of the nature of man’s existence. The  existentialist believes that man starts life with nothing. His life is made up of acts;  through the process of acting man becomes conscious of his original  nothingness. By choosing to act, man passes into the arena of human  responsibility which makes him the creator of his own existence. However, the  existence inevitably ends with death. Man returns to his original state of  nothingness. This existential notion eliminates the Western concept of man’s  exalted nature. Life becomes meaningless and useless – a condition which is in  essence ‘absurd’. Man’s only freedom in this condition is the exercise of his  conscious mind. However, consciousness means conflict – between man’s  awareness of the absurdity of his existence and his need for justification of his  human action. (J.L. Crawford: Acting In Person and in Style)
  • THE atrocities of World War II are considered influential events to the movement,  highlighting the precariousness of human existence
  • Sartre denied the existence of a God, seeing humans with no choice but to  create their own standards and moral code in life (instead of accepting standards  offered by the Church, the State, or society)
  • Camus’ book-length essay The Myth of Sisyphus sees Sisyphus endlessly  pushing a boulder to the top of a mountain, only to see it roll to the bottom again  – this futile labour is an analogy for man’s meaningless existence, a quality seen  in many characters and plots of absurdist plays
  • For Camus, the legendary figure of Sisyphus was the prototype of an ‘absurd’  hero, condemned by the gods forever to roll a rock to the top of a mountain, only  to have it roll back down again by its own weight. He represented the epitome of  futile labour and pointless existence. Although Camus denied any connection  with Sartre’s existentialism, the book (Sartre’s The Myth of Sisyphus) became a  manifesto for the new existentialist drama, and later for the theatre of the absurd.  In it, Camus asserted that it was legitimate and necessary to wonder whether life  had any meaning. He described how man felt himself to be a stranger in an alien  world, and believed that this divorce between man and life was properly  ‘le sentiment de l’absurdite’, the feeling of absurdity 

PLOT AND STRUCTURE 

  • Anti-realistic, going against many of the accepted norms of conventional theatre
  • Labelled by some critics as ‘anti-theatre’
  • Often characterised by a deliberate absence of the cause and effect relationship  between scenes
  • Non-linear plot developments, sometimes cyclical – ending where they began
  • Occasionally appearing as though there is no plot at all to speak of deliberate  lack of conflict

ACTING AND CHARACTERISATION 

  • Both presentational and representational modes of acting 
  • Sometimes stereotypical
  • Often an absence of character development
  • Absurd characters lack the motivation found in characters of realistic dramas,  highlighting their purposelessness
  • Time, place and identity are frequently blurred with characters often unsure about  who or where they are
  • Characters are often out of harmony or out of sync with the world in which they  live 

MOVEMENT 

  • Mixture of realistic and non-realistic
  • Elements of circus, vaudeville and acrobatics
  • Ritualistic
  • Slow
  • Illogical
  • Repetitive
  • Action sometimes defies logic or easy understanding
  • The absurdists, while for the most part accepting Sartre’s philosophical outlook,  tended to concentrate upon the irrationality of human experience without  suggesting any path beyond. By employing a succession of episodes unified  merely by theme or mood instead of a cause-to-effect arrangement, they arrived  at a structure paralleling the chaos which was their usual dramatic subject. The  sense of absurdity was heightened by the juxtaposition of incongruous events  producing seriocomic and ironic effects
  • One extreme to the other without notice
  • Often sombre and serious, then highly comical 

DIALOGUE 

  • Language was devalued as a communication tool (unreliable and distrusted)
  • Often illogical
  • Sometimes telegraphic and clipped
  • Long pauses 
  • Clichéd
  • Repetitive
  • Rhythmical
  • Frequent use of silence
  • Monotone
  • Slow dialogue sometimes accompanied by a frenzied, fast-paced monologue  (extremes) 

STAGECRAFT 
Often simple and minimalist use of stagecraft 
Barren set pieces barely denoting a location (e.g. a tree and a country road in  Waiting for Godot)

POSTMODERN THEATRE 
Postmodern Western theatre responds to the multi-cultural, ironic, cynical, and  chaotic social, political, philosophical and artistic developments of the last quarter of  the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. It does not view the world  as an absurd, meaningless place of existence teetering on the edge of absolute  destruction, but rather as a place where meaning and truth are relative and subject  to different understandings and interpretations. In this world, the apocalypse has  already occurred. Postmodern theatre suggests that existence can only be properly  conceptualised by living and thinking outside the standard dynamics of human  relations and perceptions of space and time. 
The playwrights and directors Tom Stoppard, David Mamet, Sam Shepard and Eric  Bogosian are considered the most popular and prominent practitioners of  Postmodern Western theatre. Tom Stoppard’s meta-fictional plays often offer  pastiches of different literary and historical sources in order to provide a new  perspective on seemingly disparate ideas and historical events. David Mamet’s  plays tend to focus on the ways in which people relate to, assault, and manipulate  one another through language and the complicated dynamics that exist between  different genders, ideologies, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and social classes.  Meanwhile, Sam Shepard’s plays tend to examine clashes between different  generations and social classes and the subtleties of communication and meaning  that exists within the American language. Eric Bogosian’s decidedly self-conscious  plays consider influence of mass media on postmodern American life and the social  effects of resisting conformity to social norms and standards of behaviour. 
Contemporary drama critics debate when the Postmodern age of Western theatre  can be said to have begun. Some critics argue that Postmodern theatre began with  Samuel Beckett, while others argue that Beckett’s plays represent the ultimate  conclusion of the Modern theatrical movement. While these debates continue, it is  generally accepted that the Western world remains in the midst of the age of  Postmodern theatre. 
Postmodern Western theatre serves, mainly, to attack and deconstructs (takes  apart) a number of the central ideas often presented in Modernist theatrical  productions while highlighting the Postmodern notion of ‘truth’ as ultimately unverifiable. It suggests that it is up to the audience to decide what is and is not  ‘true’ in terms of the drama being presented on the stage. 
It is generally accepted that the Western world remains in the midst of the age of  Postmodern theatre. 

  • It is hard to fix it in time or space, because it is not clear exactly when  Modernism ends or Postmodernism begins. 
  • The movement of Postmodernism began with architecture, as a reactionary  movement against the seeming dullness and hostility present in the Modern  movement. 

Postmodern Western theatre responds to the multi-cultural, ironic, cynical, and  chaotic social, political, philosophical and artistic developments of the last quarter of  the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. It does not view the world  as an absurd, meaningless place of existence on the edge of destruction, but rather as a place where meaning and truth are relative and subject to different  understandings and interpretations. 

CHARACTERISTICS 

  • The accepted norms of seeing and representing the world are challenged and  disregarded
  • A pastiche of different texts and media forms is used, including the simultaneous  use of multiple art or media forms
  • The narrative needs not be complete but can be broken. Uses non-linear  storytelling conventions. A postmodern play proceeds in almost any order the  playwright wishes to construct, and such time warping no longer seems  surprising
  • Characters are fragmented
  • Each new performance of a theatrical piece is a new Gestalt, a unique spectacle
  • The audience is central to the shared meaning making of the performance  process and its members are included in the dialogue of the play.
  • The production exists only in the viewer’s mind as what the viewer interprets – nothing more and nothing less. Acknowledgement of a play’s fictionality
  • The rehearsal process in a theatrical production is driven more by shared  meaning-making and improvisation, rather than the scripted text
  • The play steps back from reality to create its own self-conscious atmosphere.  This is sometimes referred to as meta-theatre
  • Radical experimentations in language and thought
  • The abandonment of any attempt to replicate reality
  • The deliberate combination of wild humour with terrible tragedy
  • A postmodern play proceeds in almost any order the playwright wishes to  construct, and such time warping
  • An audience can expect cross-association and is able to keep several ideas  and chronologies in mind at the same time, blending them into a satisfying  dramatic experience 

STYLISTIC ELEMENTS 
Objective is to bring attention to the medium and message. Not random and  arbitrary but sophisticated rationale/thinking for choices. 

  • Design – no prescribed rules on how it should look e.g. sergeant could use cup  that look like a gun from which he drinks. 
  • Setting – use architecture of existing spaces and buildings as context for  performance
  • Costume – does not have to reflect an era that is presented- it could be defied,  an interpretation (sergeant doesn’t have to wear stereotypical costume but a  medal could signify his status, wearing underpants could show his vulnerability ∙ Lighting – multi-media
  • Use of language – several genres from tragic to comic, from Elisabethan to rap  in the same performance. Inter-textual, may have beginning, middle and end but  not necessarily in that order
  • Characterisation – it could be deliberate cross-gender casting

STAGING 
Actors played scenery and props, and played themselves using story and character  merely as vehicles for direct interactions with audiences. 

  • De-familiarising the familiar: Rejected conventional notions of where theatre  should be presented. It could be in restaurants, in a restroom, in an abandoned  railway station, etc.
  • Set: It is no longer in a building
  • site-created e.g. at a cemetery and create play using gravestone, epitaphs,  existing landscape, etc. to create performance
  • site-specific – rehearse performance and perform in venue different to rehearsal  space
  • Performance, instead of conventional presenting of lines, could be done as rap
  • Character, time, space does not have to be from same era. Can be pastiche  (collage) of different streams 

TOTAL SECTION A: 30

SECTION B: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE (1960–1994) 
QUESTION 2: WOZA ALBERT! BY BARNEY SIMONS, PERCY MTWA AND  MBONGENI NGEMA 
2.1
2.1.1 Candidate may discuss any TWO styles evident in the play Woza  Albert! As discussed in class. The following are the possible styles  evident in the play: 

Jerzy Grotowski’s Poor Theatre:  
Martin Esslin’s Theatre the Absurd: 
Or Bertolt Brecht’s Epic Theatre: 

Award ONE mark for the style and ONE mark for the correct name of  the practitioner. (4) 
2.1.2 The following are suggestions regarding how the styles mentioned in  QUESTION 2.1.1 have been applied in the play Woza Albert! 

Poor Theatre:

In the play Woza Albert! Poor Theatre techniques are applied in the total  presentation of the production. The actors act as the centre of all action.  They used very little props for multifunctional purposes. The clothing rail is  used to hang costumes through which the actors ‘transformed’ into many  different characters. Some objects are used symbolically, such as the pink  nose. The actors used their own voices to transform from character to  character. The actors uses their bodies to create images such as the totem in  the beginning of the play. Actors uses their bodies as musical instruments as  seen in the scene with the jazz band and the guitarist, etc.

Theatre  of the  Absurd:

The style of Theatre of the Absurd is evident mostly in subject matter and the  themes of the play. The waiting for Morena and the false hope implied by  this. The characters actions are repetitive and there’s a sense of continuous  search for purpose in the process of waiting. The lack of trust in the Calvinist  theories and the implication that it does not serve everybody as suggested in  the theology itself. The hopelessness for change through which many of the  characters are constantly wasting time while looking forward to it. 

Epic  Theatre

Epic theatre is mostly evident in the way the play is structures, according to  scenes with different challenges and the oblivious use of the names  Mbongeni and Percy instead of the actual characters. This alienation in the  text is seen through the fact that the actors do not adopt the character names  instead their use their own names. Because Woza Albert! has an agenda  driving the thought of the play; the propaganda or agitprop in this regard,  satisfies Brecht’s efforts to make theatre a medium for discussion and  audience mobilisation instead of the fantasy of illusion, etc.

Candidate may not be able to generate the same kind of thinking in  their response as the above, however, mark holistically and assess on  the basis of fact and consideration there-above. Award five marks per  style, well explained and examples thereof. (10)
2.1.3 The socio-political context of the play has to do with the life of the  society during a certain era as well as their political situation. The  following is an example in relation to Woza Albert! Consider this as  the basis of candidates’ response. 

  • Woza Albert! is regarded as South Africa’s finest example of social  theatre, and the collaboration between Ngema and Mtwa, two  black playwrights, and Simon, a white producer, was a significant  relationship that crossed the colour barrier. Theatre served as a  vehicle for educating white audiences about the horrors of  apartheid and became a vehicle for black self-expression during  this period when other, more direct forms of social criticism were  banned.
  • The play also provides different interpretations of the functions of  policemen serving the white South African government. 
  • Mandela’s release from prison
  • The struggle to find jobs in the city
  • Homelessness
  • Labour related issues or unfair treatment of employees by the  employers
  • Overpopulation and desperation in the cities for the sake of a  better life
  • The question of unfair political stance as stipulated in the law of  governance
  • The play generally addresses oppression, labour, survival,  separation of families between South African homelands and the  cities, poverty and homelessness, police brutality, and political  imprisonment
  • The need for South African black leaders in Apartheid South Africa
    Candidate may mention the above with examples from the play to  support their statements. ONE mark for the socio-political issue  mentioned and ONE mark for giving an example. (6)

2.2 Consider the following in candidates’ response: 
Protest can be defined as a moment where a person or a group of people  show disapproval for an unacceptable practice. The simplest form of informal  Protest Theatre can be one person lodging a complaint to another, where the  other person has the ability to intervene. It has most of the times been  referred to as Agit-prop, stands for Agitation and Propaganda. 
There are many instances in the play, especially, in the thematic structure of  the play where protest is being demonstrated. The characters are trapped in  the unfortunate situation in effect to the political situation of the time. Absence  of proper education, seen in the character of the barber, unbearable working  conditions at Coronation Brickyard, the space restrictions, small businesses,  uprising against the Calvinistic thinking, police brutality, etc. These stand at  the core of the big complaint that is launched by this production done in a  performance jam packed with protest energy. The audiences are  metaphorically summoned to rise against these problems and solve them head on through the symbolism of Albert Luthuli. They are figuratively  reminded of the revolutionary ethics of the Lilian Ngoyis and Albert Luthulii so  that they can be inspired to find strength in themselves to move forward and  be mobilised to take action against the backdrop of Apartheid South Africa. 
Consider candidates’ knowledge of the theatre term ‘protest’ and award marks  for identifying at least FOUR events in the play that are an example of this  kind of theatre. (8) 
2.3
2.3.1 Multi-functional props are props that can be used for many reasons  than one in a performance. The uses may vary from using the same  prop for literal use and even for symbolic purposes. Many  presentations use props for many functions than the actual role for  which the prop may be literally used. They use props to transform  roles, environment, time, mood and for the imagery of a performance  in total. 
In Woza Albert! the tea chests are used in many ways. The following  are some ways the tea chests has been used for many functions: 

  • As the seats on a train
  • As the stalls in the street-vendor scene
  • As a chair for the barber
  • As a dustbin in the Aunt Dudu scene
  • As symbols of history of oppression by referring to colonialism (export  of tea by British), etc. 

Consider candidates response along these lines. (2) 
2.3.2 In Woza Albert! the performance technique applied in the  performance of the text is Poor Theatre as explained in the account of  how the collaborators came up with the play. The performance style  focuses on the technique of multi-functional props as stipulated in the  conventions thereof. 
The black boxes are used to portray the train, the jazz band stand, the  pink nose, the clothing rail to put up all the costumes for multi-roles. 
Award marks for the understanding of multi-functionality as portrayed  in the play. (6) 
2.3.3 Candidate either agrees or disagrees with the question. Award TWO marks per reason provided by candidate. (4)

[40] 

OR
QUESTION 3: SOPHIATOWN BY JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY 
3.1 The following are the common differences between Township Musical and  Community Theatre: 

Township Musical 

Community Theatre

Usually involves some trained  cast and crew. Ginson Kente  used to train his actors to be  able to perform the style.

Usually done by amateurs and maybe one  or two people who have learnt about  drama.

Theatre mostly showcases the  urban lifestyle of the township  communities

Works with the community to create a  platform for development

The themes of a township  musical include historical, social,  political and cultural aspects of  township life

The themes are usually concerned with  community issues such as drug abuse,  crime, HIV/Aids, poverty and they mostly  do not entertain political issues

Consider candidates’ understanding of the difference between the two, any  TWO relevant distinctions between the two must be awarded TWO marks per  difference discussed. (4) 
3.2 Sophiatown is a Township musical. For instance: 

  • In a township musical there is usually a reflection of urban township  lifestyle that include vibrant scenes and an illicit drinking spots (shebeens)  like Mamaritil’s Diamond Shebeen where the rest of the production is set.
  • There are usually pennywhistle players, a capellla singing and traditional  mbaqanga music, as well as a mixture of jazz and the blues styles. In  Sophiatown the characters usually engage in song and dance in a jazz  style and their form of entertainment is to go and listen to the blues of  Mariam Makeba and Dolly Rathebe and the jazz of Dollar Brand (Abdullah  Ibrahim) and bro Hugh Masikela, etc.
  • The themes of a township musical include historical, social, political and  cultural aspects of township life. In Sophiatown we see this in the themes  of political nature of the time, the forced removals, the way the people  used to live, free-hold suburban lifestyle under the roof of Mamariti, the  gangs and the chinaman, the gong and the culture of music, bioscope,  literature and dance.
  • The costumes are mostly reflective of the American styles like in  Sophiatown, the labels that Mingus and Charlie always wear and designer  suits, hats and shoes that they always brag about. 

Award ONE mark to candidate for explaining the township musical element  and TWO marks for giving relevant examples from the play. Candidate must  at least discuss THREE conventions of township musical and give an example  for each to achieve full marks. (9)
3.3
3.3.1 Forced Removals (2)
3.3.2 Candidate will be awarded for correct details of ONE of the following: 
A ‘Blackspot’ was an area of land in which blacks lived in freehold in  what the National Government regarded as white South Africa. The  Blackspots were bought legally by blacks, either as individuals or as  groups, before apartheid legislation made it illegal to do so, and many  had been bought as far back as before the Union Government of  South Africa in 1910. 
Examples of Blackspots were Charlestown, Besterspruit and  

  • Kumalosville. In 1953 the black people of Charlestown were told  that they would have to move to Buffalo Flats, 40 miles away, and 18  miles from Newcastle, the nearest town. In 1963 people were forcibly  moved from Charlestown to another area, 6 miles from Newcastle,  called ‘Duck Ponds’. Their Charlestown houses were demolished,  and their goods were loaded onto lorries and moved to small  prefabricated huts. They were not allowed to take their livestock with  them. 
  • The Liberal Party of South Africa (LPSA) was involved in the fight  against these policies, particularly Peter Brown, whose involvement  led to the founding of the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA). 
  • And the people of District Six were moved to Khayelitsha and  Gugulethu 

Award a mark per event mentioned. (2) 
3.4 Internal conflict usually sees a troubled character, mostly the protagonist  suffering from inner turmoil. 

  • For instance: Jakes feels like he has been too much involved in writing about  boxing for Drum magazine and for that reason he feels like his creativity is  fading out into this repetitive style of journalism. He feels like he has not been  challenged a lot recently and thus wants to write about something different.  We see his character dealing with this issue from the beginning of the play  and this brings the inciting incidence of the play into action. He decides to  advertise on Drum magazine for a white lady to come and dwell in Softown  which becomes the point from which the plot of Sophiatown is triggered into a  different direction. 
    Consider this from candidates’ response even though it won’t be verbatim to  the guidelines above. (5) 

3.5 Candidate must demonstrate their understanding of theatre conventions as far  as Poor Theatre is concerned in their response. 
Candidate may agree or disagree for which and support their answer by  applying the conventions of drama and giving examples from the play. (10)
3.6 Award marks if candidate mentions the fact that Lulu is still a student  presented in uniform in the production. She is resistant against the education  system, Bantu Education, thus speaks on behalf of all the students in high  school at that time. She feels like the education system is not practical  enough to help her construct her life accordingly. This was a big issue in  apartheid South Africa and the climax of it all was the June 16 uprising in  Sharpeville. 
Award marks to candidate when they demonstrate the understanding of  history especially with regards to Bantu Education and how it was received by  the black youth of the time. (4) 
3.7 This is an open question and candidate has to be assessed on the  understanding of the value of drama to a community and is able to  substantiate their answer. 
Award marks for TWO well explained reasons. (4)

[40] 

OR 
QUESTION 4: SIENER IN DIE SUBURBS BY PG DU PLESSIS 
4.1 First, candidate has to demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the  concept: exposition 
For instance: 

  • Exposition is a literary device used to introduce background information about  events, settings, characters, etc. to the audience. Exposition can be  presented through a variety of other modes of drama like monologues,  dialogues, prologues, a protagonists thought or narrator’s explanation of past  events. In drama this can also be presented through the stage directions and  didascalia.
  • In this case of Siener in die Suburb assess if candidate knows and can  describe the setting of the play, the characters and the total environment of  the play and award marks in this regard; ONE mark for knowledge of concept  TWO marks for each example given in relevance to the play. (5) 

4.2 The following is a commonly held idea of what Archtype characters mean: 

  • A common character found in a play and considered to be universal across  most cultures. Examples of which can be found in the world around us every  day, in our speech, our beliefs, media, sports, psychology, art and even our  dreams.
    For example:
    • The hero: the character of Tjokkie
    • The mentor: Ma can be seen as the mentor even though she’s presented as  the powerless in the play
    • The ordinary guy: Fe
    • The innocent: Tiemie, Tjokkie
    • The villain: Jakes and Giel 

Award marks for knowledge of concept and TWO marks for valid examples  taken from the play. (5) 
4.3 Consider the following information: 
Traverse is a form of catwalk – though in its purest form it does not have the  stage and back wall area that a fashion catwalk has – the purest form of  traverse is illustrated below where you have the audience on two sides of the  stage. 
stage 

Siener in die Subrub is set up in a yard with a garage and a hint of the house.  The setting presents a realistic view of the environment of the play. The set  gives an impression of a peep into the lives of the characters as far as the  story is concerned. There’s a fourth wall made invisible and the audience are  taken on a journey to follow the everyday lives of these characters. This type  of presentation is usually suited for a performance on a proscenium arch  stage. The proscenium arch stage is convenient because it is organised such  that the audience is on the one side of the stage. Award marks to candidate  for their understanding and knowledge of the stage types and explaining how  the play fits to be performed or not performed on it. (5) 
4.4 Conflict generally occurs when a character cannot achieve an objective due to  an obstacle. This obstacle may be internal or external – between characters  or between characters and their environment. Conflict can be shown in a  variety of ways, for example through physical, verbal or psychological means.  Conflict can be embedded in the structure of the drama. (8)
4.5 The following are the basic functions of costume in drama: 

  • Defining Character – differences between characters must be clearly  visible to audience, even when other characters are confused. What does  an audience need to know?
  • Setting a character in time and space
  • Establish approximate age and gender of character
  • Establish rank or social status
  • Establish personality
  • Reflect changes – richer, poorer, older, injured, fatter, etc.
  • Supporting Theme, Concept, and Mood
  • Style – the manner or mode in which the costumes are created to best  interpret the mood and concept 

Consider the above in relation to Timmie’s character. Candidate needs to  understand the functions of costume in drama and have a clear knowledge of  the character of Timmie and use that knowledge to interpret the costume  suitable for her personality, status, aspirations in concern to the play. 
Mark holistically. (5)
4.6 Use the following rubric to assess candidates’ response. 

CATEGORY 

MARKS 

DESCRIPTOR

Good 

10–12

The candidate clearly understands the quotation and can  relate the play text and theatrical movement he/she has  studied to the quotation. The candidate is able to  construct an argument supporting the truth of the  quotation and uses concrete, specific examples from the  movement and play text. The candidate discusses a  minimum of three of the bullets and a maximum of five,  choosing suitable points from the bulleted list connecting  to the play text and movement he/she has studied.  He/she focuses on the different purposes of theatre and  clearly discusses how the play text studied is an example  of a particular motivation.

Average 

6–9

The candidate is able to describe the role of the director  through a concise giving of notes. Candidate shows  some knowledge of the character of Jakes. Candidate  demonstrate some knowledge of characterisation and  able to mention practitioners and any actor will be able to  somewhat follow them and use them as a guide to  characterisation.

Weak 

4–5

The candidate attempts to describe the role of the director  through a concise giving of notes. Candidate shows little  knowledge of the character of Jakes. Candidate  demonstrate very little knowledge of characterisation and  able to only mention a practitioner.

Not achieved 

0–3

The candidate is unable to describe the role of the  director through a concise giving of notes. Candidate  shows very little to nothing at all knowledge of the  character of Jakes. Candidate does not understand  characterisation and unable to mention practitioners  characterisation.

Consider candidates’ response with regards to the character of Jakes and  award marks as guided by the rubric to assess candidates’ answer. (12)

[40] 
TOTAL SECTION B: 40

SECTION C: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE POST-1994 
QUESTION 5: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH BY JOHN KANI 
5.1 Inciting incident may be referred to as the opening moment of a play that has  a narrative structure. This is an event that sets the plot of a play into the  direction of the themes of the play and brings about the central conflict of the  play. 
The inciting incident in the play Nothing but the Truth is generally believed to  be the very death of Themba, however, because this has already happened  when the play begins, it can be agreed that the arrival of Mandisa with the  ashes instead of the corpse is the inciting incident. 
From this point, the burial plans that Sipho is busy with in the exposition are  thrown into vanity. The tradition of funerals is challenged by the western  traditions. This arises some unresolved matters with the character of Sipho  also. The central idea of reconciliation, forgiveness and truth are seen in the  process and this couldn’t have happened if Mandisa had brought the corpse.  Now Sipho feels like all his efforts, from history also, have been falling on the  blind sight and no one has ever seen him do his duties as a big brother.
Award a mark for the understanding of what an inciting incident is, TWO marks for identifying the incident and TWO marks for giving the reason. (5) 
5.2
5.2.1 A box-set is a naturalistic setting of a complete room built from flats  with only the side nearest the audience missing. The fourth-wall  convention. A room with four walls and the invisible fourth wall for the  audience to peep in. (2) 
5.2.2 Consider the above definition of a box-set. The play is set such that  the audience can see only one room and hinted of the other rooms  through doors that are exits and entrances. The following is the  details of the setting of the play. 46 Madala Street, New Brighton. As the lights go up, we see the  township home of Sipho and Thando Makhaya. It consists of four  small rooms: a kitchen, lounge and two bedrooms. It is taken that the  bathroom is located outside the house, as with most township houses.  The house is only 7,2 metres by 3,6 metres and these dimensions are  accurately depicted on stage. The building is made out of ash blocks,  a common, cheap building material used in government funded  houses. All of this is informs us how the Thando and Sipho live, their economic status and the kind of community they live in. The small  house has a warm, intimate feel to it, well cared for. The books  suggest educated inhabitants. It also acquires this feeling by the  warm lighting used, and the way the actors move freely and  comfortably around the set, like one would in a place where they are  at home.
Candidate may not report verbatim to the above description, be  considerate of their understanding of box-set and explains it in terms  of the play Nothing but the Truth. (6) 
5.3 Thando is Sipho’s only daughter and only living child. She has grown up with  only her father to count on, because both her mother and brother left her in  their own ways at a young age. It is because of only ever having her father,  that Thando is greatly attached to him, and patient with him in all his  seemingly cold moods, when he is actually just cutting off his thoughts of the  past. For the most part of her life, Thando has grown up in a very different  world then her father did, and thus is also a very different person that her  father is. 
She has unresolved issues pertaining to her mother, she does not know what  happened to her mother and whether she is still alive or not. As a woman, a  great part of her still longs for the maternal figure in her life for the balance.  We see this in the scene where she and Mandisa are ‘cross-examining’ Sipho  and the shock she befell at the hands of the catharsis. 
She has identity issue: 

‘Oh yes, My mother, another mystery, not a word, not even a  letter from her. All I have is that picture of both of you in front of  the library in town. Nothing else. You think she is still alive’ 

Candidate must demonstrate understanding of character analysis and indicate  whether they understand the subtext in the speech of characters. (6) 
5.4 Mark this question holistically on the basis of candidate’s creativity.  Determine from the answer whether candidate is able to create a story with  the assumption given in the subtext of the play Nothing but the Truth and  award marks for this. 
Candidate should demonstrate their knowledge of the actual script and the  implications of the implied characters that are mentioned in the play; how  does the play view the characters of Themba and his relationship with  Mandisa. How would Themba’s presence affect the themes; would Sipho  confront Themba about these issues? Would Thando want to know the truth  about her biological mother and father, how would Mandisa look at her own  father at this point? Such questions should be considered by candidate and  the marker should assess with this in mind. (9)
5.5 Candidate may choose any scene from the play and show creativity in the  direction thereof. Use the following rubric to assess candidate’s answer. 

CATEGORY 

MARKS 

DESCRIPTOR

Good 

10–12

The candidate clearly understands the quotation and  can relate the play text and theatrical movement  he/she has studied to the quotation. The candidate  is able to construct an argument supporting the  truth of the quotation and uses concrete, specific  examples from the movement and play text. The  candidate discusses a minimum of three of the  bullets and a maximum of five, choosing suitable  points from the bulleted list connecting to the play  text and movement he/she has studied. He/she  focuses on the different purposes of theatre and  clearly discusses how the play text studied is an  example of a particular motivation.

Average 

6–9

The candidate is able to describe the role of the  director through a concise giving of notes.  Candidate shows some knowledge of the character  of Jakes. Candidate demonstrate some knowledge  of characterisation and able to mention practitioners  and any actor will be able to somewhat follow them  and use them as a guide to characterisation.

Weak 

4–5

The candidate attempts to describe the role of the  director through a concise giving of notes.  Candidate shows little knowledge of the character of  Jakes. Candidate demonstrate very little knowledge  of characterisation and able to only mention a  practitioner.

Not  

achieved 

0–3

The candidate is unable to describe the role of the  director through a concise giving of notes.  Candidate shows very little to nothing at all  knowledge of the character of Jakes. Candidate  does not understand characterisation and unable to  mention practitioners characterisation. 

(12) 
[40] 

OR
QUESTION 6: MISSING BY REZA DE WET 
6.1 The answer should be a ‘NO’ unless candidate demonstrates a very creative  writing and is suited to the choice they make. There must also be a clear  understanding of the conventions of poor theatre as well as that of realism. 
The following notes are details of the setting of Missing and markers must  consider this when they mark: 
The space as seen on the stage represents the kitchen of an extremely poky  house. It is clear from the costumes, furniture, coal stove, etc. that the drama  takes place in the early years. The little house is built with galvanised  corrugated iron. Doors give access to other parts of the house, for example  the passage door that leads to the rest of the house, like the bedrooms that  are often referred to. Then there is the backdoor that leads to the outside  (freedom), and the drop-door in the ceiling where the old man has been living  for many years (captivity). 
The above is suitable for a typical realist setting and should be set in those  conditions. Poor theatre requires, from its conventions, that the space is bare  and objects are used multi-functionally and actors do multi-rolling and use  their body to create the space and the props and set the environment, etc. (10) 
6.2
6.2.1 Consider the following information/guidelines and assess candidate  along that context. 
Women’s role in the conventional Afrikaner community has always  been that of a caregiver. 

  • An idealised image of the Afrikaner or Boer woman, the  volksmoeder, appeared for the first time in South African  historiography in the late nineteenth century.
  • In some studies the women featured more prominently than before  and they became the symbols of courage, ‘virtue, moral sensibility  and political independence’.
  • Some of the scholars also stressed their ‘racial superiority and  purity’, despite their isolation and contact with ‘wild barbarians’  (black, indigenous population).
  • In the late nineteenth century the Dutch Reformed Church used  these idealised notions of motherhood in their magazines to  encourage members to support missionary and philanthropic  efforts.
  • F.W. Reitz, former president of the Orange Free State, used  Theal’s portrayal of the Boer women in his defence of the Boer  republics on the eve of the South African War (1899–1902) and  during the war, Gen. J.C. Smuts referred to the heroism of the  Voortrekker women to inspire the men on the battle field.
  • After the war, the suffering of Afrikaner women in concentration  camps, their ‘heroism, patriotism and defiance of the British  enemy’, were used to augment this idealised image of women.
  • In this regard, the volksmoeder was in part based on the image of  idealised womanhood in nineteenth-century England, namely that her most important attributes were her ‘ability and willingness to  suffer and sacrifice for nation, husband and children’.
  • The portrayal of Afrikaner women differed from this ideal in that  unlike the ‘passivity, modesty and decorativeness’ encouraged in  the drawing-rooms of metropolitan England.
  • They were productive members of society and ‘far more the fellow  labourer and comrade of man, than are the masses of women in  nineteenth-century societies’.
  • Although this was a romanticised view, the active participation of  Afrikaner women in all spheres of society is well documented. 

The above notes may be used as guidelines and traces of this  knowledge should be found in the response by candidate. Consider  also the relevant examples in the play: 
How the women treat men (as in the relationship between the invalid, Gabriel, and the trust in the blind Konstabel), etc. (8) 
6.2.2 Consider the following, the female characters in the play are in terror  because of the events that had occurred in their environment of the  play. There is a strange thing that always happens when the circus is  in town and they are scared. They are trapped inside their own home  due their vulnerability. The presence of Konstabel brings some sense  of security because he is a man and he will protect them in the event  where something dangerous may happen. However, this is not the  case. 
The following is information regarding the character of Konstabel in  the play. Candidate may use this information in their response to  strengthen their thesis. 
He is mysterious – between 30 and 40 years old. He wears a police  uniform and, very strange for a constable, he is blind. This does not  make sense. Already we sense the presence of a strange, magical  element. He carries a stick and wears a pair of sunglasses. From the  bag he carries with him, he at a later stage produces his other  possession: an apple. During his metamorphosis as a clown, he does  not wear a shirt, and the jacket of the police uniform is upside-down.  He now resembles a court clown/fool or pierrot (a French clown  figure). Together with this ‘new’ costume, he can suddenly see again.  Note that he did not put on a different jacket, but that it is the same  one which he just turned upside-down. This creates the illusion of  two-in-one, and reflects the transformation. Important is the fact that  he is doing this in the presence of the audience. In doing so, each  member of the audience actually becomes part of the ‘conspiracy’. If  it were an entirely different jacket, it would not have had the same  effect, and it would definitely be detrimental to the drama if he put it  on somewhere else. As it is, the audience is involved in the dramatic  end.
Konstabel is not only secretive; he is also a manipulating and magical  character. He only reveals information about himself if he can use it  to manipulate others. Compare what he tells Gertie about ‘tant’  Hannie. He is aware of her sexual frustration, and to an extent he  liberates her from that frustration. He says he is only used in special  cases. This gives Miem a feeling of importance – to think that midst  their poverty they are ‘a special case’! To compensate for his  blindness, he is blessed with extraordinary well-developed sense  organs for smelling and hearing. About his origin he does not say  anything. They call him ‘snuf in die neus’ (wind of something).  Strange indeed, is the fact that Miem, who is always looking for a  villain behind each hill, does not get (‘snuf in die neus’) wind of  something. (Note the pun!) 
He tells Gertie of his experience with ‘tant’ Hannie, and accompanies  her verbally (by means of words/narration) in her fantasy play as  Hannie. At a later stage, as the clown opposite Meisie, he plays his  role completely and manipulates her within the situation without giving  much information about himself. 
Being remarkably sensitive for human weaknesses and hidden  conflicts within people, he exploits it. He manipulates the three with  his demonstration of a sharpened sense of smell by guessing each  one’s age and sexual status correctly. Meisie regards him as a  sensitive confessor to whom she can confess about her constrictive  existence and need for freedom. For him, this information comes in  handy at a later stage. 
As Konstabel, his uniform presents him as the one who protects. He  represents safety and order in the community, as well as sound  values. This image of him becomes ironic in the light of his actions at  a later stage and of his dual lifestyle: he manipulates Gertie with his  narration, and he accompanies Meisie out of the house to ‘bevry’  (liberate) her. This is directly opposing Miem’s exorcism of the evil  and Konstabel’s pretension to protect them. Significant is the fact that  he does not have a name. Therefore, he can be regarded as a  personalisation of all liberators who rescue others from oppression. 
In the ending, with his flamboyant gestures as a clown, he charms  (‘toor’) a miracle out of the dung when Meisie, as a symbol of the  budding flower growing from the manure, unfolds to mature growth. 
An apple is symbolic of seduction; therefore the apple in his bag is a  symbolic pre-indication that he is going to ‘seduce’ Meisie to leave the  house. 
Konstabel is also part of the incomprehensible mystical/mysterious  and irrational (non-intellectual) dark world. Compare his apparent  blindness and sunglasses, his narration of the solar eclipse and his  sharp vision late in the evening.
He brings inner-renaissance/change/conversion. He also represents  enlightenment amidst the sombre people with their oppressive fears  and beliefs. He penetrates into the dark world of the characters (for  them light – even if it is artificial lantern light) and brings light into it for  Meisie and, partially, for Gertie. 
With Konstabel, De Wet made provision for dramatic irony in the play.  The audience is aware that not all is in order, while the characters  trust him blindly. It creates suspense, and sometimes even comical  relief. (Compare Gertie who feels so humiliated when he rebukes her  when she wants to help him, or when he says that she has a ‘suur  reuk’. Even if the dancing points to her liberation, it still amuses the  audience. Compare for example the incident regarding the hair. This  also contributes to the development of some type of audience  sympathy with the constricted Gertie, who also longs to be beautiful  and popular.) (6) 
6.2.3 Consider the following notes regarding the character of Gertie and  place it in the context of the question: 
The themes of patriarchy versus matriarchy, however, the lyrics also  emphasises the presence of a solution and that is inter-dependency.  To emphasise that the men make the rules but in this event also they  need women for a certain kind of support. 
The irony of blindness, the three women have the eyes but have trust  in a blind person for the fact that he’s a man. Gabriel who does not  contribute, by virtue of manhood, is treated with the same kind of  respect because he is a man. However, underlying to this is the fact  that these men need these women too for a balanced life. 
Consider candidate’s understanding of the lyrics of the song and the  ability to identify events in the play to support their thesis. (8)
6.3 Candidate needs to consider the following regarding the character of Gertie  and place it in context to the question. 
She is a short, colourless, middle-aged little woman with a chignon. Her  clothes already tell us something about her character: hat (skew over one  eye) and wool overcoat. At a later stage we see the unsightly old vest she is  wearing. She is a spinster and physical training teacher. She is a friend of  Miem. 
The first impressions of her are that she is extremely conservative. From her  later behaviour, we learn that she is actually a suppressed and sexually  frustrated woman. Her obsession with PT, physical wellness and fresh air is  merely her bulwark to hide herself. Her sexually motivated fantasy play in the  role of Hannie, in which she performs the movements in a suggestive way,  shows an almost promiscuous person – just the opposite of the first  impressions! She is also part of the Calvinistic hypocrisy. She pretends to  hate the circus (Miem indeed expects her to do so, and one gets the  impression that she will do everything to please Miem), but still she goes to  watch it. She openly tries to capture Konstabel for herself. 
She is beyond her nubile lifetime; however, she reacts nearly aggressively to  Konstabel’s presence, trying to get his attention. In a subtle way, by means of  all kinds of little favours (picking up his stick, giving his coffee to him, etc.),  she tries to get his attention. She tries everything in her power to get rid of the  others, so that she can be with him all by herself. She sends Miem and  Meisie for pretence to bed in order to be alone with Konstabel. When Meisie  and Konstabel are alone outside, she calls them to come inside under the  pretence that the evening air will make Meisie sick. She still wants to appear  sexually tempting. 
At a symbolic level she is the withered flower. In her fantasy playing as  Hannie she tries to find inner liberation. Take notice of the fact that she, after  Miem interrupted her playing, escapes to go and dress herself, without  continuing her playing. She steps back to her old role as spinster. 
Candidate must use the basics of characterisation and the above information  to create a suitable character for Gertie. (8)

[40] 
TOTAL SECTION C: 40 

OR
SECTION D: THEATRE HISTORY, PRACTICALCONCEPTS, CONTENT AND SKILLS QUESTION 7 is COMPULSORY. 
QUESTION 7: THEATRE HISTORY 
7.1 Candidate may discuss any TWO of the following: 
Award TWO marks per well discussed difference. 

REALIST THEATRE 

POOR THEATRE

Uses a typical Box-Set 

Usually uses the idea of an Empty Space as  discussed by Peter Brook

Settings and locals and  props are often indoors  and believable

Setting is usually created physically by the actors  and imagination is used as a communication  medium between spectator and audience

Setting is often bland  (deliberately ordinary)

Setting is often imaginary and actors use their  body to portray their physical environment

Props and décor are used  for their actual familiarity

Props, if any, are used for the sake of symbolic  representation 

Objects are used literally 

Props are used for object transformation

Costumes and lights are  used to enhance the time  and position of characters  in the play

Costumes, if used at all, would be anonymous,  not identifying character

TWO marks for each difference discussed. (4)
7.2
7.2.1 The father of modern Realist Theatre is Hendrik Ibsen (1) 
7.2.2 Candidate responds to this question by stating what they know about  Realist Theatre. 
The following are some facts pertaining to Realist Theatre: 

  • Characters are believable, everyday types
  • Costumes are authentic
  • Stage settings (locations) and props are often indoors and  believable
  • The ‘box set’ is normally used for realistic dramas on stage,  consisting of three walls and an invisible ‘fourth wall’ facing the  audience
  • Settings for realistic plays are often bland (deliberately ordinary),  dialogue is not heightened for effect, but that of everyday speech  (vernacular)
  • The drama is typically psychologically driven, where the plot is  secondary and primary focus is placed on the interior lives of  characters, their motives, the reactions of others etc.
  • Realistic plays often see the protagonist (main character) rise up  against the odds to assert him/herself against an injustice of some  kind (e.g. Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House) 

Award a mark per fact explained by candidate. (3)
7.3 Candidate may respond by mentioning the term Workshop Theatre and give  the various parts of the process. 

Observation: 

A story, issue or theme is decided upon by the group. They  then begin the process of observation which may include  research, reading, interviews with relevant people, observing  people in everyday life or sharing personal experiences.

Improvisation: 

The structure of the improvisation may be determined by the  director, if there is one, or by the actors themselves. Scenes  are improvised and recorded by scribes, or remembered  through repetition. Sometimes the improvisations are  recorded using tape or video.

Selection: 

The various sections are selected or rejected and structured  in such a way as to create the form of the performance; this  may be decided democratically by consensus, or the director  may be responsible for creating a coherent theatrical whole.

Two marks per stage of the process and an explanation thereof. (6) 
7.4 Assess whether candidate understands the value of drama as well as the  functions thereof in a society. 
Mark holistically. (6)

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QUESTION 8: VOCAL AND PHYSICAL WORK 
8.1 Candidate may write any TWO valid outcomes of not projecting when  performing. Consider the following: 

  • The audience does not easily hear you 
  • Your speech can not be easily understood
  • The audiences might not be able to get the total idea and the plot of the  story especially if dialogue is organised to develop the storyline.
  • Some information about the characters and their circumstances can be  lost in lack of audibility.
  • Some parts of the play, especially the scenes that form the main message  of the play, may be missed due to lack of hearing. 

Award TWO marks for a well-explained point that candidate makes. (4) 

8.2 The following are some of the things that an actor may consider when creating  vocal characterisation. 

  • The socio-political background of the character
  • The physical attributes of the character
  • The age of the character
  • The overall linguistic ability of the character
  • The role of the character in the themes of the play and the total mood and  tone of the play
  • The emotional characteristics of the character
  • How is the character affected by subject matter?
  • What is the character’s position in the world of the play? 

The above are some of the things that may be considered in order to portray a  vocal characterisation of note. Award marks per well discussed idea. (6) 
8.3
8.3.1 External characterisation refers to how an actor creates a character  with the world around the character in mind. This usually involves  consideration of the immediate world of the character and the  relationships he has with the people in that world. External  characterisation also implies how the actor approaches a role and  their intentions as far as the visuals of production is concerned;  meaning, what the audiences see in the character the first time they  see a character on stage. This includes physical behaviour of the  actor when portraying a role; is he a respectable old man or a tramp  in the streets of Johannesburg? How will an actor dress to express  the position of the character in the society, what facial expressions will  they use, what gestures and physical mannerisms will the employ to  make the character fit in the environment of the play?
For instance: 
Sipho Makhaya in Nothing but the Truth He is an Assistant Chief Librarian. He wears formal wear and carries  himself in a rather conservative way. The environment of the play  suggests that someone working in that particular position should be  dressed and behave in a certain way both psychologically and  physically; by virtue of mannerism, gestures, facial expression,  deportment, etc. all physical attributes that will make an actor  believable in a role. 
Award TWO marks for the understanding of the concept and TWO  marks for a suitable example. (4) 
8.3.2 The following are some of the things that an actor may consider when  creating physical characterisation. 

  • The socio-political background of the character and the impact it  has had on their lives, psychologically and physically.
  • The physical attributes of the character, does the character have  one leg or arm missing, etc.
  • The age of the character, an old man may not walk the same as a  younger man.
  • The role of the character in the themes of the play and the total  mood and tone of the play. What features are there in the  character that make him scary, feared, loved, hated or highly  valued by the people around him?
  • The emotional characteristics of the character, arrogance,  gullibility, naïve, etc. can cause a character to behave in a certain  way physically.
  • How is the character affected by subject matter? Was he injured  from World War or suffered a stroke after hearing news regarding  some issue dealt with in the plot of the play?
  • What is the character’s position in the world of the play? 

The above are some of the things that may be considered in order to  portray a vocal characterisation of note. Award marks per well  discuss idea from the candidate. 
Candidate may discuss any THREE things to consider in physical  characterisation. Award TWO marks per well substantiated point. (6)

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OR
QUESTION 9: LIVE PERFORMANCE 
9.1 Candidate discusses, reasons, their choice between the two media. 

  • The biggest difference between performing on stage and performing for  the camera is the location of your audience. On stage, the audience can  easily be 30 metres or more from the performers. Since the audience  must see and hear a performance to enjoy it, stage performers must act  for the back row. The result is a larger than life performance since the  other actors are only a fraction of that distance from you.
  • Since the camera can always see you and the microphone can always  hear you, you only have to move and speak so the person or people in the  scene can see and hear you in television and film acting. If someone is  three feet away, speak as though they are three feet away. If they are  45 metres away, speak to them in that manner. Reality is less enhanced  when a camera and microphone become involved. In fact, due to camera work, score, lighting, and other effects, it is sometimes better to do less  than you would in real life because so many things are augmenting your  performance. So the main responsibility of television and film actors is that  they behave naturally. No exaggerated sound or movement is required.
  • The second major difference between stage and camera acting is the  familiarity of the material. Theatre is by its very nature repetitive and  therefore familiar. When a play takes hold and becomes popular, it is put  on by company after company, night after night, all over the world. That  repetition creates an iconoclastic image of the story. When people think  they know the material, they want to hear it exactly the way it was written  and they know when it is changed because it is so familiar to them. The  words of the play become iconic and any errors of dialogue will sound like  fingernails on a chalkboard. Imagine if Richard III chose instead to say, ‘A  horse, a horse...or maybe a camel?’
  • Television and film is different because the audience has never seen the  writing. It is fresh and largely written on the fly. Words are being changed  right up until shoot times in many cases. Therefore, at a TV/film audition,  an actor can make mistakes or small changes without consequence. An  original and believable performance is king.
  • In film and on TV, actors don’t create their own performances, editors and  directors do. That’s one major difference between stage and screen  acting. In the rehearsal process for the theatre, it is not uncommon for an  actor who is in control of their performance to sense something has gone  ‘wrong,’ stop, go back, and fix it to get it ‘right.’ On a film set that’s  someone else’s job. Actors don’t call cut. Well-prepared actors may find  themselves filming a scene when they forget a line or something happens  that changes the direction of how they thought the scene should go. This  could send them into their head and stop the take. But the director might  have liked what they were seeing or had a vision for how the footage could  be used elsewhere in the storytelling. In transitioning from stage to  screen, actors need to practice letting go of control. This doesn’t mean  letting go of preparation. Far from it. Rather, when they arrive on set,  actors must have the ability to trust the other artists they are working with as collaborators, and play along. Being fully prepared and simultaneously  able to stay relaxed and in the moment is a vital skill for film and television  acting. 

The above are mere suggestions, award MARKS per comparison or  differentiation, well-motivated. (6) 
9.2 Award TWO marks for each reason stated by candidate. 
For instance: 

  • Without energy, drama can communicate sloppiness and lack of  believability
  • Lack of energy may cause the entire production loss of focus and can  affect other actors in your production negatively
  • Energy brings excitement to drama and the audiences watching
  • The themes of production are effectively demonstrated by the energy in  characters and total performance and this helps the audience in  understanding even the underlying messages that are carried through in  performance. 

Candidates may transcribe this information in their own words, the above is a  suggestion. (4) 
9.3 Pay attention to candidate’s ability to demonstrate their understanding of the  term ‘process’ and that they are able to identify practitioners such as  Grotowski who contributed to process based theatre, the workshop methods,  etc. (10)

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OR 
QUESTION 10: RITUALS AND CULTURAL PERFORMANCES 
10.1 The following are the common elements of theatre. Candidate may write  down FIVE from any of the known elements. Award a mark per element: 

  • One-Act Play: Takes place in a single location and unfolds as one continuous  action. The characters in a one-act play are presented  economically and the action is sharply focused.
  • Act: Major division in the action of a play, accommodating changes in time,  setting, character(s), mood. Acts are further divided into scenes.
  • Scene: Changes when the location of the action shifts or when a new  character enters.
  • Dialect: A type of informational diction. Dialects are spoken by definable  groups of people from a particular geographic region, economic  group, or social class. Writers use dialect to express differences in  educational, social, and regional backgrounds of their characters.
  • Dialogue: The verbal exchanges between characters.
  • Drama: Derived from the Greek word dram, meaning ‘to do’ or ‘to perform’. Play: General term for a work of dramatic literature.
  • Playwright: The writer who makes plays.
  • Exposition: A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, which  provides necessary background information about the characters  and their circumstances.
  • Stage Directions: The playwright’s instructions about how the actors are to  move and behave.
  • Plot: The author’s arrangement of incidents in the play.
  • Theme: The central idea or meaning of the play.
  • In Media Res: Term used to describe the common strategy of beginning a  story in the middle of the action, usually on the verge of some  important moment.
  • Denoument: A French term meaning ‘unraveling’ or ‘unknotting,’ used to  describe the resolution of the plot following the climax.
  • Irony: The difference between what appears to be true and what is known to  be true.
  • Cosmic Irony: Also called irony of fate, occurs when God, fate, or some  larger, uncontrollable force seems to be intentionally deceiving  characters into believing they can escape their fate.
  • Verbal Irony: The difference between what is said and what is true (sarcasm).
  • Dramatic Irony: Difference between what the character believes to be true  and what the reader or audience knows to be true.
  • Situational Irony: The difference between what is expected to happen and  what actually happens due to forces beyond human  comprehension and control. 

Award marks for ANY other elements of drama as discussed in other works.  One mark per drama element mentioned. (5) 
10.2 Candidate selects a myth from any of the many that they have learned or  heard about in their community. Assess candidate based on the clarity of the  myth and award marks also for the understanding of dramatic arts concepts  such as those that are in the elements of drama. Assess also whether  candidate knows how to apply knowledge of drama concepts into analysing  and identifying similarities between a myth and traditional elements of drama. 
Use the following rubric to assess candidate.

CATEGORY 

MARKS 

DESCRIPTOR

Outstanding  

achievement 

12–15

  • Well organised, comprehensive and coherent, outstanding  structure
  • Displays an exceptional high level of competence for  processing information, for original interpretation and  thoughtful selection of facts
  • Candidate uses a selection of relevant dramatic references
  • Insightful, fluent, observation and knowledge authoritatively

Meritorious  

achievement 

10–11

  • Well organised, detailed and coherent, polished structure
  • Displays a high level of competence and careful selection of  facts for information sake 
  • Candidate uses a selection of relevant dramatic references
  • Shows insight, observation and knowledge are well  expressed

Substantial  

achievement 

9

  • Organised, detailed, some level of competence, some slight  flaws evident in structure
  • Interesting read, clear statements, convincing, and simple  direct language
  • Uses a select relevant dramatic reference
  • Shows some insight but not enough. Some logic statements

Adequate  

achievement 

7–8

  • Structure not always logical
  • Displays a basic understanding but tends towards mechanic  and stereotype responses at times
  • Adequate selection of dramatic references 
  • Adequate reading but feels memorised. Not always a high  level of insight and lack of imagination

Moderate  

achievement 

6

  • Not always organised, not logically constructed
  • Limited selection of information, poor language skills might be  a contributing factor 
  • Candidate lacks the ability to support his/her answer with  suitable examples

Elementary  

achievement 

4–5

  • Rambling no structure, limited vocabulary and little effort  made to present work in an acceptable manner
  • Very little information, jumbled, not easy to follow, often  irrelevant
  • Candidate lacks the ability to support his/her answer with  suitable examples

Not achieved 

0–3

  • Incoherent very little work, limited skills, in need of support
  • Irrelevant
  • Simple phrases or words written down that candidate have  learnt, but does not understanding

Use the above rubric together with the information given by candidate to  assess the understanding of drama elements and the skills to put it into  context with the immediate world of South African cultures and traditional form  and their contribution to the basics of drama. (15)

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TOTAL SECTION D: 40 
GRAND TOTAL: 150

Last modified on Friday, 23 July 2021 07:13