Prepare yourself for a speech and drama exam

Preparing for an exam is never easy and often nerve wracking for adults and young people alike. Speech and drama exams have a lot to offer young people in gaining confidence with exams because they are often far more informal and friendly than other exam situations.

Here are our five top tips for those preparing for speech and drama exams.


1. Read the play in total even if you are doing a section.

It may sound silly but really unless you know the play you are studying you will not have the insight into the play or the character you are playing which will you need to do a really good job of selling your performance. the examiner may ask you questions about the play and this will stand you in good stead as you will be aware of how the character develops and have far more knowledge of how they interact with others in the play as well.

2. Understand and work on the theory.

The examiner may well ask you questions about context for the play or staging. You may be asked about style or interpretation of the play and about language and how you would re work a scene. All of this demonstrates a real understanding of your craft and a feel for the play, character and context of what you are doing.


3. Practice hot seating 

The examiner may well ask you questions and you will answer as your character rather than yourself (hot seating). Imagine what pets your character might have and how she or he might act in other situations. Think about how she or he feels about her parents or other people in the play and imagine possible scenarios involving your character. Eat your dinner in character or practice talking to your friends as your character if that helps.

4. Learn your lines 

Knowing your lines inside out means that if you forget something you can improvise because you know what's coming next. It also helps when you are nervous to feel extremely confident that you have really learned your stuff and know what you are doing. I recently went to a public speaking competition and the people who read their speeches were nowhere near as wonderful as those who had learnt them even though that was not necessary.

5. Breathe

The first thing to happen when you get nervous is that your breathing goes out of the window.Anyone who has listened to a nervous speaker knows you can hear them breathing and they breathe more often in shallow fast gasps. Practice your breathing and controlling your breath. This will not only help with nerves but also with getting the emotion and focus of your speech right. A great book to refer to on this is Cecily Berry's, Voice and the Actor.