Costume and make-up: what they show
Costume and make-up communicate four things at a glance: period (silhouette, fabric, cut), style (naturalistic or heightened), character (personality, occupation, wealth via colour, fit, condition) and status (fabric quality, tailoring, freedom of movement -- a tight, formal costume can lower status by restricting movement). Make-up adds age, health, period style and stylised effects. Name a choice at a line and say what it communicates and why.
Props: personal vs stage, used not listed
Props split into two kinds. Personal props are objects a character owns or habitually handles (a watch, a photograph): their value is how the ACTOR uses them to develop character -- a nervous habit, a hidden object, a prop that changes hands to mark a shift. Stage props dress and are used in the set (furniture, tools) to support the action. Props listed as set dressing are capped at a mid band -- explain how a prop is USED, and by whom, not just that it is present.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Design listed with no meaning
A colour or a prop named with no explanation of symbolism, mood or audience effect stays low. Strongest answers explore meaning and mood with technical language and specific line references. For each idea, say what it symbolises or the feeling it creates, not just what it is.
Digest, Designing: lists of design ideas without deeper meaning or intention are capped below the top band (June 2023 P13 Q5).
Design not tied to the text
Weakest answers offer ideas that could fit any play, unrooted in the extract. Every choice must respond to a specific stage direction or line -- what in the text justifies it. Strongest answers elaborate on the stage directions in original, text-grounded ways rather than describing the design in general terms.
Digest, Designing: design not tied to the text or action is a recurring weakness (June 2022 P13 Q8, June 2023 P11 Q5).
Drifting off the named element
A costume, make-up or props question answered mainly with lighting or sound cannot score highly. Another design area is creditable only when it directly affects the element asked about (how a fabric catches light), not explored in isolation. And when a question invites several elements, address them all, not just one.
Digest, Designing: answering off the named element, or confining to one when several are invited, caps marks (June 2023 P11 Q8, P13 Q5).
Diagram alone is not the answer
A costume sketch or labelled prop drawing illustrates, but a diagram alone limits access to the full range of the mark scheme. Marks come from the written explanation of how the choice serves the text, communicates to the audience, and connects to a line -- a drawing without that text cannot reach the top bands.
Digest, Designing: a diagram alone limits access to the full range of the mark scheme (June 2023 P11 Q8, P12 Q8).
Props listed as decoration
Naming a prop as present on stage is not the same as showing it used. Props listed purely as set dressing are capped at a mid band. Explain who handles the prop, when, and why its texture, size or condition matters to a moment -- show it as essential and meaningfully used, not decoration.
Digest, Designing: props listed purely as set dressing are not credited above a mid band (June 2023 P11 Q8).
Missing a buried second demand
Questions often bury a secondary requirement -- for a MODERN audience, or give reasons. Candidates address the primary design element and skip the second demand entirely. Read the whole question and answer every part, including any named audience or the instruction to justify each choice.
Digest, Designing: candidates miss a secondary requirement buried in the question (June 2023 P13 Q8).
A diagram alone scores full marks
A testable wrong belief: that a labelled costume sketch, or a list (a torn coat, a broken watch, a photograph), IS the design answer. These are only raw material. Marks come from the written text: the line that justifies each choice, what it communicates (period, style, character, status) or how a prop is handled, and the audience effect. A diagram alone caps the mark.
Digest, Designing: a diagram alone limits access to the full range of the mark scheme, and props merely listed are capped mid band (June 2023 P11 Q8, P12 Q8).
Structure a design answer
For each idea: name the precise choice (a fabric, colour, prop, make-up effect), tie it to a line or stage direction, explain what it communicates (period, style, character, status, or how a prop is used), then the audience effect.
Stay on the named element
Design the element the question names and stay on it. Only bring in lighting, sound or another area when it has a direct impact on that element (a fabric catching light). If the question invites several elements, cover each -- do not leave one out.
Make props essential
For props, answer three questions: who uses it, when, and what the handling shows. Tie the object to a line and to specific business, and let its texture, size or condition matter -- a prop shown as used earns credit a prop merely present cannot.
Support diagrams, answer every part
If you sketch, support it with explanatory text -- a diagram alone caps the mark. And address every requirement the question names, including a buried secondary demand (for a modern audience, give reasons), not just the primary element.
This topic covers three linked design elements a candidate may be asked to design FOR: costume, make-up, and props (split into personal props and stage props). The core discipline throughout: every design idea must be tied to a specific line or stage direction and explained in writing -- what it communicates, and its effect on the audience. A diagram or a list is never enough on its own.
| Communicates | How it is shown | Example |
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