# Dramatic Arts Grade 12 NSC November 2016 QP (Eng) > Grade 12 Dramatic Arts question paper from the NSC November Exam 2016 (English), 15 pages. Read online or get the free PDF download, memo linked when available. - Page: https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-nov-2016-eng/cfe9877b-980b-4e79-a76a-2896cc32c09f - Updated: 2026-09-27 - Subject: Dramatic Arts - Grade: Grade 12 - Document type: Question paper - Year: 2016 - Exam period: NSC November Exam - Curriculum: CAPS - Pages: 15 Breadcrumbs: [Home](https://www.hlayiso.com/) › [Library](https://www.hlayiso.com/library) › [Grade 12](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12) › [Dramatic Arts](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12/dramatic-arts) › [Dramatic Arts Grade 12 NSC November 2016 QP (Eng)](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-nov-2016-eng/cfe9877b-980b-4e79-a76a-2896cc32c09f) ## About this document Dramatic Arts · Grade 12 · NSC November Exam · 2016. Question paper, 15 pages. Read online or download the PDF. Read it free online on the page above; download the PDF from there. ## Document text Text extracted from the PDF. Layout, diagrams and tables may not survive extraction. ### Page 1 Downloaded from hlayiso.com NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE GRADE 12 DRAMATIC ARTS NOVEMBER 2016 MARKS: 150 TIME: 3 hours This question paper consists of 15 pages. Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 2 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 2 DBE/November 2016 NSC INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION 1. This question paper consists of FOUR sections: SECTION A: 20th Century Theatre Movements (30) SECTION B: South African Theatre: 1960–1994 (40) SECTION C: South African Theatre: Post-1994 – Contemporary (40) SECTION D: The History of Theatre, Practical Concepts, Content and Skills (40) 2. SECTION A QUESTION 1 is COMPULSORY. Refer to the play text you have studied and its relevant 20th Century Theatre Movement. EPIC THEATRE • Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht • Kaukasiese Krytsirkel Translation of Bertolt Brecht play text • Mother Courage Bertolt Brecht • Moeder Courage Translation of Bertolt Brecht play text • The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht • Kanna Hy Kô Hystoe Adam Small OR THEATRE OF THE ABSURD • Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett • Afspraak met Godot Translation of Samuel Beckett play text • Bagasie André P Brink • The Bald Primadonna Eugene Ionesco • Die Kaalkop Primadonna Translation of Eugene Ionesco play text OR POSTMODERN THEATRE • Skrapnel Willem Anker • Top Girls Carol Churchill • Popcorn Ben Elton • Buried Child Sam Shepard 3. SECTION B This section consists of THREE questions. Answer only ONE question in this section. QUESTION 2: Woza Albert! Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney Simon OR QUESTION 3: Sophiatown Junction Avenue Theatre Company OR QUESTION 4: Siener in die Suburbs PG du Plessis 4. SECTION C This section consists of THREE questions. Answer only ONE question in this section. QUESTION 5: Nothing but the Truth John Kani OR QUESTION 6: Groundswell Ian Bruce OR QUESTION 7: Missing Reza de Wet 5. SECTION D This section consists of TWO questions. Both are COMPULSORY. Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 3 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 3 DBE/November 2016 NSC SECTION A: 20th CENTURY THEATRE MOVEMENTS This question is COMPULSORY. QUESTION 1 Study SOURCE A below and answer the question that follows. SOURCE A Struggles, Meaning victories, of my life? human My nature? condition, My truth? suffering … 1. 2. Life, drama, Questions! staging, Answers! playwright, costumes, lighting … 3. 4. 20TH CENTURY THEATRE Evaluate, in an essay, how the play text and the 20th Century Theatre Movement that you studied this year 'tells the story of our lives' and might mean 'everything' to us. Refer to the following: • The information contained in SOURCE A • The play text you studied • The relevant 20th Century Theatre Movement you studied: o Theatre of the Absurd OR Epic Theatre OR Postmodern Theatre o Specific examples in the play text you studied TOTAL SECTION A: 30 Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 4 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 4 DBE/November 2016 NSC SECTION B: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: 1960–1994 Answer only ONE question in this section. QUESTION 2: WOZA ALBERT! BY PERCY MTWA, MBONGENI NGEMA AND BARNEY SIMON Study SOURCE B below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE B WOZA ALBERT! – A REVIEW BY IAN JOHNS The Times (United Kingdom), 12 June 2002 If creativity needs stress, then apartheid provided it in abundance for South African playwrights during the 1970s and 1980s; an incubator for theatrical talent that offered boundary-breaking tales in a form that was accessible enough to become hits in London and New York. This satirical story is performed by two actors in multiple roles. The play imagines the 5 Second Coming of Christ in apartheid South Africa. The title of the show only becomes clear in the final sequence. The propaganda purpose of this piece may have lost its urgency. The dominant broad comedy in Woza Albert! now seems predictable and satirically mild. But it was the way it spoke of injustice and indignities with almost detached good humour in the face of 10 adversity that gave the play its poignancy. Now its street-theatre style of mime, movement and song is over-familiar and there seems a lot of repetition in the unfolding of this fable. It comes across as a 20-minute sketch stretched out to make a 90-minute show. It remains an entertaining tour de force (masterpiece) for two talented actors and they 15 duly deliver here. But this revival merely highlights the fact that we've yet to hear some dynamic new voices in South African drama. 2.1 'If creativity needs stress, then apartheid provided it in abundance for South African playwrights during the 1970s and 1980s' (lines 1–2). 2.1.1 Name ONE South African anti-apartheid theatre movement. (1) 2.1.2 Identify TWO apartheid laws evident in the play text, Woza Albert!. (2) 2.1.3 Discuss ONE law identified in QUESTION 2.1.2 and the impact its 'stress' had on specific characters in the play text. (6) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 5 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 5 DBE/November 2016 NSC 2.2 'This satirical story is performed by two actors in multiple roles.' (Line 5) 2.2.1 Name a theatre practitioner who developed the style of performance in which an actor plays multiple roles. (1) 2.2.2 Discuss whether two actors playing 'multiple roles' (line 5) is theatrically effective, or not. (4) 2.2.3 Explain the vocal and physical skills an actor will require in order to play multiple roles. Refer to specific examples in the play text. (6) 2.2.4 Woza Albert! is regarded as a 'satirical story' (line 5). What do you understand by the term satire? Give TWO examples of how it is used in the play text. (6) 2.3 Explain how the significance of the play's title 'only becomes clear in the final sequence' (line 7). (4) 2.4 Consider lines 12–17. Do you agree or disagree with the reviewer's comments on the performance style, content and theatrical impact of Woza Albert!? Motivate your view. (10) [40] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 6 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 6 DBE/November 2016 NSC QUESTION 3: SOPHIATOWN BY THE JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY Study SOURCE C below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE C AN INTERVIEW An interview with a former resident of Sophiatown, Mr Victor Mokine, who was a 12-year-old boy at the time: 'I could see policemen on horseback in our yard. Our parents told us to stay inside the house as they thought there would be violence,' he says. 'They were armed with rifles, pistols, some with machine guns. We could hear the sound of rolling trucks that had arrived to carry people's belongings. There was a great deal of fear. Some of the policemen simply kicked the doors in, while they shouted at people to get outside. It felt 5 like a war situation.' 3.1 Identify the event that is being described in the interview. (Lines 1–6) (1) 3.2 Describe the effect that this event might have had on the residents of Sophiatown. (2) 3.3 Explain how this event is portrayed in Sophiatown the play text. (4) 3.4 Suggest what motivated The Junction Avenue Theatre Company to create a play about this event. (4) 3.5 The Junction Avenue Theatre Company created the play Sophiatown without a script. 3.5.1 Name the theatrical process of making a play without a script. (1) 3.5.2 Explain THREE steps in this play-making process. (6) 3.5.3 Describe THREE skills that a performer may require to be an effective part of a group that creates a play without a script. (6) 3.5.4 Discuss the value of making a play without a script. (6) 3.6 Evaluate the possible impact of the play, Sophiatown, on apartheid audiences and on contemporary audiences. Refer to the following elements: • Subject matter • Characterisation • Staging (10) [40] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 7 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 7 DBE/November 2016 NSC QUESTION 4: SIENER IN DIE SUBURBS BY PG DU PLESSIS Study SOURCE D below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE D A B A scene from a recent production of Siener in die Suburbs 4.1 Identify character A and character B in SOURCE D. (2) 4.2 Describe the relationship between these two characters. (4) 4.3 Select ONE of the characters in SOURCE D. 4.3.1 Explain how the chosen character's socio-economic circumstances are reflected throughout the play text. (6) 4.3.2 Suggest, with reasons, how an actor may present an authentic (truthful) physical portrayal of this character's emotional journey in any TWO significant moments of the play. (6) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 8 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 8 DBE/November 2016 NSC Study SOURCE E below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE E The set of Siener in die Suburbs from a recent production 4.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of the set design in SOURCE E for a production of Siener in die Suburbs. Refer to the play text as a whole. (6) 4.5 Motivate the addition of TWO other items to the set to enhance the themes of the play. (6) 4.6 PG du Plessis said that the 'play captures the essence of human nature'. Discuss how the 'play captures the essence of human nature' through its symbols. (10) [40] TOTAL SECTION B: 40 Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 9 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 9 DBE/November 2016 NSC SECTION C: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: POST-1994 – CONTEMPORARY Answer only ONE question in this section. QUESTION 5: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH BY JOHN KANI Study SOURCE F below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE F Scales of justice Urn with ashes Bottle of alcohol [Source: Mind The Gap – DBE] 5.1 You are cast as ONE of the characters in the play. Refer to SOURCE F and answer the questions that follow. 5.1.1 Write a brief description of your character. (4) 5.1.2 Discuss your preparation to portray your character realistically: • During rehearsals • Backstage just before a performance (6) 5.2 Name a stage type that would reflect the realistic nature of the play. (2) 5.3 Describe THREE other realistic staging elements of the play. (6) 5.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of using SOURCE F as a poster to advertise a production of Nothing But The Truth. (4) 5.5 Explain how the two female characters in Nothing But The Truth reflect the tension between Western and African cultures. (6) 5.6 Discuss how SOURCE F may reflect the subject matter and themes of the play. (12) [40] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 10 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 10 DBE/November 2016 NSC QUESTION 6: GROUNDSWELL BY IAN BRUCE Study SOURCE G below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE G A possible location to film Groundswell 6.1 You wish to direct a film version of the play, Groundswell, and have decided to use SOURCE G as the film location (setting). You are required to present a proposal to potential producers to sell the concept of the film. 6.1.1 Write a brief synopsis of the storyline. (4) 6.1.2 Considering your knowledge of the play text, motivate the choice of location (setting) for the film. (4) 6.1.3 Create an actors' guide to assist potential actors who audition for the role of Thami, Smith or Johan. (An actors' guide is a set of acting methods or techniques.) (6) 6.1.4 Give TWO reasons why the play may become a successful film. (4) 6.1.5 What type of music would you use as a possible sound track for the film? Motivate the answer. (2) 6.1.6 Describe visual or sound effects from any scene of the play text that may heighten the tension in the film. (4) 6.1.7 What are the possible challenges a film version of Groundswell may present to a director? (4) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 11 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 11 DBE/November 2016 NSC 6.2 The playwright, Ian Bruce, marketed the play, Groundswell, very successfully in the USA. Discuss why this play would be successful anywhere in the world. Refer to the subject matter, characters and themes of the play text. (12) [40] Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 12 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 12 DBE/November 2016 NSC QUESTION 7: MISSING BY REZA DE WET Study SOURCE H below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE H STAGE DIRECTIONS FOR MISSING, WRITTEN BY REZA DE WET Time: Eight o'clock on the last night of August 1936. Setting: The action takes place in a shabby little house on a smallholding on the outskirts of a platteland town in central South Africa. There is a back door (right) which opens inwards, with a screen door that opens outwards. Style: The set and costume should convey a sense of the folkloric, of a rough 5 fairy tale. Effects: The circus music is very important and can be heard whenever the back door is open. There must also be a distinct difference between the types of wind in the text. 7.1 Identify the various meanings of the title of the play. (4) 7.2 Explain the dramatic effect of Reza de Wet's choice of: • Time • Setting (8) 7.3 Suggest TWO possible ways in which a set designer may achieve 'a sense of the folkloric, a rough fairy tale' (lines 5–6) in the set of the play. (4) 7.4 Discuss how the different 'types of wind' (lines 8–9) are symbolic in the play text. (4) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 13 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 13 DBE/November 2016 NSC Study SOURCE I below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE I Missing is nothing but a puppet show – a puppet master moving puppets to create a manipulated reality. 7.5 Which characters in Missing may be compared to the following in a puppet show: • Puppet • Puppet master (2) 7.6 Explain why the character you identified in QUESTION 7.5 may be associated with a puppet. Refer to the play text as a whole. (6) 7.7 Discuss how the roles of men and women in the Calvinistic Afrikaner world of the play are expressed theatrically through the characters. (12) [40] TOTAL SECTION C: 40 Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 14 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 14 DBE/November 2016 NSC SECTION D: THE HISTORY OF THEATRE, PRACTICAL CONCEPTS, CONTENT AND SKILLS Answer ALL the questions in this section. QUESTION 8 Study SOURCE J below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE J 3 2 FALLING ACTION PLOT INITIAL DIAGRAM INCIDENT CONCLUSION 1 STRUCTURE OF A WELL-MADE, REALIST PLAY 8.1 Identify the plot structure evident in SOURCE J above. Choose ONE of the following and write the letter (A–C) next to the question number (8.1). A Cyclic/Circular B Linear C Episodic (1) 8.2 Name the plot stages labelled 1, 2 and 3 in SOURCE J above. (3) 8.3 Analyse how any TWO of the following elements of Realism are reflected in the realistic play that you studied: • Characters • Set • Themes • Language • Costume (6) 8.4 Discuss FOUR features of ONE anti-realist movement and its contribution to the theatre of the 20th century. (8) Copyright reserved Please turn over ### Page 15 Downloaded from hlayiso.com Dramatic Arts 15 DBE/November 2016 NSC Study SOURCE K below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE K method actor by cta Okay, Scene 3, ready? Why is he just Yeah, Steve, about this scene ... Lights! Camera! standing there? Cut! What's my motivation here? Action! Why am I crossing this road? What's the problem, Al? 8.5 Name the theatre practitioner who developed the acting approach called method acting. (1) 8.6 Explain the approach of a method actor. (3) 8.7 Motivation is one of the method acting techniques (SOURCE K). Explain THREE method acting techniques you may use in preparation for performance. (6) Study SOURCE L below and answer the question that follows. SOURCE L Every now and then, when you're on stage, you hear the best sound a player (actor) can hear. It's a sound you can't get in movies or in television. It is the sound of a wonderful, deep silence that means you've hit them where they live. [Shelley Winters] 8.8 Respond to the statement in SOURCE L by evaluating your own experience of performance. Explain how the application of your drama skills, the processes of creation and your final presentation could lead to 'the sound of a wonderful deep silence'. (12) TOTAL SECTION D: 40 GRAND TOTAL: 150 Copyright reserved ## Related documents - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2016 Afr](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-nov-2016-afr/2831f226-ee06-496a-a480-6edee64043f3) — Dramatic Arts · QP · 2016 · Afr - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2016 Memo Eng](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-nov-2016-memo-eng/285055aa-f40b-450c-b506-5af0360dc8bb) — Dramatic Arts · Memo · 2016 · Eng - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2016 Memo Afr](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-nov-2016-memo-afr/01f55ae4-c4c1-4804-b0fb-3bfe4f173f1d) — Dramatic Arts · Memo · 2016 · Afr - [Gr12 DRMA S16 QP Afr](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/gr12-drma-s16-qp-afr/3eda5830-efc4-40a2-b11d-c2decd95f1f1) — Dramatic Arts · QP · 2016 · Afr - [Gr12 DRMA S16 QP Eng](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/gr12-drma-s16-qp-eng/a06a7dc8-1bcb-4744-bdee-6a49b941fb41) — Dramatic Arts · QP · 2016 · Eng - [Dramatic Arts Feb March 2016 Afr](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-feb-march-2016-afr/ccbc661d-8b87-4b95-b699-619f629f702b) — Dramatic Arts · QP · 2016 · Afr ## More from Grade 12 Dramatic Arts - [Gr 12 Dram Art ATP 2023-24](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/gr-12-dram-art-atp-2023-24/1cc8fc90-d6ed-4b00-96bb-a8a5909bae10) — ATP - [Dramatic Arts May-June 2025 MG Eng](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/dramatic-arts-may-june-2025-mg-eng/1ca47d26-a583-48d4-b7e6-350802a91a45) — Memo · 2025 · Eng - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2025 MG Eng](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12-dramatic-arts-2025-nsc-november-exam-memorandum/0c5cf551-3515-4f88-aed5-2e27892a9058) — Memo · 2025 · Eng - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2025 MG Afr](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12-dramatic-arts-2025-nsc-november-exam-memorandum/e81f2ce2-7475-4158-a9c0-2ee9e0139852) — Memo · 2025 · Afr - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2025 MG Afr](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12-dramatic-arts-2025-nsc-november-exam-memorandum-afrikaans/295292ad-642f-4171-ae1e-c2dd59f80f5a) — Memo · 2025 · Afr - [Dramatic Arts Nov 2025 MG Eng](https://www.hlayiso.com/library/grade-12-dramatic-arts-2025-nsc-november-exam-memorandum-english/75e178c5-f96e-43f8-8078-84ce1d3d0082) — Memo · 2025 · Eng ## Collection - [Grade 12 past papers](https://www.hlayiso.com/grade-12/past-papers) --- Hlayiso: free CAPS and IEB past papers, memos, notes and study guides for South African learners. When citing, link the page URL above, not a PDF or /api/ URL.