Fiducia TogetherStaging and design
Where the audience is, and everything they see and hear.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Staging configurations include end-on or proscenium, thrust, in the round, traverse and promenade. Design elements are set, lighting, sound, costume and props.
Where it applies
GCSE and A Level drama, in performance and in the written paper.
How it works
Configuration changes sightlines, intimacy and how much can be hidden. In the round means no upstage and no scenery to hide behind; traverse creates confrontation across a divide.
Design choices should serve meaning, not decoration — a colour, a level, a sound cue doing something to the audience.
How to use it in your work
Justify every design choice by its effect on the audience. "A single overhead lamp isolates him, so the audience feels the interrogation."
Be specific about lighting: colour, angle, intensity and when it changes. "Dim lighting" is not an answer.
For configuration questions, say what your choice makes possible AND what it costs.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's assessment criteria — these subjects are marked against four or five stated objectives, and reading them is the single most useful hour you can spend.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Drama Song The GCSE drama topics and terminology, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.