How to Succeed at A2 Theatre Studies - A Servant to Two Masters

1. A SERVANT TO TWO
MASTERS
Exam Success Guaranteed
(if you do as you’re told!)

2. JUSTIFIED CASTING DECISIONS
 Your casting decisions should be brief – approximately one
short(ish) paragraph for a character or a long(ish) paragraph for two.
 Casting decisions should be linked explicitly to the focus of the
question- e.g. “to bring out comedy” or “To elicit sympathy”
 Casting decisions should include physical, vocal and facial qualities
 Casting decisions should NOT name famous actors
 Costume ideas are NOT part of casting decisions

3. AUDIENCE RESPONSE
Questions that ask you to „consider the audience response‟ that you
want to elicit are very common on this question
 Audience response means what the audience feels towards a character
or event, for example, sympathy, pity, contempt, amusement.
 It is NOT what you want to show the audience, or what the audience
perceive about the character, for example, she is strong or wise or
virtuous.

4. CREATION OF COMEDY
 Almost bound to be asked in some form (You may be making
amusement your preferred audience response!)
 You must be able to give your own ideas about how to make
comedy through interpreting the text and what you do with it!
 Sue Sue …wants developed and detailed suggestions for the
creation of comedy
 She doesn’t want theoretical analysis of commedia

5. QUESTIONS W ITH A SPECIFIC BR IEF
 If you get a question which demands a specific approach e.g.
“How would you play Florindo to elicit sympathy from the audience?”
you must meet that brief or you‟ll fail ( and I‟ll be mad!)
 You need to be flexible in the exam and adapt your ideas to meet
the precise needs of the question!
 We all know why people fail A levels, because they don‟t ………..!!