Exams at our Academy
At Fixation Academy of Performing Arts we offer our students the opportunity to further their learning and take exams to gain qualifications in performing.
We offer a wide range of exams, and whether you are going solo or wanting to take your exams with friends, just getting started, or are ready to build on your skills, we have something that will fit you perfectly.
We are currently offering exams in performance, accredited by LAMDA.
Our dedicated classes follow the syllabus provided by the exam board and prepare students towards a successful exam day.
Our LAMDA teachers focus on developing students’ skills in:
- Confidence
- Technique & Understanding
- Communication
- Expression
- Performance
We recommend our exams to any students who see themselves having a career in performing and/or would like to further their technique, knowledge and understanding of theatre & performance. Exams also offer the benefit of earning students UCAS points and are the best way to take your performance passion to the next level.
LAMDA Exams
LAMDA is recognised to award qualifications on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) in England by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), in Wales by Qualifications Wales (QiW), and in Northern Ireland by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA). Students can choose to focus their learning on and sit our Solo/Duo LAMDA exams in the following areas of performance:
Acting & Devising Drama
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Our Acting Exam students develop their vocal, physical and interpretive skills while they delve into characters and explore the background of dramatic texts. Alongside producing authentic performances of their chosen scenes, they also gain an understanding of the context and characters within them.
Working through the grades takes our students through the development of clear speaking and character portrayal to an understanding of a playwright’s style, the influence of theatre practitioners such as Stanislavski and a sensitive appreciation of subtext.
For those that want to make their own work, our Devising Drama exams allow students to create their own scenes from scratch.
Provided with a list of themes to pick from, students create the characters and write the scripts themselves. As they progress to the higher grades, students will develop an understanding of dramatic structure and staging, using movement and mood, style and space. For their Level Three exams, students will also perform short improvised scenes – unplanned and unscripted.
Students can either take the Acting/Devising Drama exams by themselves (solo) or in a pair (duologue). For Levels One and Two, they can perform one of their scenes by themselves, and the other in a pair (combined).
Solo/Duo Musical Theatre
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Our Musical Theatre students develop their acting skills through song. They use vocal techniques to convey the right mood and engage with the material to form a thoughtful interpretation of the song.
As they progress through the grades, students explore characterisation through monologues or duologues, which are performed in character and act as an introduction to their songs. They’ll also deepen their understanding of the history of musical theatre by performing songs from a range of eras, and by researching the work and influence of one of its composers or lyricists.
Students can either take their Musical Theatre exams by themselves (solo) or with a fellow learner (duo).
For those that want to make their own work, our Devising Drama exams allow students to create their own scenes from scratch.
Provided with a list of themes to pick from, students create the characters and write the scripts themselves. As they progress to the higher grades, students will develop an understanding of dramatic structure and staging, using movement and mood, style and space. For their Level Three exams, students will also perform short improvised scenes – unplanned and unscripted.
Students can either take the Acting/Devising Drama exams by themselves (solo) or in a pair (duologue). For Levels One and Two, they can perform one of their scenes by themselves, and the other in a pair (combined).
Shakespeare
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LAMDA’s Shakespeare qualification is designed for learners who wish to explore the work of the world’s most famous writer in the English language.
With a syllabus based around the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare, these exams encourage a deep immersion into Shakespeare’s words and the development of the technical skills required to perform them confidently and creatively.
At Levels Two and Three, learners can either take the exam by themselves (solo) or in a pair (duologue).
What will the exam include?
LAMDA exams are categorised into Entry level, Level One, Level Two & Level 3.
Entry Level (Entry 3)
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Acting & Devising Drama
Type of exam: Solo or Duologue
Time allowance: 10-15 minutes
- Performing one scene from memory
- Answering questions about the character in the scene
Musical Theatre
Type of exam: Solo or Duo
Time allowance: 10-15 minutes
- Performing one song from memory
- Answering questions about the characters
Level One, Grades 1-3
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Acting & Devising Drama
Type of exam: Solo or Duologue
Time allowance: 15-25 minutes
- Performing two scenes from memory
- Answering questions about location, characters, events and mood within the scenes
Musical Theatre
Type of exam: Solo or Duo
Time allowance: 15-20 minutes
- Performing two songs from memory
Answering questions about:
- The characters
- The location
- The mood
- The plot
- The difference between head voice and chest voice
Shakespeare
Type of exam: Solo
Time allowance: 15 minutes
- Performing one speech from memory, taken from a play by William Shakespeare
Answering questions about:
- The story of the play the speech is taken from
- Who the character in the speech is talking to
- What the speech is about
Level Two, Grades 4 & 5
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Acting & Devising Drama
Type of exam: Solo or Duologue
Time allowance: 20-35 minutes
- Performing two scenes from memory
- Answering questions about physical characterisation and use of space in the performance
- Answering questions about the characters
Musical Theatre
Type of exam: Solo or Duo
Time allowance: 25-30 minutes
Performing:
- Two songs from memory
- A short text in character for one song
- Lyrics from a song as a monologue
Answering questions about:
- The themes
- The characters
- The choice of text
- The choice of staging
- The meaning of technical terms
Shakespeare
Type of exam: Solo or Duo
Time allowance: 20-30 minutes
- Performing two scenes from memory, taken from the plays of William Shakespeare
Answering questions about:
- The form of the language
- Linguistic devices/figures of speech
- The character’s reasons for speaking
- The character’s role within the play
- The meaning of two lines of text from one of the scenes
Level Three, Grades 6-8
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Acting & Devising Drama
Type of exam: Solo or Duologue
Time allowance: 20-35 minutes
- Performing two scenes from memory
- Answering questions about physical characterisation and use of space in the performance
- Answering questions about the characters
Musical Theatre
Type of exam: Solo or Duo
Time allowance: 30-40 minutes
Performing:
- Three songs from memory
- A short text in character for all three songs
- Lyrics from a song as a monologue
Answering questions about:
- The musical styles of the songs
- The work and influence of one of the composer or lyricists
- The characters
- The influence of a musical theatre practitioner
- The development process for the performance
- Breathing and vocal techniques
Shakespeare
Type of exam: Solo or Duo
Time allowance: 30-40 minutes
Performing:
- Two scenes from memory, taken from the plays of William Shakespeare
- One sonnet by William Shakespeare
Answering questions about:
- The content and structure of the sonnet
- The subtext of one of the scenes
- The role of one of the characters in the play
- The writing style of William Shakespeare
- The design of Elizabethan theatres, and he distinctive requirements of performing Shakespeare within it
Exams fee are an additional cost. Fee’s are non refundable once the student has been registered and entered into an exam.
All exams will either take place at the LAMDA examination centre in London.
Further details regarding exam times, dates and location will be provided when necessary.