There’s always that person who looks exactly like how their personality is – and Ziggy is that person. With her triangular face, slanted eyebrows, and almond eyes, she almost looks a bit like a fox, if you turn your head the right way. Her lips are small and her cupid’s bow strong; and when she smiles, it’s charmingly twisted, like she knows something you don’t. Ziggy is of mid-height (being 5’6”) and isn’t particularly muscular or weak. However, her hips flare out slightly and her thighs are strong and thick – Ziggy is really proud of her thighs.

Ziggy puts in a lot of effort to make it look like she didn’t put any effort in, as confusing as it sounds. Every two days, she shaves the left side of her head clean and smooth, making sure to not to have jagged edges or a missed patch. Her short hair, which is normally a frizzy and curly nightmare, has been straightened and mussed with hair gel – no matter how much she straightens it, though, it will always be the slightest bit wavy. Before bed, Ziggy cleans her face carefully to keep her skin smooth – except her hands are a lost cause, the palms calloused from messing around on set all day. The only heavy makeup she likes to wear is around her eyes, preferring her eyeliner in the typical cat-eye style and smoky eyeshadow – though she tends to smudge her makeup the slightest so it doesn’t look immaculate. She also makes sure to always smell nice – she likes the heavy, non-flowery bottled eucalyptus scent.

Ziggy stands tall and straight, but still relaxed. She never slouches, but her posture can’t be described as rigid because she seems to be perfectly confident and at home. Ziggy tends to cross her arms a lot when standing still, or tucking her hands in her pockets – back and front. She doesn’t like the feeling of her arms just hanging around. Ziggy has an intimidating walk, as silly as it sounds, because she tends to walk like she’s on a mission – fast, but not hurried, and determined.

Ziggy could be considered as someone stony as she typically doesn’t give anything away through her body or her voice. Her body tends to always be straight and never quiver under attention or show discomfort, and her raspy voice is deadpan. Any emotion that could be conveyed through her voice is killed by the fact that everything she says sounds like an insult or sarcasm – it’s really hard giving compliments for her.

Ziggy has “Przemyslaw” tattooed on the side of her right rib cage and “Ciekawość to pierwszy stopień do piekła” tattooed on her left hip. Ziggy has her ears pierced three times and a belly ring, and she hates the idea of piercing her face – to each their own, though. She has a burn scar on her left shoulder blade that travels down to a few inches about her elbow and is the reason why she only wears long sleeves or jackets. While Ziggy enjoys to appear punk rock, she also likes to be vaguely professional. Ziggy tends to wear tight dark jeans, heeled boots, and a Henley or v-neck under a leather jacket.

Ziggy has always been the rebellious type – she didn’t exactly like being told what to do. She had a natural hate for authority, which led her to do quite the opposite as a teenager and got her into a whole lot of trouble. Mischievous, Ziggy is always concocting pranks and plans to pull something over someone – it’s something she’s been doing since she was a little girl. But it wasn’t just pranks that Ziggy would plan; sometimes Ziggy just liked to get into trouble, do things she shouldn’t be doing, and she had to lie to cover it up most of the time. Covering her tracks quickly built up her lying abilities, giving Ziggy a sly quality in her that leaves her glib and sharp-witted. Most of the time, Ziggy just uses her slyness to excuse her slight laziness.

Acerbic sarcasm and gruff threats of violence are Ziggy’s primary form of communication. That isn’t to say she’s a woman of little words, Ziggy likes to think she talks the average amount as other people. Rather, Ziggy has a problem with communicating how she really feels to others and would rather cover up her vulnerabilities and awkwardness towards the genuine with harsh rebukes. Ziggy is quite the confident person, and is satisfied with her personality and looks; however, she has a deep and crippling fear. When in front of a group of people, she ends up speechless and has even fainted once or twice.

The idea of a rebel brings to mind a grungy girl, hair mussed and completely disorganized. And, maybe, in appearance, Ziggy fits that. But that’s where it ends. Because, you see, Ziggy is a micromanager. Everything in her life has to be absolutely perfect – everything in her house is organized; she color codes her closet, organizes her books by author’s name, etcetera etcetera. She can be quite the control freak and tends to come off as bossy when she tells people what to do all the time when it comes to work. A born perfectionist, people often get exasperated by her need to have everything flawless. If something isn’t perfect, Ziggy becomes neurotic about it and will chew her nails to the quick. It’s safe to say, that when it comes to working in a team, Ziggy would much rather take charge and have others follow.

✓ Mid-afternoon naps
✓ Cake
✓ Hot chocolate
✓ Big dogs

✗ Wet socks
✗ Funerals
✗ Long hair
✗ Sports

Zdzisława Gniewek was five when her family immigrated to Pennsylvania, USA. Zdzisława had found the whole move exhausting, even at five years old she remembers that – it was a hard move, her parents had no money to buy a good house, only a shitty apartment with leaks and gross neighbors, and her little three-year-old brother, Przemyslaw, was whining and crying most of the time.

Zdzisława was enrolled in kindergarten and, predictably, hated it – especially since she couldn’t speak a lick of English and understood jack shit. And when she wasn’t at school, she was in their rundown apartment watching Przemyslaw while both her parents worked – they didn’t have enough money to afford a babysitter and knew no one who would watch their children. So, Zdzisława did the babysitting – and, because she was so young, the door was locked and bolted out of their reach so Zdzisława and Przemyslaw could neither get kidnapped or leave. Mostly, all they did was play puzzles and eat cereal.

Zdzisława was a curious child and often tricked her little brother, Przemyslaw, into joining her in her little schemes. One day, after school when Zdzisława was seven and Przemyslaw was five, Zdziława had talked her brother into playing a game with her. She dubbed the game “Supervillian.” In the game, Zdzisława would play the supervillain and would put her stuffed animals in precarious situations and Przemyslaw had to stop her in creative ways before time ran out. Mostly it was simple things, like stopping her from flushing the stuffed bear, or from ripping it apart. However, this particular afternoon, Zdzisława wanted to up the game. At the time, she was learning about the dangers in fire in school (through the two years she has been in America, she has grasped the basics of English, though she was far behind her peers). So, she wanted to see what it would be like if her stuffed elephant was set on fire. Her parents were working and it was just the two of them – it was really easy for Zdzisława to find the lighter that her mom used for smoking. Her brother didn’t save the elephant on time.

The elephant went up in flames and Zdzisława dropped it in a panic when it burnt her fingers. She left the room and went to the bathroom to grab some water and put it out, but by the time she got back her entire mattress was on fire and it was spreading to her curtains and she tried to throw water on it but it didn’t do a damn thing. Zdzisława grabbed Przemyslaw and pushed him to the ground, made him crawl in front of her to the door. Except, it was bolted – like it usually is, so they didn’t go out. Zdzisława banged on the door for help, and started yelling to get attention. Her neighbors stirred at the smell of smoke and she could hear them panicking and leaving outside. The fire was starting to creep towards the door and so she dragged Przemyslaw, who was coughing and had rattled breath, into the bathtub and ran water – hoping it would keep the fire away. She then left him there and went to the windows. Most of them were latched except for one, and that had fire burning away the wallpaper and carpet. She reached a hand through anyways and tried to wriggle the window open to get her and her brother out. Her sleeve caught fire though and she stumbled away, smacking at her shoulder and arm, trying to get the fire off. Eventually the pain became too much and she blacked out.

Later, she woke up in the hospital with 3rd degree burns on her shoulder and arm and to the news that her brother was in a coma from carbon monoxide poisoning. Two weeks later, he died.

When Zdzisława healed, they moved from Pennsylvania to St. James, Indiana. Zdzisława went to a new school and became withdrawn and uncommunicative to her peers. Though, her classmates never stopped trying to befriend her – they started to call her “Ziggy” since no one could actually pronounce her name. Most of the time, Ziggy struggled in school till the second grade due to her limited knowledge in English, until her teacher started to keep her in at recess and after school to teach her English. Of course, she didn’t learn English in a year, but continued to receive lessons from her second-grade teacher even after she had graduated elementary school and in the first year of middle school. By her freshman year in high school, Ziggy had lost her accent and was on par with her peers in English.

In her sophomore year of high school, Ziggy’s English class took a field trip to the local theater. They saw Antigone and in that moment, Ziggy fell in love with theater. However, she had developed a fear of public speaking when she was a child due to her limited English at the time, and so she never chased that pipedream. Instead, she went on to become an interior designer for a company and wasted behind a desk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designing the insides of malls and stores for her company.

Ziggy never did anything notable in that time period – never married, never had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend, just stood still in her small apartment and at her ugly ass office desk. Until the anniversary of Przemyslaw’s death in 2007, when she proceeded to get drunk off her ass after visiting her old home and destroying her bastard of a boss’s office in the middle of the night. She was obviously fired the next day, and her work reputation completely destroyed – no other companies would hire her.

Ziggy left to go visit her parents in Indiana, where they remained in St. James. For an entire week, she laid in her pajamas, ate cereal, and watched mindless TV. To cheer her up, her aging mother dragged her to a small production of Antigone by the small theater company in the town. The next day, Ziggy impulsively turned in her resume to them and officially joined the company.

● Set Designing
● Organizing
● Scheming
● Lying

● Fear of public speaking
● Lack of acting experience
● Bad teamwork skills

Set Designer - Ziggy works on the creation of the theatre set; she works on the painting and the building of the fake buildings and the general visual aesthetics.

Supporting actress - Ziggy works mostly as a background character with very, very, very little lines due to her fear of public speaking. However, Ziggy dreams of overcoming her public speaking problem and breaking out as one of the lead actresses.

Chicago - She would like to play Velma Kelly, really, really badly.

Naturally handsome with aquiline features and a strong jawline, Dominic has often been told (by his mother) that he could be so good looking if he would just put in the effort. As it is, he hasn't quite understood where or how to put in that effort and has instead settled on a normal uniform of a black suit and tie, a little hair gel and a impassive smile. Upon meeting him, people often assume that he's either afraid of or dislikes them, because his resting expression gives very little for people to work off and rarely strays from completely neutral. Similarly, his voice is a monotone more often than not, one of the (many) reasons he's never done a singing role for the company.

Like any good artist, Dominic smokes and has mastered the art of smoking without using a hand. That is to say, when doing something that should require two hands (preparing food, writing, playing piano) you'll generally see Dominic managing to smoke at the same time. He doesn't do it inside much though, preferring to use a cigarette as an excuse to extract himself from sticky social situations by going outside. Apart from smoke, he smells mostly of ink and his cologne, a throaty, heady scent that's far too rich for him but was an expensive gift from a relative that he can't throw away. There's also normally a few stray cat hairs on his suit, no matter how many he picks off.

Some people with misapprehensions about the theatrical life think that to go into performance, you need great self confidence, a belief in yourself that allows you to make others believe in you too. Dominic is a stark contrast to this idea, having little to no confidence in himself, his art or the future of the Abracadabra! company. He's not nihilistic or depressed, not exactly, as he doesn't predict the worst or think that the company's business is meaningless. Dominic simply doesn't expect anything from the future or, though he hides it well, other people. No man is island, true, but he has found that relying too much on others is a route to disappointment.

However, past experiences haven't turned him bitter or cynical. He doesn't sneer at companionship or camaraderie, he joins in with all the rest of the group at rehearsal or in the pub and counts many of them as his friends. And yet, in an entirely non-judgemental way, he makes sure to never rely on them for anything outside of the theatre and even then, he prefers to do things himself. If one outlook were to used to describe him, neutral would fit Dominic best. He doesn't expect good things to come tomorrow or people to go above and beyond but equally he doesn't expect disaster or for others to fail in their tasks.

What most people notice or, rather, notice the lack of, is any social initiative. While he'll answer questions as a part of small talk and maybe drop a few and how about yourself?s, Dominic doesn't take the leading foot in interaction. Preferably, things stay all academic and business, talk of tunes, lines, roles and costumes, and he doesn't have to try to act the part of the socially competent adult. Whenever he is thrust into a situation where there's nothing to do but chatter, a party for example, he tends to shut down to the briefest of responses and gravitate to the kitchen or, far better, a piano. There's something extremely comforting to him about putting out a tune and it's not just that it stops people talking to him.

✓ Cold weather, frost, snow and rain.
✓ Opposites, balances and patterns.
✓ Quiet, peaceful, slow spaces.
✓ Playing music, alone or in company.

✗ Boisterous, loud or rowdy people.
✗ Heat, noise, the sun and the spring.
✗ Children that scream, dogs that bark.
✗ A social spotlight or a stage light.

Raised in a relatively well off working class family, Dominic was interested in music from a young age and his parents paid for him to have piano lessons from six upwards. He found it to be relaxing and enjoyable at the same time, so much so that he often had to be prompted to work on his schoolwork rather than bend over the keyboard for hours at a time. Still, he was a smart boy so even with his attention mostly focused on the piano, he was one of the top students in his class and was often praised by the teacher. Unfortunately, being a scrawny child who the teacher likes is rarely good for one's social prospects and Dominic missed out on a lot of crucial social development as a result. Some of that was due to active nastiness by classmates but most due to shyness, that came on as a result of having no close friends. High-school passed in much the same way, with commendations for performances and work but few friends and no social life.

When he left home, Dominic was sure that there was more to life just waiting around the corner. He got a job in a cubicle office to pay the rent while he looked for a musical position. The search was far harder than he'd anticipated however, perhaps because of difficult he found it to express himself properly in interviews to seem like someone you'd want to hire. So five years later he was still in the cubicle, slaving away over entirely the wrong sorts of keys. Life wasn't terrible, he had a nice apartment, a cat and a position as piano player at a fancy restaurant on the weekends. But everyday's nine-to-five felt like it was crushing his soul and slowly leeching the talent from his fingers.

And then he saw an advert, crudely done on cheap paper with a horrible font, but one that proclaimed that the Abracadabra! theatrical company was looking for members. It looked cheap and a little desperate, the company was apparently only a little under a year old and was already on a recruitment drive. By that point, he had failed enough interviews that going to then seemed like a waste of time but for some reason, this one caught his attention and hooked him in. So Dominic went to see the director, gave the best interview he could and, to his surprise, was asked to join the company. It was only when he joined that he realised quite how desperate they were.

Since then, for close to ten years, Dominic has spent all the energy and time he has available working on adapting, scoring, writing and generally arranging performances for the Abracadabra! company. It might not be broadway but, he has mused, that might be for the best. After all, not much call for the awkwardly silent in the capital of confidence. For the most part, Dominic is entirely content with his existence as put upon pianist and cat owner.

● Piano: Dominic's main talent is plucking out a tune on the piano, head down and eyes mostly closed. He's not always the most creative or showy performer but he can pick up a tune quickly, doesn't make mistakes has a wide repertoire. His natural position in any rehearsal is sitting at the keys, waiting for a song to be called.
● Planning: When he's sitting at a table with pen, paper and cigarette in hand, Dominic can visualise the stage in front of him extremely well, seeing where and how different ideas would fit into the space they have to work in and how they might execute them. With some prep-time, he's very good at adapting works to fit the Abracadabra! company's space.
● Poker-Face: It's not always relevant but when it's useful, it's really useful. In keeping with his neutral outlook, Dominic is practised at keeping his face in an impassive mask and preventing any flicker of emotion or clue at what he's thinking from moving across it. Good at deals and in card games, less useful in most acting roles.
● Finances: Years of living alone on a shoestring budget have taught Dominic how to manage his money and make every penny do the work of two. He's good at accounting for money, assigning it and making it stretch that little bit further.

● Socialising: Dominic finds it difficult to think of things to say in social situations, preferring to talk about work or to quietly fade into the background. When forced into the spotlight, he tends to choke up and go silent until everyone goes back to ignoring him.
● Acting: While he's played minor or supporting roles in a fair few of the company's productions to make up bodies, Dominic can't get the hang of delivering lines as if they were from another person. He tends towards a blank mask rather than an expressive one.
● Dancing: Whereas moving his hands in coordination to a beat across the piano keys is instinctual at this point, Dominic can't manage to do the same with his feet. When he's tried, the rest of the company have either laughed or groaned so he's given up trying.

Pianist - If anyone's going to play the Piano at rehearsal or at a performance, it'll be Dominic.

Writer - Along with the director, Dominic adapts different manuscripts for the company to perform.

Dominic has a soft spot for Chicago and would love to see the company perform it.

Romulus very presence, from his staggering height to his interestng taste in fashion, demands attention. Standing at 6'5" with a slender frame and an ever present grin, Romulus' appearance is comparatively like that of a skeleton's. His pale skin is dotted with the lightest of freckles, with scarring minimal to none, and the most noticeable blemish is the slightly darker splotch of a birthmark on his right upper-arm. The first thing people notice about Romulus, save for his height, is his shock of platinum-blonde to white hair. The second being his eyes, which are a cool silvery-blue in hue.

When it comes to mannerisms, there is no such thing as 'too exaggerated'. Romulus is an open book, with every movement and feature revealing his very emotion. His movements tend to be greatly exaggerated, amplified only by his lanky frame, and there's barely a moment of him standing completely still. When speaking, he has a tendency to move his hands around when overexcited or telling a story, leading to a few too many people getting smacked in the face this way. Like Romulus' movements, his posture fluctuates with his mood as well. Boredom or melancholy leaves him slouching lower than the hunchback from Notre Dame, yet anything that catches his attention will cause him to bolt upright.

His extravagance isn't limited to there, however. Romulus' sense of style can be best described as...interesting. His wardrobe varies from loudly colored shirts with bizarre patterns and styles, to sleek outfits that wouldn't be out of place from a magazine, and even sweaters with corny sayings or pictures. Either way is bound to earn some attention. Romulus' voice is clear and confident, dipping into a lighter baritone. When acting, however, he is able to deepen it into a smooth bass.

If a puppy were to be put into a human form, that form would be Romulus Vega. Friendly and sociable, Romulus has made it his personal goal to befriend everyone. Or, at the very least, be somewhat acquainted with them. He's optimistic to the point where some might see him as naive. However, his philosophy lies more on accepting the bad and looking towards the good--a way of thinking that's gotten him through the worst of times. His mouth is constant motor, often spewing jokes and anecdotes to anyone who would listen. Though not overly the brightest, Romulus compensates with his natural charm. He has virtually no limit when it comes to his flirtatious habits and takes pleasure in catching people offguard. Ironically, however, he is a complete mess if flirted with. Either way, Romulus has a personal rule to never lie when he is charming his way through.

With his constantly moving mouth is his constantly moving body. Romulus is an energetic rubber ball that never stops bouncing off the walls. The rare moments he does stay still, he's always fiddling with something or tapping a foot. He's reckless at times, simply doing things just to do them, and rarely regrets stupid decisions. Despite this, he's extremely lazy and won't do anything unless he needs to or wants to. However, the moment he does have a goal in mind, he's a forced that never takes 'no' for an answer. His relaxed demeanor is pushed to the sidelines, as he'll no anything to accomplish a dream.

Rarely, if ever, does Romulus get mad. He's a cheery soul who believes that there's good in everyone. But the moment his fury is evoked, it is dangerously quiet and silent. His usually bright eyes lose their usual luster, and his voice lacks its typical reverb. Romulus' speech is clipped and quiet, and revenge is quick to follow. In a similar fashion, Romulus does not take to being viciously scolded or yelled at. He'll fall somber and quiet for a few days, constantly doing little things to make up his folly, before being back to his bouncy self. Romulus has a fear of being abandoned or alone, and prefers the hustle and bustle of a public place than crackling, silent void. Though his emotions can be as read as easily as a book, Romulus doesn't fancy venting them out to other people and prefers to keep his own problems to himself with a simple, "Don't worry about it," and a joke.

✓ Animals (even spiders)
✓ Old, campy movies with terrible acting
✓ Baking
✓ Playing pranks

✗ Work
✗ Quiet places
✗ Formal occasions
✗ Physical fights

As a kid, Romulus' life was a rocky roadtrip heading for a cliff. Born in a fairly poor family, life was a balance of surviving school and home. Teachers dubbed Romulus a problem child for his inattentiveness and usual mischievous antics. Fights and insults between classmates were common with Romulus, having more bone than muscle even then, always ending up on the ground somehow. His home life fared no better. Arguments were a common household occurrence between his parents, always ending with his father heading to the local pub and his mother threatening to leave.

Still, despite obvious troubles, there was honey in the bitter medicine. Romulus constantly distracted himself with TV, taking fascination in the old VHS tapes of shows from the 50's. He'd often wander in the woods near his house, playing out scenes by himself in front of an 'audience' consisting of a stuffed bear and Power Ranger action figure. It was just make-believe then. Simple games to distrac--unknown to soon be precursors to his future acting career.

Eventually, when he was around twelve-years-old, Romulus' mother followed in on her threats to leave his father. The two divorced, with Romulus taken into his mother's custody. The two later moved around before finally settling down in a small town in Colorado. It was from there that things began to change for the better. The beginning of the move was rocky, but Romulus struggled to help where he could. School was still a bit rough, but gradually grades improved. The bills were a constant hassle to pay, but the small family managed to make do. Romulus' mother had even gotten remarried to a more jovial man by the name of Steve Hollis.

Coincidentally, Steve ran the local youth theater group. Upon his encouragement (and Romulus' initial hesitance), Romulus agreed to join. It was there that Romulus found his love for performing. It felt oddly right on the stage, and he bathed in the attention he garnered. He grew more open the more time he spent at the theater, the environment virtually shaping his life. His mother and stepfather were more than supportive, even raking up enough money to pay for acting lessons.

After graduating, Romulus, drunk on confidence and determination, set off to find an acting career that would win him the role of a lifetime. It didn't work out as planned. With only a limited amount of funds, Romulus had found himself broke, struggling, and deeply considering retreating back home. But it was chance that brought him to Abracadabra!. Or rather, brought a shoddy advertisement to him. With no where left to go (and a quickly depleting cache of ramen noodles), Romulus said to hell with it and joined the company.

A few years since then, Romulus puts every bit of effort in his performance as if were in Broadway. He's enjoyed every moment, swearing that every performance will be "The One", and hoping that just maybe they'd catch their big break.

● Improvisation -- No script, no problem. Romulus' usual quick wit and silver tongue can conjure up lines for forgotten parts or unexpected events.
● Socialization -- Romulus' thrives off conversation, taking pleasure in making jokes or meeting new people.
● Cooking -- Surprisingly enough, Romulus can whip up a pretty mean dish. Most of his cooking skills he learned from his mother, and now and again he'll try to whip up some backstage treats for the crew.
● Fashionable -- Odd choice of wardrobe aside, you can't deny that Romulus is certainly tasteful of what he wears.

● Tone Deaf -- Romulus cannot hold a note to save his life. He prefers humming off-key instead.
● Reckless -- If you dare him to do something, he will do it. If you say it's a bad idea, he will do it. If you so much as mention something remotely dangerous and stupid, he will do it.
● Procrastinating -- If it's not due until later, he'll probably do it later.

Lead Actor -- When Romulus plays a character, he becomes the character. He's capable of portraying a range of emotions both with his face and very movements.

Costume Designer -- Romulus has an eye for what looks good and what doesn't. He's experienced in picking cheap clothes from the thrift store and turning them into surprisingly memorable outfits.

"Macbeth", playing as Macduff. Partly to test if the curse is real, and partly from genuine interest in the play.