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Katrina BarnettScreenwritingCharacter BiosRoman Jones, about seven years older than Maureen, has seen a lot more than shehas, but isn’t nearly as wise and mature. In fact he wears his “wisdom” on his sleeve,speaking his opinion as if it were invaluable proverb. Because of his obvious talent andartistry he considers himself a street musician by choice- he figures had he ever pursuedanything other than the complacent life that he leads he would have been what the worldconsiders to be “Great”, but tells himself he has no need for that, that he is just great as is.He takes comfort in the fact that he has no competition, that he is beloved in the Hole,and that his mysterious quality draws people to him. He uses his lifestyle as a gimmick,he contents himself by letting people know that this “Bob Dylan”, wandering persona iswho he is, though in all honesty he doesn’t really know who he is. His likability can beused to reassure those around him or to intimidate, and very few can see through hisshroud of laid-back confidence. Though Maureen is instantly attracted to this very faux-confidence and charm she is kept by his side because she does see the fact that he is lostand she understands his needs. They both pretend such things are not present.Jones has a powerful need, and that is to man up. He has never been in a situationin which he’s really had to, nor has he ever been confronted by anyone who has told himto. Of course some employers have told him to shape up, but never anyone close to him.This is generally because Jones believes he DOES man up, and convinces onlookers of this as well. They cannot put their finger on his loserish quality simply because he seems

so freewheelin’ and at ease. He could never be afraid of anything, so why might he beafraid of manning up? His want, of course, starts off as his desire to keep his status quo,with the town and with Maureen, and develops into his want to keep Maureen, to besomeone that Maureen can love. Of course, he’s already someone Maureen loves,however his realization that he has to figure out what a man really is comes too late.Jones was the son of musicians, members of a country/folk band from Ohio. Hismother sang and played the banjo, his father handled guitar and some harmonica. Jones’s parents and the three other band members traveled the north United States and madedecent money for much of Jones’s boyhood, until one of the band members diedtragically during their travels. The band fell apart and Jones’s folks settled in SouthDakota. Now eleven years old, the talented Jones tired of SD immediately and begged his parents to return to traveling life. They refused, but his mother taught him as manymusical instruments as she could, aside from the harmonica which he already knew, and berated him for skipping out on school. School bored him also. His father’s lack of enthusiasm for their current situation, and for Jones in general, did not much aid thesituation. At last at age 14 Jones abandoned his home and went traveling around. Henotified his parents of this plan and they were powerless to stop him- he left in thesummer time, promising to be back before school commenced but of course he did notmake good on his promise. He took up with anyone he could find, though he tried to stayon his own for most of the time, and lost his innocence very quickly. He said goodbye tohis virginity at 15, but did not find the experience remarkable at all. He felt almostcheated, and made the girl involved feel awful about it as if it were her fault for being aseager as he was. After their backstage experience he took the stage, making mean, subtle

remarks throughout his playing, and played a cutting blues tune for the first time in hislife. The small audience (made of mostly musicians) was incredibly impressed by histalent, but the girl he never saw again. As he grew older he felt bad about that.His finest moment while on his wandering path was stumbling across the venuewhere a famous folk singer was to perform. When he tried to make conversation with themembers of the band they called him kid and insulted him. So, In the ten minutes beforethe folk singer was to go on, Jones stepped up to the mic and began to sing and play hisharmonica. The audience was surprised by his hutzpah and his intensity on the littleinstrument, and he was rewarded for his tenacity with an offer to play in the band. He pompously refused, saying he’d be big in his own right, and moved on, telling himself hewould be a legend. This fantasy was almost instantly destroyed as he heard the cheeringof the crowd for the main act as he walked away.When he returned home at 16 he found out his mother had passed away. He wastorn up by guilt for not returning when he had promised to, and not going to school. Hisfather had nothing in particular to say to him, though he wasn’t very angry. Just tired.Over coffee Jones asked his dad if he could stay with him for a year more, and his dadreplied “If I should live so long.” The two of them played music together for the first timesince Jones was little, but for the duration of the year the two barely spoke. His father was a soft man, not particularly masculine, but not particularly loving and connected,either, except to his wife. As a result, Jones found that he felt the need for make up for that in his own way, but his own interpretation of masculine was “cool“. So he bought adark coat and a new case for his guitar and left home again, for the last time, at 17. At thistime he adopted the name Jones as his full name, eliminating Roman altogether. His