Edexcel GCSE Designing Drama by Sue Shewring

Designing Drama is a textbook aimed at students studying Costume, Lighting, Set and Sound Design within GCSE Drama. The introduction explains that it is ‘about everything that happens on the stage except for the acting’ and states that the book will support students studying one of the technical options, but also help acting students to write about design in the written paper.

Resources for the technical elements of GCSE Drama have been neglected for both students and teachers for many years. This book will appeal to teachers who are not especially confident in these areas themselves. It is possible that teachers will benefit from this book more than the students.

The book has a standard ‘textbook’ look and feel with colour coded sections for assessment criteria, design tips, signposting and more. I do find the use of colour coding a bit overwhelming, and wonder if the use of so many colours might be an access problem for some students.

I very much like and encourage the use of images with theatrical content, and there are plenty of these, from productions both familiar and less well known. However, there is also a spattering of ‘clip art’ style images and stock photos of students on laptops, which feel unnecessary and don't add much to the book.

Having said that, each of the sections related to a technical area (Costume, Lighting, Set and Sound Design) is very well done by the relevant experts. The sections are full of useful information to get students working on their designs. I like that the book recognises that most Drama departments have small budgets and are likely to only have a few lanterns and a basic lighting desk. It encourages students to work with what they have, including upcycling for costume purposes.

A couple of areas which might have been useful were missing – for example, how to do a basic mark-out on the floor so actors know what dimensions they are working within, and how to take measurements for costumes. As an ex-Stage Manager, now Drama teacher, I have certainly needed to ‘teach’ both of these skills to students working towards exam performances.