Character Profile - Stephen Crossley

Who Am I?

My character is Stephen Crossley, he is 54 years old, unfortunately he looks older because of his cancer but he doesn't mind because he believes it makes him look wiser. Stephen has a slight ego but isn't too arrogant. For example in Act 2 scene 11 when I'm told Holly sells her body for money I'm not too surprised as she is below him. Stephen's illness doesn't bother him too much as he wants to live his life to the full because he knows he has limited time to do so. I believe Stephen has a bucket list but it is unique and not filled with things like parachuting. Stephen's bucket list contains things like warning young people about the terrors of Iran, and also showing people how in his words 'there is no god'. (BartlettM.2011'13'.Retrieved 14th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ) This is from Act 4 Scene 8 when speaking to John, Stephen truly believes there is no god as he is dying and yet no god is here to help him. He also wants to express his knowledge to John because he has so much power of the others in the play. Stephen doesn't have much of a family, he has no kids he has never been in a serious relationship and his Father died at the age of 22. His father was very religious and believed in God. Peter (Stephens father) went to church every Sunday with Eve (Stephens Mother). Peter died in a car crash after coming home from work one day. This affected Stephen so much that he started to question the existence of God and why he didn't save his dad from the crash ever since that Stephen would never attend church again, this angered his mother, after this Stephen who at the time is 22 moved out and hasn't spoken to his mother for 32 years, because of Stephens belief and also how Eve got married to a different man only 1 year after Peter died. Eve married a man called Clive who Stephen despised. Eve worked in a charity shop and Peter was a reverend for the local church, because of this they didn't have much money and at times Eve and Peter would go days without a meal to feed Stephen. Stephen knew from a young age that he wasn't rich and was bullied at school for not having shoes that were new or trendy at the time. After Stephen had moved out he started looking for a job having graduated from Oxford University. He worked as shop assistant for his uncle to get some money as well as a loan to attend Oxford. He graduated in Theology and Religion, while at Oxford he became friends with Ruth who would later become Prime Minister, however Ruth took Law at Oxford, yet Stephen and Ruth became good friends, 'I remember as a student you dancing so hard you knocked the rectors teeth out' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 15th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000024 ).

Theology and Religion at Oxford

After not finding man permanent jobs he decided to write a book called 'The Christian Faith' his first book in what would later become a trilogy. In this book he speaks about the different questions around Christianity. This book became very popular and Stephen managed to make enough money to take a PhD.
 While taking this he wrote the second book in his trilogy, to help him with his PhD, this book was called 'beyond belief'. This book also received a great reception. In this book he speaks about a world without belief. After he got his PhD, he went to lecture at different universities. This is where he met John. John was a student that was quite popular but also did his work to a great ability. John as a student stood up for what he believed in. Stephen lectured many classes and students but John was one of his favourites because of his tenacity towards his views on the world and religion. After John had graduated Stephen and him became good friends going to parties where they would drink and smoke. 'and he can drink alot'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 15th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000037 ). Stephen smoked for most of his life until he found out he had lung cancer. Stephen had been smoking ever since the age of 17. I made the assumption my character smokes as its the main cause of lung cancer. As soon as Stephen found out he had cancer he stopped smoking by taking different classes and nicotine patches, these patches are designed to help you stop smoking, at first Stephen was reluctant to try but after finding his cravings to hard to resist he blamed God and used the patches.

Smoking and Lung cancer causes
from Cancer Research

 As shown by the research I have done on lung cancer the length of time the person has smoked is more fatal. This shows how Stephen has smoked for a long time as he has cancer and it's terminal. Stephen isn't interested in any sports and has been called a nerd many times. He also enjoys having a coffee this is justified as he wants coffee when offered 'coffee' (BartlettM.2011.'13.' Retrieved 16th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). Stephen also likes to enjoy a meal out with friends and enjoys a glass of wine. 'Me and uncle Pinot' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000024 ). In '13' there are key themes such as war, 'I have no influence and we will go to this wrong war'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000056 ). Stephen links to this theme as he says how we have to go to this war even though no one wants to because we have to protect our values. 'no one wants this to happen, but we have to protect our interests.' (BartlettM.2011.'13' Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). This quote shows how Stephen doesn't want to go to war but it's the only option they have. Another strong theme in '13' is religion. From the alpha group to an atheist lecturer, religion and belief is a strong factor to '13'. Most characters in '13' believe in God or is unsure, except Stephen who strongly thinks there is no God. 'There's no God, no divine justice' (BartlettM.2011.'13'. Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). This shows how he truly believes there is no God because if there was why wouldn't he be helping Stephen with his lung cancer or the world and the problems surrounding it. This is also shown by Holly in the Alpha group but about Jesus. 'He could actually come down right now, do some miracles today'. (BartlettM.2011.'13' Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000019 ). The character of Holly can be linked to Stephen as they feel like they are the only ones being realistic and questioning belief even though they are so diverse as characters. I also in some ways think Stephen links to the protagonist John as they both are very outspoken and looking to change a generation and impact the lives of others but for different reasons. Ruth and my character also link as they are good friends and know each other well, this is shown as Ruth trusts Stephen when telling him information about John and Simon, 'I'd already heard about him from Simon' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000051 ). This shows how Ruth and Stephen are good friends and able to chat nostalgically.

Appearance and Personality

Stephen's clothes

Stephen is 6"1' with a average build he isn't plump but also is not slim, this build and height is like mine. His hair is short to medium whereas mine is medium length, for me to be able to get my hair to look like Stephens I will have to not wash my hair on the day of performance, by doing this my hair looks shorter. Stephen's eye colour is green yet mine is blue. I could use contacts to change my eye colour but I don't think it will make to much of a difference. For Stephens clothes I had the idea Stephen would wear a shirt as he was an older man and wanted to look formal, I also had the idea he would wear a cardigan to show his age. I had this idea for Stephen's clothing and even believed the black trousers would work as they represent his simple personality. I think the shirt is wrong however and needs to be chequered for Stephen. For his shoes I think he would wear navy blue/black formal shoes, maybe suede. I think the photo (bottom right), represents what Stephen would wear but less of a boot and more of a shoe.

Stephen is quite when socialising and doesn't get along with many people. He has a small case of autism but nothing severe or recognisable. Autism is a disability that affects the way a person communicates, this is why Stephen sometimes finds it hard to socialise or be in a crowd that is popular.

However, it helps him in some ways as he has a great memory and has a remarkable mind as he can work things out that to someone else could seem impossible. Stephen's autism means its hard for him to convey what he believes and sometimes would struggle with lectures, but since being told he was dying he showed that most of that was psychological as he managed to get over different fears when speaking to a crowd or socialising.

In some scenes like Act 1 scene 6 Stephen has a box, for this I found it difficult to find a box Stephen would use, I was thinking about using a ring box but I believed that may have been too obvious to the audience and so I looked around to try and find something suitable yet I found this difficult. So I asked some people in our class. Matt managed to bring in a box that I thought was excellent. The origins of this box are unknown as its from a charity shop, this makes it ever so more mysterious and fits with the idea behind it that God is trapped in it. The box is opened by a latch and the lid opens the top. This was great for this scene as I can reveal that there is nothing in the box to myself before I reveal it to the people in the lecture. This is naturalistic as the lecturer would check the box before showing the students.

Throughout the Play

To start Act 1 Stephen wakes up from the dream with the other 11. I wake up from a nightmare panting and subtly shocked. For this I used affective memory to think back to a dream I had a month ago that scared me like this one did to Stephen. Affective memory is one a technique created by Constantin Stanislavski and used in his 'system'. Affective memory demands the actor to recall a memory from a similar situation. Lee Strasberg an american actor and teacher developed Stanislavski's technique and said about sense memory, where the actor recalls the physical feeling surrounding the emotional event. I don't really have any objectives or obstacles in this scene.

In act 1 scene 6, I am lecturer in a London university. In this scene I am talking about a hypothetical situation and asking my students what they would do in a certain situation. To get to grips with this scene and how my character would act I had to do some research. I found some YouTube videos of a lecturer called Michael Sandel, in these videos Sandel talk's with a passion about the subject and also has a good rhythm and isn't too quiet. I tried to imitate Sandel's voice as I felt it would help give a naturalistic tone to this scene, I found this difficult to do as the on stage audience was a lot smaller than that of Harvard's audience. In scene 6 Stephen's objective is to enlighten students about the presence of God. My obstacle in this scene is students who are not listening and students that would rather play of their phone. Another obstacle is the riots outside as I don't want their noise to deafen out my voice. In this scene Stephen knows about the riots but isn't ready to take action.

The next scene I'm in is act 1 scene 17 with Ruth. My objective in this scene is to persuade Ruth to think about what she is saying in her speeches and to be honest to the public. 'people want you to be honest'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000024 ). My obstacles in this scene is Ruth as she believes she's giving the people what they want to hear. In this scene my voice is key as I am indoors and I don't have a lot of movement. In this scene I soften my voice to show how Ruth and Stephen are friends and how I don't need to project to a chorus or ensemble. In this scene Ruth asks how my sex life, after she asks this I react in a shocked way as even though Ruth and I are good friends it isn't appropriate and is unlikely to come out of the Prime Minister's mouth. 

In act 2 scene 11, Stephen finds out John is back and conducting a speech in the park. I come in shocked and also find what John is saying to be funny because even though he has gone he is still saying the same things. My objective in this scene is to find out where John has been and what he has been up to and to give him Ruth's mobile number. In this scene my obstacles are John as he is reluctant to tell me and keeps diverting the questions by saying things like 'do you thinks its going to rain?' (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 17th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000037). Holly ad Shannon are also my obstacles as they keep interrupting when I am about to give John Ruth's number.

Act 2 scene 12, Stephen and Ruth are in No. 10, Stephen has urgent news and his objective is to tell it to Ruth. However the obstacle in this scene is Ruth as she doesn't have a lot of time to talk. In this scene I am reluctant to tell Ruth that John is back because I don't know how she will react. In this scene Ruth smacks her hand on her dresser this scares me somewhat as I subtly move back. 

Halfway through act 3, I have a speech where I talk about the Iranian regime, in this scene my objective is to warn people about the things happening in Iran. My obstacle in this scene is my emotions as I can't let them get the better of Stephen when delivering this speech at Oxford union. With this speech I need to find a deep emotion on how I feel about Iranian regime and how women are stoned to death. However, I can't let my voice suffer.

In act 3 scene 8 I am continuing on from my speech, my objective is to keep warning people about the struggles in Iran and what might happen in the future. In this scene my obstacles are still my emotions. In this scene I have to be quick paced with my lines as it will give the scene more impact. 

At the beginning of act 4 I have a scene with Ruth. in this scene Ruth tells me how John and her dead son were best friends. This Stephen finds shocking. My objective in this scene is to listen to Ruth and the riots outside is an obstacle because it could at any moment be deafening. This scene for Stephen is mostly around his reaction to Ruth and emotions.

The next scene Stephen is in is act 4 scene 4, in this scene my objective is to persuade the Prime minister in to getting the police to help stop the riots. However Ruth being my obstacle in this scene doesn't think this is a good idea. In this scene I am trying to persuade Ruth so I will act as and talk in a very understated patronising way to make it seem like this is the best decision. 

For my final scene, act 4 scene 8, my lung cancer has got worse. This is seen by John at the start of the scene, 'You're ill'. (BartlettM.2011.'13'.Retrieved 19th November 2014 from http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/plays/13-iid-18480/do-9781408175187-div-00000057 ). In this scene my objective is to talk sense to John to show him that we have to protect our country even though no one wants this war. My obstacles in this scene being John and the rioters as the riots are getting worse and worse and more people are doing it. In this penultimate scene of act 4, Stephen starts to get annoyed and angry at John this I can show in raising the volume of my voice and shaking to show my illness. At the start of this scene where I get my coffee, I subtly shake with it a bit in my chair to show how the cancer is affecting me.

In '13' Stephen's overall objective is to convince people that there is no God, and he believes he has proof as he is dying and no God is helping him.

After '13' has finished, Stephen's lung cancer gets progressively worse and he starts to lose hair, he takes 6 different pills a day and he finds it difficult to cope but is still focused on his main objective. The bombing gets worse as war breaks out in Iran. Stephen feels he did the right thing persuading Ruth as he believes 'we have to protect our interests'. 1 month after the bombing begins in Iran, Stephen is admitted to hospital. Unfortunately, the lung cancer has spread all over the body. After hearing he only has a short time left to live, he calls up his mother, as Stephen's last wish is to make peace with his mum. His mum goes to see him in hospital and Stephen tells her that she's the only women in his life, 2 weeks after being sent to hospital, Dr Stephen Crossley dies.

To conclude, I have found that Stephen is a man who sticks by what he believes in, for example his Atheist ways. I have also found what Stephen wears and how it represents his personality. Stephen is a clever man and has a very mild case of autism. Unfortunately, Stephen's lung cancer gets the better of him and eventually he passes away.