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Caleb Butler (99 <- the correct number; running count got off somehow)
Project: TV Series (Rent Control)
Known as: No nickname
Real name: Caleb Butler
Group affiliation: None
Physical description: Caleb is in his early twenties and is tall and handsome. He has thick, messy hair (but typically artfully messy hair). He sports a short goatee.
Personality: Caleb is calm and soulful. He often likes to listen well before saying anything (he is more likely to ponder something and try to express it in his music instead of talking about something he hasn’t thought through). He has few friends (but they are very close) but many admirers.
History: Caleb is Arlo’s estranged grandson. More specifically, he’s the son of Arlo’s estranged son (he doesn’t have strong opinions on his grandfather). Raised in California, Caleb’s father spoke often of Arlo (none of it good). It seems when Arlo’s wife divorced him, she was a bit liberal with criticisms of Arlo and did what she could to reduce contact (Arlo didn’t work as hard to have contact with his children as he probably should have). This affected Caleb’s father’s view of Arlo and Caleb’s grandmother was also happy to paint an image of the monstrous Arlo for Caleb.
Though from an early age, Caleb always stood out from his immediate family. More reflective and less judgmental, he listened to the stories but took them with a grain of salt. He also stood out because he was not materialistic and had an artistic nature. He’s something of the black sheep with his immediate family for no other reason than he is pursuing a life as a musician. He has actually had some early success but not in a breakthrough sort of way. He has a notable following on You Tube and has sold a couple of songs to other artists.
Though Arlo didn’t try to keep up with his children the way he might have, Finley reached out regularly. Though Finley failed to connect substantively with most of the estranged branch of the family, he did connect to Caleb. Finley was a fan of Caleb’s musical efforts from and early age. Caleb in turn found a kindred spirit in his great uncle. Like Caleb, Finley felt his artistic passions made him the oddball of the family but found happiness in pursuing his interests. The two communicate regularly and have even met up on the odd occasion (Finley has tried to encourage Arlo to connect with Caleb, with mixed success).
After Finley has been working on the production of RENT for a while he has failed a few times to get someone cast as Roger (Finley himself will end up being Mark). He simply can’t find the right mix of gravitas, voice, and charisma in any of the actors who have auditioned. After many criticisms from Arlo on this point (Roger is a critical role), Finley has an epiphany. He invites Caleb to come and play Roger.
Caleb is perfect for the part (he even plays guitar). But Finley’s casting of Caleb causes more than a few waves. Many feel that you can’t have a 20-something Roger with a 70-something Mimi (Caleb is actually perfectly fine with this). Arlo, meanwhile, doesn’t believe Finley brought in Caleb for the sake of the production but rather as a way to strike back at Arlo. Caleb wants to connect with Arlo but Arlo struggles with this.
There is much baggage to resolve. In truth, Finley might have more than one motivation in casting Caleb. Meanwhile, while Arlo resents the casting, it also gives him an opportunity to directly address his loneliness and concerns he has run his life poorly.
Role in the narrative: Caleb will cause some churn (through no fault of his own). He will help the narrative explore ageism (in both directions) a bit.
Abilities: Caleb is a talented singer, guitar player, and song writer.
Inspirations: Roger from RENT actually influenced the creation of Caleb (how’s that for casting?). I suppose other soulful musician types are an influence as well, but Caleb is well-adjusted compared to many of them (e.g., Bridges in Crazy Heart).
100 Characters Blog 