Singapore O-Level Drama (SEAB 2299) responding to live and recorded drama quiz: analysing, evaluating acting and design, live versus recorded, and the language of response quiz

To criticise the performers harshly

To follow only the storyline

To watch deliberately across acting, design and staging, noticing how effects are created

To watch without taking any notes

A general feeling about the whole show

A list of the actors' names

A full summary of the plot

A record of a specific moment, the choice made, and its effect, captured while fresh

A general claim like the acting was good proves nothing, while a precise moment shows what was done and lets you analyse the effect

It makes the response longer

It lets you avoid mentioning the audience

It replaces the need for any judgement

They are the same thing

Describing says what a performer did; evaluating judges how well it worked, why, and with what effect, supported by evidence

Evaluating means only giving praise

Describing requires evidence but evaluating does not

Opinion, then a louder opinion

Plot, then character names

Choice as evidence, judgement of how well it worked, and the effect it produced

A single word such as brilliant

By how spectacular and expensive it looks

Only by the lighting

By how many elements are used

By its contribution to meaning, mood and the audience's experience, with evidence and against the production's intention

Because a simple design can serve the piece while a spectacular one may clutter the stage and pull focus

Because simple designs are always cheaper

Because spectacle is banned in drama

Because audiences never notice design

The reviewer's personal mood

Specific evidence from a precise moment and reasoning about its effect

A comparison to a famous actor

The length of the production

A close-up of a single tear

Control of focus through editing

Shared presence, live energy, the risk of a real unrepeatable event, and the audience's freedom to look

The ability to rewatch any moment

The shared presence of a live audience

The audience's freedom to look wherever they choose

The energy of live risk

Intimacy and detail, control of focus through framing and editing, repeatability and wide access

The camera, which controls focus through framing and editing and guides the viewer's attention

The number of actors

The length of the performance

The ticket price

It lets the viewer see the whole stage at once

It shows fine detail such as a small facial reaction, which a live audience might miss

It removes all sound

It always weakens the drama

Yes, live is always better

Yes, recorded is always better

No, they should be compared thoughtfully on their own terms, since each gains and loses something

No, because they are identical

Casual praise and exclamation

A list of personal likes and dislikes

A retelling of the plot

Precise, evidenced, analytical writing using accurate drama vocabulary to name choices and explain effects

The wide proxemics between the estranged couple, under cold blue lighting, created distance and isolation

The actors stood far apart and it felt cold

It was a really good scene

There was some lighting and some acting

Using vocabulary and giving evidence

Retelling the plot, and offering vague, unsupported praise

Mentioning the audience and naming choices

Structuring the response and judging fairly