#ip!

Sometimes, I guess you need to hear it. Sometimes, you need to hear it from a girl who got dumped over the phone in the span of 5 minutes. Sometimes,

you need a night where good vibes and big laughs are shared. 

Not the nights where you wish you could have someone who cared look your way. 

Ara cares a lot for Cal and Maya but since they are closer to each other than they are to her, she is very lonely.

She resents responsibility and authority but has to take on the responsibility of caring for Cal and Maya so cannot be as dismissive of authority and carefree as I initially supposed. 

She has realized that the only way to survive is to become a part of mainstream society and get a steady job that pays enough for her to support Cal and Maya. 

Her sarcastic and aggressive nature was discarded as it was incongruous with the mature and maternal attitude she adopts towards Maya since her life revolves around caring for her and Cal.

Ara cannot effectively communicate and talk about herself when separated from Cal and Maya as she can't really connect to anyone else.Thus, she is as isolated as they are despite being the one who is most comfortably settled in the 'real world.'

1. Improv on train

This was more of a plot development exercise than a character building exercise, but it helped me develop my character in her initial stages. Originally, Ara was supposed to be the sober one trying to control a very drunk Cal and Maya. However, this made Ara really boring on stage as there wasn't much I could do. Also, initially, Ara was supposed to be the very responsible, regular law-abiding one, but that personality was incongruous with her backstory and provided no reason for her to think her life was awful. So we changed this and I portrayed Ara as being drunk too, but less drunk than Cal and Maya and still the more responsible one. However, this worked better with her aversion to authority and sarcastic personality as it enabled her to be rude to strangers, which is how I decided Ara would interact with most people because of her contempt for 'conformists' and people with good jobs and sensible lives. This also enabled me to develop Ara as a comic character through her interactions with Cal and Maya and the strangers on the train e.g. the phone lady who she kept shushing.

2. Improv in bar

1. Answer these questions for yourself (your character):

·         How others oppress me ·         How I oppress others ·         How I oppress myself

2. Pick an oppressor and write down how they oppress you 3. Write down all the things you wish you could say them

4. Partner up and mould your partner into that person

5. Say the things you want to say to them

What I learned about my character:

Has issues with Maya because they just don't get each other. Maya considers her to be rude and uptight, and Ara gets frustrated easily by Maya and doesn't realise but she behaves somewhat condescendingly towards Maya

Still cares a lot for Maya, though. Very protective of her, even against Cal.

Highest earner of the three and the most responsible

Hates taking responsibility, but has to because Maya and Cal are both very 'happy-go-lucky'

Close to Cal because his attitude is very 'live in the moment', which is what she seeks. Hates making plans.

Perceptive about the others - realises that Cal received a letter from his Dad although he doesn't tell her

Helped develop character because it made me consider my character's professional life in more detail and we were allowed to lie as a response to the questions

Lying was interesting because it made me think about what my character would conceal in the interview e.g. glossed over disagreements she had with the manager in her previous job

Discovered that my character has 'issues with authority' and doesn't deal well with being told what to do

Only one of the three protagonists to have graduated from college, but majored in a very obscure subject

Smart, but refuses to apply her intelligence in a way that will pay off as a form of rebellion against her middle class parents, who want her to be a doctor