Aaron Jacob Levy (Introduction)
(still a work-in-progress)
details
full name: Aaron Jacob Levy
age: 38 years old
date of birth: February 16, 1986
place of birth: New York, New York
residential area: Downtown, Starlight Oaks, Washington State
gender: Cis-Male
pronouns: He/Him
sexuality: Bisexual
martial status: Single
occupation: Theatre Professor, Actor
faceclaim: Andrew Garfield
personality
personality type: ENFJ | the protagonist
moral alignment: chaotic good
astrology: Aquarius Sun, Taurus Moon, Cancer Rising
three positive traits: charming, quick-witted, kind
three negative traits: fickle, moody, neurotic
education: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, NYU | Masters in Fine Arts in Acting, Brown/Trinity REP
background
tw: death, grief, loss, cheating, cancer
It was a brilliantly sunny day when Aaron was born, which was not normal for February in New York City. Maybe it was a sign of things to come. The Lower East Side was his playground, and Aaron grew up living a happy life. His parents had been high school sweethearts growing up in Philadelphia, and they instilled in him, at a very young age, that love was indeed all you needed. Though they didn’t live in excess, his mother was a middle school choir teacher, and his father was a high school librarian; they had all that they needed. When he was five, they gave Aaron a baby sister, Talia, his best friend in the world.
It was many years of bliss—years filled with dirt-cheap movies, Hanukkah celebrations, record stores, and homemade matzoh ball soup. Years of discovering Shakespeare and pop music and discovering that maybe Aaron liked boys as much as he liked girls. Years of music, laughter, and joy filled the Levy household. Aaron wanted for nothing back then. He thinks back on this time in his life with bittersweet fondness, knowing he was lucky to grow up in a place that felt so warm.
When he was 18, he moved a few blocks north and attended NYU for his BFA in Theatre. He had found theatre in high school without much pushback from his parents. Yes, of course, it was a risky career path. But he had a spark, this big burning flare of talent and passion, and his parents didn’t want to snuff it out. Aaron had to work two jobs, alternating between working at a cinema and a bar, to afford anything, but he was happy, and that was enough.
It wasn’t until his senior year of college when his father got sick. Cancer caught him quickly and gave him little time. Aaron was devastated, trying to be home as much as he could. It was setting up for his Senior Showcase, but he didn’t have it in him to push through the pain and try as hard as he might have under better circumstances. He needed to be there for his mother and Talia. He spent much of the time that he was supposed to be in rehearsals, visiting his father in the hospital. It all went so fast, and suddenly, the wonderful Levys were now a family of three.
He managed to graduate, thankfully. Aaron was despondent, but he had maintained his grades and relatively good standing with the university, so he got out on time. He didn’t do particularly well in his Showcase, however, so he was not matched with an agent and manager like most of his classmates. It took him three years of hustling and grinding to make his way up on his own. Skimping on meals and working until he was numb and delirious. But it was also distracting, and carrying the grief he still held; he was grateful for any distractions.
And then, one fine day, right after his 25th birthday, Aaron was unbelievably lucky. Or at least, that’s what he says. He was in the elevator with the right casting agent, just making small talk, and landed an audition for Shakespeare in the Park’s summer production of A Winter’s Tale. He landed the part of Florizel, and from there, the parts just kept on coming. Over the next few years, he became a bona fide Broadway mainstay, hopping between contemporary and classical works effortlessly. He even had a brief stint as Fiyero in Wicked, which… scarred him for life. He would never do a musical again. He had bit roles in long-running New York City TV shows, like Law & Order SVU, and he felt calm. Like the hard work paid off, and he was making his dad proud.
It was early into these years that he met Travis Walker, a Broadway investor. Travis was older, not by a huge amount, but by enough. Over the years, Aaron had his fair share of flings; men and women were constant but fleeting, and he didn’t place too much stock into forming long-lasting relationships. He was married to his work, and though he was taught that love was so important, he found love in other things: his friends, and his plays and his drive to create art that mattered. But he met Travis on the opening night of one of his plays, and things moved quickly.
He fell, and he fell hard. Aaron was besotted. This was what he had been waiting for, at least he thought. It was perfect: every time he looked at Travis, he could swear he heard choirs singing like angels were in his ears. This was the love his parents had gone on and on about… it had to be. He felt infatuated and believed that he was adored in return. Travis would buy him trinkets and take him on lavish dates and make space for him in his penthouse on Fifth Avenue… this was the dream.
But soon, that dream was five years long. And Aaron was at the peak of his career, having just given a star turn as Hamlet. He thought he felt the proposal coming on… it had been years, and he had been so patient and attentive, even when Travis had his moods. Even when Travis started to travel much more. Even when things felt lonely. He was supposed to be at the theatre one night for a post-show celebration, but he decided to head out early for the evening, wanting to spend the evening with his partner. When he got home, he discovered a waking nightmare: Travis and a chorus boy. He methodically packed up, absolutely crushed by Travis’ cold and cruel nonchalance at what had transpired. He didn’t even care that it was ending… and then it was done.
Aaron needed to leave the city… he needed to get out. He moved most of his things, which weren’t too much, into a storage unit, grabbed a large backpack, and left. Took a flight to Europe and backpacked. Spent some time roaming around Asia. Came back to the States and got off and on Greyhound buses until he was fully wiped. It was almost two years of this. He needed to shake it out of his system and get the grief and the loss out of him. It was then, at age 32, that he decided he would go back and get his Masters.
Getting into Brown’s program was easy. He was a celebrated actor and though the shock of him being in class with his cohort was a bit much, at first, he settled in nicely. He fell in love with Rhode Island, and 3 years on the coast did him well. He learned so much about himself and what he wanted to do, and what he needed in his life, and he wouldn’t have traded that time for the whole world. When he got out, he was still disillusioned with New York, so he looked for jobs elsewhere.
That’s how he landed on Starlight Oaks. He’d had a friend in his cohort who had spent some time in the area, and when he saw an open job at the University, his friend recommended it. It was another coastal city, welcoming and waiting for him. He couldn’t wait to see what was in store.
