Post by markcohen on Jun 13, 2011 3:22:29 GMT -5
Hi, my name is Michelle and this is my first character. I found this site through Sammeh . Something you should know about me is I've played this character on three different sites (that I can remember).
Mark David Cohen
Low Class
Low Class
Canon: RENT
Custom Title: bleeding heart cameraman
PHYSICAL
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Appearance: The best way to describe Mark Cohen would probably be plain – he's the kind of guy who you could lose in a crowd because he just doesn't stand out, and he prefers it that way. He's fairly average – 5'8", skinny, not much muscle, pale skin. His strawberry-blond hair is usual cropped short in a choppy, spiked-up haircut he probably gave himself, because he just doesn't trust Roger to come near his head with a pair of scissors. The black-framed glasses he wears make him look almost studious, like the nerdy kid that always got picked on in school. Just behind them his eyes are light blue, often focusing on his surroundings as he imagines how he might set up his next shot. His clothes are secondhand and worn, usually bought from thrift stores since he can't afford much else. The one article of clothing that he always seems to wear in the winter, without fail, is his signature blue-and-white-striped scarf.
Height: 5'8"
Weight/Body Type: Skinny, not muscular
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Play By: Anthony Rapp
PERSONALITY
General personality: Mark is really not a complicated person by any means. He's a simple, everyday kind of guy living in kind of a strange situation. At first glance he seems shy and withdrawn, like maybe he's deep in thought over something, and he probably is – how he's going to frame his next shot. Mark's a self-employed (if you can call it that) filmmaker, and you rarely see him without his trusty old Bolex camera. He's very passionate about and dedicated to his work. In his mind, there is always a story out there waiting to be told, and he'll wander the entire city if he has to in order to find a really good one. However, sometimes he can become a little too engrossed in his work, which can make living in the now and maintaining relationships something of a struggle.
Once you become friends with him and get past the quiet exterior, you'll find out a few things, namely that Mark is a very good friend – he's kind and loyal to those he cares about, and always there when someone is in need. He is almost always the lowest on his own list of priorities, always putting everyone else's needs before his own. He cares and worries deeply for his friends and loved ones, and becomes quite attached to them, which leads into his ultimate fear – the fear that one day he will lose everyone he cares about and find himself truly alone. Still, he enjoys the time has with his friends – he's not as tightly-wound as some might think. He's not afraid to let loose – he drinks occasionally, smokes a little more (though he swears he's not a 'smoker'), swears. Every so often Mark has been found dancing on top of tables at the Life Café, but that really only happens at parties.
Quotes, frequently used expressions:
Likes: (at least three)
- His ex-girlfriend, Maureen
- His friends
- Filming
Dislikes: (at least three)
- His family
- HIV
- Being alone
Strengths: (at least three)
- Friendly
- Intelligent
- Caring
Weaknesses:(at least three)
- Can become too involved with his work
- Suppresses feelings
- Scared of ending up alone
BACKGROUND
Family: Father :: David Cohen
Mother :: Nancy Cohen
Sister :: Cynthia 'Cindy' Carmichael (Cohen)
Education: High school degree, spent two weeks taking business courses at Brown University before dropping out
Occupation/Job: 'Self-employed documentary filmmaker' (Translation: He has no real job)
Image: Most see him as a kind, caring friend and an okay filmmaker
History: A little over 25 years ago, in a well to-do suburb of New York City known as Scarsdale, the second child of David and Nancy Cohen was born– a baby boy they named Mark. David was a businessman in a firm in New York City, Nancy a stay-at-home mother to Mark and his older sister, Cindy. Mark grew up in a stable, well-off family in a nice neighborhood and yet somehow always felt like an outsider. He was that kid who just had difficulty making friends, generally being seen as the nerd kid. He spent a lot of his free time at the movie theater growing up, admiring the work and thinking it was something he'd like to try to do. When he turned 13, his mother bought him his first camera as a birthday present – the Bolex he still uses today, despite its age. He began to pursue filmmaking as a hobby, though he began to want to make a career of it as he learned more and became more skilled. He felt comfortable behind the lens of the camera – he felt like less of an outsider, like he had a reason to stand there and watch. He advanced into high school, where he made some friends, went on a few odd dates here and there, but suddenly he knew he didn't want to stay in Scarsdale.
With a scholarship and money his parents had saved, his father enrolled him, without asking, in business courses at Brown University, an Ivy League college. In the two weeks he stayed, he met and befriended Benjamin Coffin III (more casually known as Benny) and agreed to keep in touch when Mark decided to drop out of Brown to pursue filmmaking. After all the money and trouble that the family had put into getting Mark into an Ivy League school, Mark's father was none too pleased to hear he'd dropped out, and when Mark returned home, their confrontation came to physical blows, leaving an 18 year-old Mark bruised, bloodied, and completely cut off from his family's support. He scrounged together his money and possessions and jumped on the next train to New York City, wandering for a long while before a chance run-in with a young HIV+ college student named Tom Collins gave him a place to stay. He worked in a diner for a short time to help pay his share of the rent on the loft he and Collins shared with Roger Davis, his girlfriend April, Benny, and Mark's new girlfriend Maureen Johnson.
Soon enough, things started changing – Mark lost his job, Benny got married to a debutante and moved out, Collins went to pursue a job at MIT, until it was Roger, April, Maureen and Mark. The situation ended abruptly with April's unexpected suicide and Roger's diagnosis as HIV+. Suddenly Mark put all of his resources into new film projects and helping Roger through his intense withdrawal, which caused Mark and Maureen's relationship to fall by the wayside. Eventually she left him, leaving the two men to fend for themselves – at least until one fateful Christmas Eve when a girl with a candle, and a young man who drummed on a plastic pickle tub suddenly entered their lives.
Nowadays, Mark is still struggling with the single life he was introduced to after Maureen left him, and working to actually try and finish a film, before he loses his friends to the disease that is threatening to take their lives.
THE SAMPLE
In Character Sample:
On the Loft's duct-taped couch, Mark was dreaming - nothing terribly inventive, just basically replaying the same film he'd been watching again and again for weeks while cutting it all together. Places and sights and sounds and people flashing through his brain - the blue and red flash of a police car, the homeless lady walking down the street, a starving man in Tompkins Square Park. Then the more familiar, comforting sights - the Life Cafe, the Loft, Life Support, Joanne, Maureen, Collins, Angel, Mimi, Roger.
It was weird to have so many of these people missing from his life, and all at the same time. Losing Angel and Roger in the same week - Angel to his illness, Roger to the allure and escape of Santa Fe - and then Mimi disappearing around Thanksgiving. Collins having gone away to God knows where after Angel. Maureen and Joanne paid him visits every once in a while, but it wasn't the same. The Loft was empty.
Mark was alone. It was like a cold preview of the future, and he didn't like it one bit.
His sleeping mind just barely registered the noises - the window opening and closing, the creaking of the floorboards, the muted thud of bags hitting the floor. It wasn't quite enough to wake him. He sighed and shifted in his sleep, shivering with the cold.
He finally woke up at the feeling of the other blanket being laid on top of him, the extra warmth a surprise. He frowned to himself, eyes still closed, shifting again and coughing a little as he slowly dragged himself into a waking state. He didn't open his eyes until he heard the projector start then shut off suddenly. He stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, confused as hell, and then sat up, running a hand through his hair, and turned.
That was when he froze.
He stared at the sight in front of him for a long time, trying to determine whether or not he was still dreaming. In all honesty, he was quite tempted to pinch himself just to be sure. Mark blinked rapidly.
"...Roger?" He croaked out the name as he stared at the blond in front of him, his voice still raspy from sleep.
