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.