ALICE (3 seasons) - Combat Witch & Strega Crew Member

40's, Strong, pugnacious, streetwise and spiritual.

American (a New Yorker but one who left when she was sixteen so accent could be faint or deliberately suppressed)

Main character

Alice grew up in New York, was orphaned by nine and fell in with a street witch called Maria. Maria trained and mentored her but betrayed her trust when she was sixteen, causing Alice to leave New York for good. This was a formative event for Alice, giving her an anger that until recently was a driving force in her life. Alice has worked as a combat witch for the last couple of decades, hard-nosed, shrewd, outwardly cynical and fuelled by that anger. In the last few years, two things have changed for Alice. She lost a lot of that anger after surviving the Houston 'heat bomb event', which was a somewhat mystical experience for her, and meeting her partner David and his young son Gabriel. She is forging a new, different optimistic life with them but the draw of her old life, that desire for the adrenaline rush of combat, means that she is maintaining a delicate balancing act. 

Alice is strong, competent, inventive and dangerous, especially in close combat. She has mellowed from irascible and impetuous to no-nonsense and confident. Undermining that confidence however is an increasing sense that she needs to choose one life or the other, and sooner rather than later. She should not be played bitchy or bossy but as not suffering fools gladly while happily have a beer with someone she respects. In combat situations, her voice will be a mix of stress and exhilaration. We see a softer side in her quieter conversations with Franklin. She can at times come across as tired and grumpy. 

Line 1 setting:Strega interior: think of a fast, noisy, cramped armoured vehicle, other crew members are in touching distance. You're strapped in, your workstation in front of you, monitoring the witchy defences. You're bantering with the crew, relieving the tension, when your system throws up an alert. You switch immediately to professional and serious. Voice should be a little raised to be heard over the engine noise etc.

Line 2 Setting:You're pinned down by corporate soldiers in New York, crouched behind a market stall; bullets are hitting your position and everything has gone to hell - Franklin and Roya are in deep trouble. You're stressed and angry. Imagine you are leaning out from cover and taking aimed shots at any hostiles you can see (each FIRES can be treated as a BEAT which will have a short burst of gunfire added). The phrase 'Our Lady who giveth and taketh' is the start of a prayer to Our Lady of Luck that Alice will have recited previously.

Line 3 Setting: You and Franklin are talking. Scene is interior of an abandoned building you've set up camp in, after you were nearly killed. You're tired and wrung out, but vibe is relaxed, the intimacy of good friends. Conversation has shifted from what just happened to Franklin giving out about Henry.