Drama Essay

Year 10 Unit 1 Coursework
For our unit 1 exam, we were given the task of implementing explorative strategies and drama medium in order to further understand the general issue and topic of the exam.   Our class was given the topic of disaster, for which we developed ideas and, equipped with the strategies, elements and conventions of drama further deepened our understanding of the issue.   I will now provide a documentary response to myself and my peers’ ideas and thoughts over the six hours of the exam.
Practical Task 1: Creating a contrasting scene in order to show the September 11th disaster
For our first practical task, our briefing was to create a contrasting scene in order to portray our ideas and thoughts of the 9/11 disaster.   We used the explorative strategy of cross cutting in order to convey the situation within the tower, before the planes struck, as well as within the plane, the moment Mohammed Atta, the leader behind the attacks, and his fellow Al Qaeda members took control.   In order to help us create a view on the subject, our teacher offered us a stimulus.   Requiem for Ground Zero, a poetry recital book by Steven Berkoff, was given to us to explain what happened within the plane.   Our scenes where to be based upon page 11 specifically, which I thought was an extremely moving, passionate page because it made me feel the pressure placed on Atta and what went through his mind as he was about to end his life.   Also, this page showed the contrast between the promises of a joyous afterlife and the terror within the plane itself.
Our idea was to create the feeling of an everyday, mundane plane journey, with me and Sarhan (who played the role of Mohammed Atta) sitting beside each other, awkwardly discussing what they had planned for their time in America.   The steward, played by Aaron, proceeds up the isle towards us and asks whether we would like something to drink. At this point, a fellow group member, namely Henri, suggested that Atta drops his drink,...