Lesson 7

[Robert Condon]

What I learned doing this assignment is: that I am becoming better at organization with AI (e.g., putting keywords in for characters), which allows for additional details that I would have otherwise missed.

My proposed show:

Liam:
Distress:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Wants to be a danseur. Has competed regularly since high school, but wants to compete at a national or even international level. He doesn’t have the support of his parents. His friend Shayla and, to a certain extent, his other friend Jack support him. A bone and blood disease has caused him to give up his dream of ballet. He is also deep in debt due to college tuition as well as financial moves by his father.

B. External Character conflicts.
Liam begins to find ways to control his pain and build a fortune. He looks at the pharmaceutical business, where Jack works. He steals drugs, which Jack gets in trouble for. Initially, Liam did it under his nose, with no intention of getting Jack in trouble. He also has a brief fling with a man that Shayla was dating. The man flirted with Liam initially, but Liam continued with the “affair” for a couple of weeks.

C. Plot intruding on life.
The end result is for Liam to be a successful international danseur while making a lot of money off of it. He doesn’t care about fame, just dancing and profiting. He cannot move forward with it due to: unknown painful illness; stolen money from his parents; Shayla jeopardizing a couple of competitions in order for her to benefit (in terms of popularity); and legal troubles with pills and the black market.

D. Moral dilemmas.
He steals pills from the pharmaceutical business where Jack works; He starts an illegal business selling pills; he “sells himself” through prostitution; His goal is to find ways to feel better (via pills, black market, etc.) and to gain enough money to pay off debt and travel for competitions.

E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
He might need a bone marrow transplant (according to a doctor). As a result, he looks into the black market at kidnapped immigrants who are potential matches from him. His goal is to use one of the immigrants for a bone marrow transplant, but the audience does not know if he will help the immigrants in the end. Nevertheless, this is a low for him.

Empathy:
A. Put the character in distress.
Physical pain; lifelong dreams in the arts; parents and friends who betray him.

B. Make them relatable.
Is kind, loving, everybody’s friend. We want him to succeed, but cringe when he falls into temptation.

C. Universal experiences that are emotional.
Being rejected and used.

Jack:
Distress:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Jack literally has no family support. His dad died when he was ten and his mother works 15 hours a day at the pharmaceutical business. he never had structure and makes bad financial moves that hurts others, including Liam. He was given the job at the pharmaceutical business without training. He sees Liam as his only support system, but jeopardizes it by using him in more ways than one.

B. External Character conflicts.
He lacks empathy for others. He was never taught this because he had little support from adults during his formative years. He slowly gains this through the forgiveness and second chance from Liam, but also sees the part he played in the drama when Liam causes harm towards him.

C. Plot intruding on life.
He is brilliant, but cannot see it until later. He is able to analyze medical data better than many doctors. He holds the key to helping Liam cure his disease, but cannot see it until later. When he is able to see his talent, he causes difficulties for others. Much like Liam, he wants to be rich, but for different reasons. He simply wants to live the high life, while Liam needs money to pay off debt and help with medical expenses. In other words, he engages in illegal schemes while hurting those around him before he is able to settle down and work with Jack on his illness.

D. Moral dilemmas.
He sets Liam up to be attacked. First, he engages him in a seemingly innocent drug transaction that causes Liam to get assaulted. Second, he is involved in a prostitution business where he “sells” Liam and he gets 80 percent of the profits (he promised Liam that he would get most of the profits). Morally, he is using Liam to his advantaged when Liam believes he will be the one benefitting the most. Their friendship breaks down, but Liam is holding on because he believes that Jack is the key to his healing.

E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
A drug dealer is threating to kill him, his mother, and two cousins if he doesn’t supply the right drugs from the pharmaceutical business. The company doesn’t have the drug in stock and is unable to order it. He has to find a way to make the drug dealer happy. He robs a family-owned pharmacy that carries the drug. He has a mask on and as a “good gesture” gives them an envelope with a lot of money as a “courtesy.” The drug store never reports it to the police.

Empathy:
A. Put the character in distress.
He put himself in distress, essentially. He made bad decisions when he could have made a comfortable living moving in the pharmaceutical business.

B. Make them relatable.
Jack has an innocence to him and we want him to stop his illegal action and focus on medicine. He has the talent, but doesn’t see it right away. Many can relate to him because of hidden talents that are not achieved due to negative behavior and procrastination.

C. Universal experiences that are emotional.
Isolation; zero family support; unable to empathize with others.

Shayla:
Distress:
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Trauma from high school where she was shamed over her weight and humiliated on social media. Since lost weight and wants to make up for lost popularity.

B. External Character conflicts.
Still insecure about looks and can only cope through wearing different outfits and taking pictures for social media.

C. Plot intruding on life.
She sees too many people as competition, including possibly Liam. She wants to be on the first picture of every social media post possible. She even works with media to showcase her abilities. She is obsessed and this obsession is hurting her relationships with friends and drives her to potential destruction. At 26, she feels too “old” because late teens and early twenty-somethings are becoming more popular than her.

D. Moral dilemmas.

She cuts back on food and exercises excessively leading to health problems; she considers plastic surgery in another country, thus risking infection. Also, she finds ways to sabotage the spotlight of others for her benefit.

E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
She works to perfect her images in ways that destroy her health, such as anorexia. She spends all of her earnings on surgeries that make her feel worse.

Empathy:
A. Put the character in distress.
Eating disorder/unneeded surgeries

B. Make them relatable.
Wants to be accepted by many; make up for lost time.

C. Universal experiences that are emotional.
Jealously; sadness; self-conscious

2. Once you’ve created your own version, use this prompt to
see what AI generates for you. When you list your lead
characters, just put in their role, main goal, and main intrigue
in one or two sentences.

AI:
LIAM
(Conflict: Money problems, Aspiring dancer)
Distress
• A. Undeserved Misfortune: His scholarship is revoked due to a clerical error, not his fault.
• B. External Character Conflicts: His father disapproves of dance and constantly belittles his ambition.
• C. Plot Intruding on Life: He’s offered a dance tour spot—but it overlaps with his job, risking eviction if he accepts.
• D. Moral Dilemmas: He’s offered money by a shady patron to spy on a rival dancer.
• E. Forced Decisions: He pawns his mother’s heirloom to pay rent—something he vowed never to do.
Empathy
• A. Put Them in Distress: Show him secretly rehearsing at night, limping from exhaustion, while hiding overdue bills.
• B. Make Them Relatable: He tapes holes in his worn dance shoes instead of buying new ones—people relate to sacrifice for dreams.
• C. Universal Emotional Experience: His younger sibling asks why they have no dinner—he lies with a smile and skips his own meal.
________________________________________
SHAYLA
(Conflict: Anorexia, Concern about popularity)
Distress
• A. Undeserved Misfortune: She’s falsely accused of cyberbullying after a photo of her goes viral.
• B. External Character Conflicts: Her best friend starts dating the guy Shayla secretly likes—and flaunts it online.
• C. Plot Intruding on Life: Her modeling audition goes well, but they request she lose five more pounds.
• D. Moral Dilemmas: She must decide whether to speak up when a younger girl faints from starving herself to copy Shayla.
• E. Forced Decisions: She’s pressured to post a body-positive message that she doesn’t believe in—yet silence feels like betrayal.
Empathy
• A. Put Them in Distress: Show her looking at food she wants but forcing herself to throw it away, whispering “control” under her breath.
• B. Make Them Relatable: She changes outfits five times before school, deleting selfies obsessively—everyone’s felt insecure.
• C. Universal Emotional Experience: She finds an old photo of herself laughing and healthy, then silently breaks down.
________________________________________
JACK
(Conflict: Greed, No family support system)
Distress
• A. Undeserved Misfortune: He is scammed out of his savings by someone pretending to be a business partner.
• B. External Character Conflicts: His coworker reports him for unethical shortcuts, threatening his job.
• C. Plot Intruding on Life: His estranged mother suddenly needs a kidney—and he’s a match.
• D. Moral Dilemmas: Offered a huge bribe to sabotage someone’s business—he needs the money but it would ruin someone else’s life.
• E. Forced Decisions: He has to choose between attending an investor meeting or his little brother’s only school recital.
Empathy
• A. Put Them in Distress: Show him eating dinner alone in a luxury apartment, untouched food and cold silence.
• B. Make Them Relatable: He watches families at the park from his car, envying what he never had.
• C. Universal Emotional Experience: He finds a childhood birthday card in a drawer with “I’m proud of you” scrawled by his absent father—he rips it, then tapes it back together.