Cassius Character Study - Julius Caesar

Cassius is the man who brought together the assassination of Julius Caesar. The scene that I play Cassius is the scene where he is with Brutus and they are both trying to find out each others opinions of Caesar without giving too much of their own away, because if they were overheard or the other disagreed they could be accused of treason.

Cassius intensely dislikes Caesar personally, but he also deeply resents being subservient to a tyrant, and there are indications that he would fight for his personal freedom under any tyrant. He does not resent following the almost dictatorial pronouncements of his equal, Brutus, although he does disagree with most of Brutus' tactical decisions. Cassius and Brutus are old friends and fought together at Pompey (against Caesar and where both pardoned) but Cassius was not forgiven as quickly as Brutus was. This creates tension between the two characters but it has to be masked behind the politeness and respect of governors. However, out of all the leading characters in Julius Caesar, Cassius develops most as the action progresses. At the end of Act I, Scene 2, he is a passionate and devious manipulator striving to use Brutus to gain his ends. By the end of Act IV, Scene 3, he is a calm friend of Brutus who will remain faithful to their friendship until death.

 I did an exercise where I stepped in to my character's shoes and acted how I thought they would act in a certain situation. One of the scenarios was a boy playing a prank on a man but the man caught him and hit him, how would your character react? I saw Cassius as not caring and the thought that run through my head was, "Life's not a joke. Life's tough. The sooner people learn that the better." This showed me a great deal of my character, that he is cold, intelligent and always thinking ahead, so any situation usually went his way.

 

 

Caesar talks about Cassius to Mark Antony saying,
"Let me have men about me that are fat,

Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.

He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous."

 

"He reads much.

He is a great observer, and he looks

Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays,

As thou dost, Antony. He hears no music.

Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort

As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit

That could be moved to smile at anything."

 

The way he describes him shows Cassius as being ill compared to the other men because they have bigger bodies and wide awake eyes. I think what he means by saying this is that all the other men seem happy while Cassius always has hunger in his eyes, for what however Caesar does not know and that's what makes him dangerous to Caesar as he can see him always thinking and observing other people picking up their habits, weaknesses, strengths.

 

I played my Cassius as cold. He smiles at Brutus and touches his arms to show familiarity but when Brutus touched him he looks down at the hand and steps back to provide space between them. He watches Brutus carefully every time he talks about Caesar to see his reaction to his name. This is where him being observant comes in as he holds strong eye contact at all times showing that he will not shy away from what he's saying or what Brutus has to say to him.

 

This scene shows Cassius as being ambitious and calculating. He knows Brutus well and in the conversation they have he appeals to Brutus' sense of honour, nobility, and pride, knowing that the only way to get Brutus on his side is to make him think he's doing it all for the greater good; a better future for Rome as he's scared that Caesar has too much power for one man.

The subject we talk of in the scene could lead to treason if found out, we played the scene with a hint of urgency and hushed conversations but as Cassius tells his story he gets more aggressive and the audience can see him losing control and for a character whose so quiet and clever it comes as a shock to the audience and Brutus alike. For this scene I made him treat Brutus like a fool in a way that should know better of the circumstance of one man having that much power.

"Brutus and Caesar—what should be in that “Caesar”?

Why should that name be sounded more than yours?"

 

Even though Brutus is an honourable man, self-righteousness comes into play here as all human beings - no matter how loyal or honourable - always look out for themselves and see their own self worth. And Cassius being the keen observe that he is uses this to his advantage of bringing Brutus to his side, and Brutus could see him as speaking the truth. Why should Caesar's name be proclaimed more than his?

Monologue Blog 3 - An Ideal Husband

For my final monologue I have chosen to play the character of Mabel Chiltern from the play 'An Ideal Husband' by Oscar Wilde. Mabel is an exemplar of English prettiness, Mabel, Sir Robert's younger sister, embodies what Wilde describes as the "fascinating tyranny of youth" and "astonishing courage of innocence." She is in love with Lord Goring and flirts with him until he proposes to her. She is witty and modern and a perfect partner for him, since they are both rebellious towards social expectations. Tommy Trafford, her brother’s secretary, regularly proposes to her, but she holds out for Lord Goring.



The monologue shows Mabel as being high class with the use of words such as, "repartee, absurdly unreasonable, luncheon..." I portrayed her as being high class by not being overly posh (just well spoken) but more in the way she holds herself. I sat straight in a chair, with my hands in my lap and my feet firmly planted on the ground. The whole monologue I stayed seated  and did not fidget as I do not see a character of high birth walking up and down and playing with her clothing, hands or hair, as she would have to act like a proper lady - even in the comfort of her own home.

I see Mabel as being quite spoilt, "Well, Tommy has proposed to me again. Tommy really does nothing but propose to me." She doesn't even want to marry Tommy but she does nothing to stop him chasing after her. The line I used as an example is the first line of the monologue and it really introduces her effectively as I say it with a bored expression on my face and a drawl tone. Being proposed to is a special occasion and must be treated as such but she could care less and treats it as a game.

She does not mind insulting people, "Musical people are so absurdly unreasonable. They always want one to be perfectly dumb at the very moment when one is longing to be absolutely deaf." which shows her as still being a child not caring who she hurts. I made her scrunch up her nose to give off the feel of distaste and made her voice go a bit nasally to show her dislike for musical people, like they are lower than her and should know their place.

This line, "At luncheon I saw by the glare in his eye that he was going to propose again, and I just managed to check him in time by assuring him that I was a bimetallist." shows that she is very intelligent as she came up with bimetallist on the spot. I did the line laughing as I think the situation would be amusing to her, because she never takes Tommy's proposals seriously.

The last couple of lines show who she is perfectly, "I am very fond of Tommy, but his methods of proposing are quite out of date. I wish, Gertrude, you would speak to him, and tell him that once a week is quite often enough to propose to any one, and that it should always be done in a manner that attracts some attention." I believe that she is fond of Tommy but not in the way he wants her to be and it shows again how spoilt she is by her wanting to get attention from the public. I played it as her saying the line, "I am very fond of Tommy," in a gentler voice and a slight smile but dismisses it by asking Gertrude to speak to him. When asking Gertrude of that I lean in close like I'm telling a secret of the utmost importance and lower my voice so she understands how important this is to her.

Classical Monologue Blog 2

For my classical monologue I have chosen to play the character of Hermia from 'A Midsummer's Night Dream' by William Shakespeare. Act 3 Scene 2 page 305. I have chosen this monologue because throughout the play she is shown as a strong woman, even though she does all the things she did for love she's no fool, and though she realises that men break promises, she's willing to take a chance and run off with Lysander anyway. For all these reasons, Hermia approaches love as though it were something easily threatened, but not easily lost. It also contrasts beautifully with my other monologue - Dido. As Hermia knows exactly what she wants and who she is, and has enough humour to balance out the drama.

Act 3 Scene 2
HERMIA

“Puppet”? Why so?—Ay, that way goes the game.

Now I perceive that she hath made compare

Between our statures. She hath urged her height,

And with her personage, her tall personage,

Her height, forsooth, she hath prevailed with him.—

And are you grown so high in his esteem

Because I am so dwarfish and so low?

How low am I, thou painted maypole? Speak.

How low am I? I am not yet so low

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

Translation:
“Puppet”? Why “puppet”?—Oh, I see where this is going. She’s talking about our difference in height. She’s paraded in front of him to show off how tall she is. She won him over with her height.—Does he have such a high opinion of you because I’m so short? Is that it? So how short am I, you painted barber pole? Tell me. How short am I? I’m not too short to gouge your eyes out with my fingernails.


Washington Allston's 1818 painting Hermia and Helena.

This monologue is humorous which I show by the way I say the words and use my facial expressions. For example, "Ay, that way goes the game." To make it humorous I say it in a high voice, with my eyebrows raised in disbelief, as my character can not believe that Helena just said that.

In rehearsal I tried making her seem bigger than she was. I made her chin stick out to make her seem taller than she actually was and I did it on the line "How low am I?" After I did it however I realised that it just made her seem childish and I didn't want her to come off as silly. So instead of raising my chin I just looked up at an imaginary figure to show that she can stand her ground no matter how small she is.

At the very beginning of the monologue I show her as being confused as to why Helena has called her a puppet. When she realised the meaning she laughed, an amused laugh however that was meant to shame Helena for saying such a thing. I got feedback saying that the laugh really worked as it was believable and showed a different side to Hermia, which I wanted to achieve as Hermia is a pretty complex character.

"I am not yet so low But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes." - is the last line of the monologue and I play it with a touch of hurt and anger. Instead of her lunging for Helena I made her stand still but punch the line with the tone of her voice. I made her voice crack half way through to show that she's more hurt than she lets on and because she shows that weakness the anger she finishes on comes more powerfully.

Cissy Character Study

Basic facts of my character:

Name: Cissy Franks

Age: 17

Year: The play is based in present day from Monday 6th of October to Wednesday 24th of December.

School life: Cissy is Bennett's girlfriend, and best friends with Tanya. She does very well in school and always gets top grades.

Facts we know of her: She has a photographic memory, that's why she never needs to revise, wants to leave Stockport, has a problem with her mum, seems to always defend Bennett, is very close to Tanya but doesn't usually get involved when Bennett picks on her, self-conscious about her weight, gossiper (tells everything to Bennett).

My opinion of my character:

I think Cissy is probably the hardest character to figure out. The more we learn about her the more mysterious she becomes. Why does she need to get good grades all the time? And why is she so terrified of her mum? I think Cissy is scared to fade away into the crowd and not get noticed by her friends. That's why I think she's Bennett's girlfriend, she can't fade away when she's dating one of the popular guys in school.

History of my character:

As I have stated some of the facts before this is where I give my own back story to Cissy. I see Cissy as an only child, her parents are married but her dad's never home, always working, while the mum also works she puts a lot of pressure on Cissy to do good in school. I gave two reasons for this: her mum is tough on her because she wants Cissy to be just like her or because she wants Cissy to be everything that she failed to be. I chose the first option as Cissy is in a private school so her family has money and it makes Cissy not want to disappoint her as she wants to prove that she can be as good as her mum.

She has been going out with Bennett for about eight months and has not been intimate with him yet. The only thing they do is kiss and hold hands. This makes Cissy feels rejected and makes her self-conscious about her appearance, "I'm so fat." In a way I think Cissy knows that her boyfriend is gay and fancies Nicholas because whenever Nicholas is in the room she tries to get between them as much as she can, especially in scene one: Bennett complimented Nicholas on his new jacket and Cissy cut in asking, "Can I try it on?" to bring the attention of Bennett back to her. But it backfired as Bennett replied, "It looks better on Nicholas." I played her as if she didn't care about the remark but when Bennett turned away her face fell and shot an evil look to Nicholas, who was oblivious to it all. However, I don't think she has strong feelings for Bennett, she uses him to higher her social status and to keep him interested she tells him everything she hears. She's like a chameleon, blending in in different environments to fit in.

One of the things we learn about Cissy is that she doesn't want children until she's about 42, "I want to wait till I can afford to have somebody else look after them." The reason I gave her for thinking this way is because her parents did the same thing for her when she was younger; hire a nanny to look after her, till she was old enough to take care of herself. Now however, cause she's older her mum comes home every night to make sure Cissy is home, focusing on her studying.

The thought that went into developing my character:

Cissy goes to a private grammar school, so I see her as well dressed, well spoken, I think she would try to do everything perfectly and be the best, to gain her mum's approval. Good posture, sat like a lady, school bag with folders in it, different colours for different subjects. She's a show off, so when she did talk she speaks loud to gain other people's attention. I see her as laughing at Bennett's insults just to make him happy, so he can approve of her, not because she agrees on what he's saying.

Relationship with other characters:

Bennett: Their relationship is a use and gain one. He uses her to be his cover up for being gay. 'Hey look I can't be gay cause I have a girlfriend.' She uses him to gain popularity, people know her because she's Bennett's girlfriend. She wants an intimate relationship with him but he keeps on turning her down, and I think he gets revenge on her through Tanya. Most of the verbal abuse he gives Tanya is also directed at Cissy. So their relationship is not a healthy one.

Tanya: The only person I see Cissy having genuine feelings for is Tanya, her best friend. Even though we see her telling Bennett secrets Tanya only trusted her with, she chases after her to probably beg her forgiveness or give an excuse on why she told him. She values her friendship and feels guilty when she doesn't stop Bennett from picking on Chadwick, not because the others disapprove of her not saying anything, or that they may not like her, but because of the way Tanya looks disappointed in her. I think Tanya stays Cissy's friend because she sees the real Cissy, the Cissy who acts herself and not how other people expect her to act. Tanya also know what her mum's like which shows a strong bond between them, as Tanya probably goes around her house a lot and Cissy confiding in her about her mum.

Nicholas: Cissy and Nicholas don't speak much even though they are in the same friendship group. But whenever he walks through the room Cissy notices him instantly because she thinks that Bennett likes him and tries to distract Bennett so he won't pay attention or talk to Nicholas. So what she feels for Nicholas I'd say is envy, for getting the kind of attention she craves from her boyfriend.

Lily: Lily is the new girl and Cissy is very weary of her in the beginning, the whole time while Lily is talking to the group Cissy kept on staring at her, I think it's because a new person - especially a girl - could upset the social balance of the group. We see her in another scene later on in the play being friendly with Lily and laughing together, enjoying each other's company until things got awkward when Lily asked about Cissy's relationship with Bennett, which Lily picked up on and continued asking.

Chadwick: Out of everyone I think Cissy's most complicated relationship is with Chadwick. I think she's jealous of him because he is so much more smarter than her and it doesn't even seem like he tries. I don't think she dislikes Chadwick - I actually think she respects him and his opinion and view on life - but when Bennett picks on Chadwick she joins in to gain Bennett's approval. But halfway through the play, after they share a moment her attitude changes towards him for the better, she's more nicer and accepting.

Contempary Monologue Blog 1

For my contempory monologue I picked the character of Dido Elizabeth Belle from the play 'The Wardrobe' by Sam Holcroft. I performed the character of Dido Elizabeth Belle before and I know that character inside and out. Dido is a real person who was born on the year 1761 and died on the year 1804. She was an illegitimate daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved African woman known as Maria Belle. Dido was sent to live in the household of William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, who was Lindsay's uncle and thus Dido's great-uncle.


The painting above was drawn 1779, formerly attributed to Johann Zoffany, depicts Dido alongside her cousin Elizabeth, carrying exotic fruit and wearing a turban with a large feather. Dido is portrayed with extraordinary vivacity, while the depiction of her cousin is stiff and formalized.

The reason why I love this monolgoue and have chosen to do it for my audition speech is because it has a range of emotions throughout the piece. What I have to remember when performing this speech is that Dido is only 13 years old and the way I sometimes play it makes her seem a lot older, so the beginning paragraph is when I bring out her inner-child and gradually during the speech it gets darker as Dido digs deeper into her life.

Dido comes from a time where everybody knew who they were and knew what they were allowed to do or say or wear or act. Dido was a confused girl who was forced to grow up too quickly and didn't know who she was. As you see in the picture above Dido was mixed race but because she wasn't a servant she couldn't talk to them and because she wasn't white she couldn't join her uncle's guests for dinner and during the monologue you see how much this effects her even though she never shows it to the world. That's why she feels so comfortable talking to God.

I made the beginning paragraph light-hearted as that was how I felt to perform it. The lines also helped me set the mood. For example, "Thank you most especially for the fat pigeon that comes to rest in the old oak. I have named him Charlie. Fat Charlie." I made the line light-hearted by doing a face at the end of the sentence - portraying fat Charlie and bobbing my head up and down like pigeons do, which creates amusement in the monologue. It's such a simple line but it touches you as you realise all the things you take for granted.

During the monologue Dido has become angrier and angrier and shows it by the things she says, "Even though my illegitimacy and the colour of my skin mean that I am not eligible to eat with the family at the table, or join their guests for dinner..." Although I say this angrily I also glance down as I say it as I want the audience to feel pity for Dido who is being excluded from so many things for something that she has no control over or can't change. So it comes as a shock to the audience when she smacks her hand against the wardrobe as although they could see she was angry it was tamed anger until that shocking outburst. Previously when I performed the monologue I did slam my hand against the wardrobe or floor but this time I went more emotional angry then violent to see the different dynamic.

Shakespeare Blog 1

Understanding the social, political, historical, and cultural background of Shakespearean Theatre and its relevance and changes to today

The way Julius Caesar was performed and staged at The Globe Theatre in 1599 was very different to how it is done today. These differences exist due to the social, political, historical and cultural changes.

Julius Caesar is Shakespeare's first tragedy. It tells the story of the conspiracy to kill Caesar, his assassination, and the civil war that followed, as Caesar's ghost bloodily pursued the chief murderers across the Roman world. Nothing like it had been seen on the stage before, as before that he wrote plays focusing on the English civil war called The Wars Of The Roses the war between the house of Lancaster and York. At this time Queen Elizabeth was on the throne who was Henry VII's daughter and Shakespeare's play showed Henry in a negative light; by questioning him as a ruler. Which was a very risky choice considering the punishments. Shakespeare would hide the darker content of the play by making the actors perform fun and playfully.

Shakespeare used Julius Caesar to question politics at that time as the play is based on true events. Julius Caesar represents Queen Elizabeth who was sixty-six years old at the time with no children making it apparent that there was going to be no heir to the throne and because of this many of her subjects questioned what would happen upon her death. Many of them believed that chaos would hit the streets, once she died, so they were looking at who would take her place, and who would be fit to rule. Caesar doesn't have children, just as Elizabeth I, the play also looks at Caesar's subjects and how they worry about how much chaos his death would bring to the people. Which ultimately does happen after Mark Antony's gives his famous speech, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears" So it is as if Shakespeare was foreshadowing life events before they had happened.

Shakespeare appeals to modern audiences and different countries political unrest is the reason why the play is still put on today and many people can relate to the play. For example Nelson Mandela, he comes from a different historical time, a different country and a different culture. However it was a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, in particular a passage from Julius Caesar, that spoke to Mandela during one of the darkest times in his life – his imprisonment on Robben Island for his part in the uprising against Apartheid in South Africa. The quote that he highlighted was, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard. It seems to me most strange that men should fear; Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come." The character who says this piece is Julius Caesar himself, I think this speaks volumes on how similar two different people can think and this quote explains both of their situations perfectly.

Politics were very significant in 1599, and the way Shakespeare wrote Julius Caesar it gave us a chance to modernise it about our problems today. For example, Julius Caesar was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company with an all-black cast set in Africa, which updated the plot and also showed the audience that many cultures are still around today and assassinations still occur all around the world.

The English Bible was the most powerful cultural as well as religious influence on the people of Britain in the later years of the century and Shakespeare used this to his advantage as the themes of ‘Julius Caesar’ are themes of  leadership, betrayal and honour, which parallels to Jesus Christ as the themes also resolved around leadership, betrayal and honour. This is something that has definitely changed now (even though religion is still a big aspect of the world) as there are so many different religions and in Elizabethan time schools taught the official religion chosen by the reigning Queen or King, while schools nowadays teach all different religions to understand that religions culture.

At this time actors would have been seen as the lowest of the low, as the people they were associated with was gamblers, prostitutes and drunks. Even though the area was frowned upon with its low status, rich men and women would often still attend the theatre. They would sit in a seating area that was right above the stage this would be so that the commoners (who were known as the Groundlings) would see them. The groundlings used to watch whoever was up there at that time and see how they would react to the play. If one of them yawned, the play would be classified as boring and the audience would lose interest. As manners around theatre was very different then. For example, going to the theatre now is looked upon as a treat. You only really go on special occasion's, e.g. someone's birthday. What you expect to happen happens; you get shown to your seat, they politely ask you to turn off your phone and quietly watch the performance, in respect for the actors. You also spend good money to watch the performance.

Back in the 1600s theatre was seen as a completely different event. The people that time probably saw it as a social event. They would talk through the whole performance, boo the actor if they weren't entertaining enough and throw food at them. On these occasions the actor would change the play, right on stage they would just start being another character. The tickets were also very cheap compared to now.

The theatre itself was first built around 1599 in Southwark on the south bank of the Thames.  This area of Thames was not part of London in that time and all the illicit activities took place here. Like brothels and bear hunting. Gambling. Plays were usually performed in the afternoon, so they could use the daylight from the open roof. They would have little scenery and basic props (little more than a table, dagger, chair etc..). Costumes were either made by the actors from their own clothes or things they found at home (props were also sourced from homes or small shops) but the finest costumes were donated or sold for affordable prices by wealthy people after that type of clothing had gone out of fashion.

During a performance of Henry VIII in 1613, a stage cannon malfunctioned, causing the thatched roof to catch fire, resulting in the entire theatre burning to the ground. Some believe this was a plot to stop the play being performed, or even an assassination attempt on Shakespeare. It was quickly rebuilt with a tiled roof, and ran smoothly until 1642, when England's Puritan administration closed all theatres. It was demolished in 1644 to make room for tenements (apartment houses).