First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.
The Wojciechowskis (97)
Project: TV Series (Rent Control)
Known as: The Woes (behind their back)
Real name: Casper and Winnie (Winifred) Wojciechowski
Group affiliation: White Elm Retirement Home
Physical description: The Wojciechoswskis are both 75 and stay active. Casper is a good-looking, tall guy who has an unfortunate taste for Hawaiian shirts. Winnie dyes her hair black and it is usually teased up. She dresses in nice clothes but has a taste for loud colors.
Personality: Casper is a total schmoozer. He is gregarious and warmly greets strangers, but he gives off the vibe of having an agenda (he owned a car dealership). Not a bad guy but he lives for getting the best of a deal. Winnie is quieter but friendly. She is a bit materialistic and is happy to share with you her and Casper’s latest acquisition, trip, accomplishments of her children, etc. No one hates them yet most do find the “Woes” tedious after a while.
History: Casper and Winnie are Billings lifers and upper middle class. Casper inherited (and grew) his father’s car dealership, while Winnie was the office manager (she did spend some time at home with their two children). On the surface they always struck others as money-focused and materialistic. Reality is slightly subtler than that: Casper loves making deals (more than having the stuff) and Winnie loves talking about her stuff (more than the stuff itself).
In part to benefit the business, Casper and Winnie have always been active in the community. They love to see their name on plaques and so forth (though it is often misspelled), so this has led them to a form of generosity. They had been generous with the high school play productions Finley produced and, after retirement, generous with Finley’s community theater. It would have been very difficult for Finley to get it started without them (and they are there to remind him if he forgets). They are known to often act in the plays but thrive more on the attention than the craft. Still, they both have confidence and have improved as actors.
Casper and Winnie are virtually never apart. Throughout their careers they worked together, attended conferences and took trips together, attended events together, etc. For one month at the retirement home some of the tenants had a bet to see who could get a picture of one of the Woes without the other (they gave up after a month).
As a result, in plays they often play couples of love interests. When they hear RENT is being put on, they aim to claim the roles of Tom Collins and Angel (the truest love story of the play). This causes all sorts of debate, not the least of which is that it opens the production to criticisms of “straightwashing.” They feel that their financial contributions should get them consideration and that a little straightwashing might help it play in Billings. Some of the troupe agree, though most don’t.
Things will get even more strained when Casper is surprisingly adept at playing Collins and sings better than anyone would have expected (he did non-musical parts in the past). There is talk of keeping Casper and recasting Angel (ideally with someone transgender; at least with a man). This will make Casper face his latent homophobia. More than that, Winnie will be tremendously threatened. It turns out there is a history of infidelity, but not Casper’s. Winnie has had at least two affairs and that ironically makes her less trusting of Casper (she drives their constant togetherness).
Will all of this drive some personal growth (Winnie more trusting? Casper more accepting?)? Stay tuned!
Role in the narrative: They are not the main characters but will have episodes where they are the protagonists. I want them to seem like something cliched on the surface but the circumstances of the plot driving them to change.
Abilities: Casper is a wheeler-dealer with an unexpected set of pipes. Winnie is highly organized.
Inspirations: The schmooze-y car salesman is trope territory. I can’t think of the direct inspirations but these certainly aren’t particularly original characters.
100 Characters Blog 