Post by markcohen on Oct 10, 2011 23:18:32 GMT -5
MARK COHEN
"Why am I the witness?"
[/size]"Why am I the witness?"
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Alias: Kimberly
Other Characters: N/A
Rewritten City Found Via: Caution
Contact: PM, please.
Comments: Thank You, Jonathan Larson.
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00I. full name Mark Cohen
0II. canon or original RENT Canon
III. years of age Twenty-four
0IV. orientation (optional) Heterosexual
00V. social status Lower Class
0VI. occupation Filmmaker ; currentlyunemployedkeeping options open.
00I. play by Anthony Rapp
0II. body type Slight (skinny).
III. height 5'8"
0IV. eyes color Blue
00V. description
Mark Cohen, upon first glance, is very unassuming. He has very blonde hair, black thick framed glasses, and his skin makes it seem as if he hasn't seen the light of the sun in quite some time. He has a slender frame, which most people would refer to as skinny, due to both his naturally fast metabolism and the lack of money to buy a sufficient amount of food. He usually wears clothes that are red, blue, or in muted tones like brown. They're old, thrift store clothes or ones that were shrunken at the laundromat (thank you, Roger--although, true, that Van Halen t-shirt does look stupid on Mark). He has kind, curious, expressive clear blue eyes that sit below very light eyebrows (Maureen has called them his 'invisible eyebrows' before). In general, if you ended up in a dark alley with this guy, you wouldn't be worried. Think of him like a small, furry animal. It's not very difficult, is it? Exactly. Basically, he has a vulnerable quality about him that isn't very well hidden by his appearance.
00I. overall personality
Mark can be described in the following words: naive, vulnerable, compassionate, honest, generous, and nervous. To begin with, he's always had a bit of a naivete to him--after all, he dated Maureen for a long time before he found out she was cheating on him with...well, members of both sexes. Even though he knew, he was too much of a non-confrontational person to really do anything about it. This leads us to his vulnerability. He's easily manipulated, and some people are very good at it. Now, before I make you sad thinking about Mark's heartbroken face, I should move on to 'compassionate'. Yes, this 'bleeding heart cameraman' (I kid, I kid), is known to have a very good heart. He cares about other people and what happens to them. Mark is also honest and says what he's thinking, usually. It takes a lot for him to really vent some things. With his compassion and honesty comes his generosity. He wants to make films that can help people, not just make money--that was why he quit Buzzline; he refuses to sell out now, not caring about the paycheck that came with a million strings attached, strangling any dignity that he had. Too graphic? Oh, yeah--Mark's a nervous guy, too. But I think you already knew that. Not the best at all social situations but trying to improve? Thaaaat's Mark!
0II. strengths Intelligent, Observant, Kind, Selfless
III. weaknesses Introvert, Clumsy, Gullible, Women, Bottles things up
0IV. goals Mark used to want to have a successful film career, but right now all he really wants is to be happy and enjoy the people he loves. He's still filming, of course, but it's mostly just about finding a way to connect his work to helping the people around him. Not just that, he wants to help others by showing how the people around him live their lives to the fullest every day.
00I. notable family & friends
Elijah Cohen, father, 58
Sarah Cohen, mother, 56
Cindy Cohen-Epstein, sister, 28
Aaron Epstein, brother-in-law, 34
Charlie Epstein, nephew, 4
Rebekah Epstein, niece, 3
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Roger Davis, best friend, 25
Tom Collins, close friend
Maureen Johnson, ex-girlfriend
Mimi Marquez, close friend
Angel Dumott-Schunard, close friend (deceased)
Benjamin Coffin III, ex-roommate, ex-friend
0II. overall history
Mark Cohen was born in Scarsdale. His parents had a daughter before that, and named her Cindy; odd, considering the nature of their own first names. 4 years later, they had Mark, named by one of the nurses at the hospital. This would be the first disconnect between him and his parents. As he grew up, he was always slightly in his older sister's shadow. He would tag along with her and her friends, until the day when she finally told him that he needed to find his own friends. The problem was, his social skills when he entered school weren't the best, so he found it difficult to make friends. By the time he was in fifth grade, he was 'that loser with no friends'. It was hard to deal with, but he did. He found refuge in watching movies. His sister, of all people, noticed how much he loved it around the time he was in eighth grade. For Christmas, she bought him an old camera. Instantly, they grew closer as siblings. Unfortunately, she went away to New York City for college. He visited with their parents a few times, and always ended up going off on his own for a bit. The city was the perfect place to get footage, and it was then that he decided that he'd move out there when he could.
High school, academics wise, was easy for Mark. Other than that, it was absolute hell. He was bullied constantly, and for some reason no one saw any reason to stop it. He told teachers who gave him advice to act tougher. It was hard for him to seem tough, he'd remind them, but they gave empty encouragement. By the time he graduated high school (a year early), he was on his way to Brown University. He majored in English, mostly because he had no idea what he wanted to do after college. Well--he kind of knew. He tried to go to NYU for film, but he was denied acceptance due to missing the deadline. Then, once he got into the Ivy League school, his parents were so overjoyed that he stayed. He stayed at Brown for a year before dropping out.
Obviously, the Cohens were not very happy about Mark dropping out of college. There was a pretty big falling out, and he fled to the city. The problem was, his savings (he worked from the time he was 14, at the library) needed to last him until he could find a job. So, he found an ad for roommates in Alphabet City. Mark had thought back to his life at home, in high school, even college (he had been the 'outcast' of sorts at Brown) and knew that something had to change, in a big way. So, he met the people he would be living with: Roger Davis, a tough rocker kind of guy who would become like a brother to him. Tom Collins, an intelligent man who liked to bend the rules (or break them), and Benjamin Coffin III...okay, he was alright for a guy who seemed really into finances. Anyway, they lived in a loft apartment and it wasn't anywhere close to living well. But every time Mark got his camera and went out on the streets and got great footage, it was worth it. Plus, he didn't need to be around his family and be reminded that he was a constant disappointment.
Soon, Roger met April. Within a week, she had moved into the Loft. Okay, that was strange. Mark only knew a little bit about her. She was a nice person, though. She actually talked to him and Collins. Benny was always off on a date or something. By that point, he had met someone named Alison. Anyway, Mark grew to like April. Within that time frame, Mark met Maureen Johnson. She had completely wrapped him around her finger, before they were even together. Before she had said a word, he was practically in love. The fact that she talked to him made him feel so good, that he tried to talk to her as much as he could. Apparently, she found him 'cute' and 'interesting'. Oh, and 'funny'. Funny was good, right? They started dating and, upon finding out he was a virgin, seduced him two weeks into the relationship. By then, he had completely fallen for her.
April killed herself. Roger was a wreck, and Mark took care of him. He ignored Maureen to do so much of the time, but he couldn't let Roger go back to shooting up. Finally, it got better. But it also got worse. Maureen had been cheating on him (she cheated on him a lot) with a lawyer, and dumped him. A lawyer named Joanne. Yes, Maureen had dumped him for another woman. This crushed him, and he tried to act like it made him angry. Really, it broke his heart but Mark was always good at hiding his emotions. He had to stay strong for Roger, who had been diagnosed with AIDS. Roger did find love again, meeting Mimi Marquez. She became like a sister to Mark, really. Still, he stayed as strong as he could while having multiple friends whose lives had been cut in half. It was hard, and he completely hid in his work. Mark got a job at Buzzline because of how much they were hurting for money, for food, for anything. Selling out...staying strong. This wouldn't last for long, especially after Angel's death. Everything fell apart, and Roger left. Mimi was dying and went missing. Roger came back, Christmas Eve, and that was when Mark quit his job at Buzzline. He finished his movie, and now he's trying to take life day by day, enjoying the time he has with the people he loves.
III. sample postMark exited the loft, messenger bag strapped over his shoulder. Adjusting his glasses, he shifted the bag before picking up his bicycle. Immediately, one of the wheels fell off an proceeded to roll away a few feet before bouncing down the flights of stairs. It landed loudly on the bottom floor landing, and he cringed, knowing that the early morning hour would make people angry about the sudden loud noise. He stood still, blue eyes wide and mouth slightly agape before he heard annoyed voices from below. He winced and headed down without the rest of the bike. Quickly, he snatched up the runaway wheel and set it against the inner wall. It would be fine there, he figured, before heading into the cold air. It was still winter, so his breath created a white cloud from his nose and mouth. His navy and white striped scarf was wrapped around his neck, accompanied by his plaid coat (which Mimi had managed to mend for him). He shivered slightly, but reached down into his bag, retrieving his treasured camera. He held it carefully and protectively in his hands, choosing to get some footage of the rooftops from below, since the sun was beginning to rise. As he stood on the sidewalk, he backed up to get a better angle. As he did that, he collided with someone. Instinctively, he hugged his camera to his chest...as he fell down.
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SYR INTEGRA of CAUTION 2.0 created this, modified by Yols with Shakespeare lines.
