- WHO AM I?
Me llamoes Daniela y soy de Puerto Rico. My name is Daniela Aviles Merced and I am 38 years olds. I am from Puerto Rico. I grew up in the barrio or neighborhood of Maricao in the municipality of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. My father owned a small corner store and my mother stayed at home taking care of me and my three older brothers when we were growing up. My mom baked pastries for the store and my brothers worked at the store with my father when they got old enough. As a young girl, I had dreams of becoming an actress but there were no opportunities in my small town. With aspirations of becoming an actress, I decided to leave Puerto Rico when I was 16 years old to come to Nueva York. I stayed with a cousin in Washington Heights and never left. I immediately got a job at the local hair salon and after a year of staying with my cousin, I was able to afford my own apartment. The woman who owned the store, Isabel, became a mentor to me and when she moved on to bigger and better things she left me with the salon. I have owned my own salon, for about 18 years now. At this point of my life, I still live alone and don’t plan to ever really settle down with a guy. I love to flirt and mess around with guys but never much more. I do it mostly for the attention because I love being in the spotlight. Even though I never fulfilled my dreams of becoming an actress, I think of myself as sort of a neighborhood celebrity. I have amazing relationship with Carla and Vanessa and the other girls who work and come in to the salon. I feel like an older sister/mother figure to them and while I love to gossip with them, I also love to give them advice and be there for them. I am definitely an optimist. I don’t believe in feeling bad for too long. I try to make things better for myself and for other people with my teasing and jokes.
In the Heights - Right now, I am pretty content. I have a feeling that today will be a good day even though recently I have been pretty upset about the salon moving to the Bronx.
Act 1 Scene 4 - At the moment, I am a bit frustrated. Packing up the salon has been more difficult than I anticipated and Vanessa has been extremely distant all morning.
Act 1 Scene 6 /No Me Diga - At this moment, I am extremely happy. I am so glad to have all my girls back in the salon again!
96000 - During this song, I am very excited. I love thinking positively and fantasizing about the future.
Club - I am extremely energized. I love going out, dancing all night and having lots of fun with my friends.
Blackout - I am pretty scared and nervous. I don’t know what to do or what is going to happen next.
- WHAT ARE MY CIRCUMSTANCES?
In the Heights - It is Wednesday, July 3rd 2008. It is early to mid morning, just an hour or so after the sun came up. I am on the street corner in front of my hair salon with Carla and there are a number of people outside as well. It is a rather cool morning for the middle of summer. The smell outside is a mixture of exhaust from the passing taxi cabs and coffee brewing at Usnavi’sbodega. I just walked to the salon from my apartment three blocks down the road. I picked up Carla from her place on the way and we have been gossiping the whole way.
Act 1 Scene 4 - It is the same day just a bit later in the morning. The street has cleared of most people because they made it to work already. The day has warmed up a bit and the cool air is fleeting. The coffee smell has sort of faded out and now it is purely exhaust from the taxi cabs. Just before this scene, Vanessa, Carla and I were doing a mixture of packing up the salon and doing a few clients’ hair for the last time.
Act 1 Scene 6/No Me Diga - It is later the same day, just before lunchtime. Me and most of the neighborhood girls are crowded into the salon. The room is loud with chatter and it smells heavily of hair spray and nail polish. Before the scene starts, I am gossiping with the girl in my chair.
96000 - This scene takes place the same day just after lunchtime. The street is a bit busier than usual with people heading in and out for their lunch break. The day has turned from warm to hot in just a matter of hours. The street smells of it’s usual exhaust with a hint of lunch foods. Just before this scene, I took my lunch break with Carla. We picked up sandwiches and ate in salon as we packed.
Club - It is still July 3rd but it is late at night, a few hours after dinner. The club is packed with most of the neighborhood, plus a few outsiders. The room is hot and sticky from all the people dancing so closely together. It smells of a mixture of sweat and women’s perfume. Just before arriving at the club with Carla, we stopped at the bar down the street for a few after work drinks.
Blackout - It is past midnight and there is absolute chaos. The club is pitch black and loud with people looking for the friends. The smells are the same from earlier. Before the blackout, I was dancing with some random man and having a wonderful time.
- WHO AM I TALKING TO? (The Target)
In the Heights - My target in the opening number is a combination of Carla and the audience. At certain points, I am singing and gossiping with Carla while during the choruses I am singing to the audience. My relationship with Carla is very strong because she has been working in the salon for years now and we are good friends. I want to maintain our relationship. My relationship with the audience is non-existent before the start of this song. I hope to create an understanding relationship with the audience throughout the song and rest of the show.
Act 1 Scene 4 - In this scene, I am mainly talking to Vanessa. I have shared many events with her in the past. Since she began working at the salon, we have become really close friends and we spend almost every day together. I want to be even closer with her so that she will trust my opinion even more, especially my opinions regarding her mother.
Act 1 Scene 6/No Me Diga - My target in this scene are the girls in the salon. I have spent many, many hours with them in the salon just spending time together and gossiping. I want to continue this fun relationship with all of them but I know if will be difficult when my salon moves.
96000 - Similar to the opening number, my target in this number is a combination of Carla and the audience. My relationship with Carla is strong and I want to maintain it. My relationship with the audience is a bit more established since the audience and I still want the understanding relationship I mentioned earlier.
Club - My target in this scene is all of the young men at the club. I have some history with a few, but not all of them. This history could involve having dating a few of them or just having spent the night with them. I would like to have a very casual, fun relationship with most of them. I don’t want anything serious but I do like to dance and have fun.
Blackout - My target in this scene is Carla. I have shared basically everyday with her for the past 5-10 years or as long as she has been working at my salon. I would like to continue our relationship the way it is.
- WHAT DO I WANT?
STEP ONE: The Literal.
In the Heights - My literal activity for the majority of the song is just talking and gossiping with Carla and the other girls in the salon. At each chorus, my literal activity switches to telling the audience about my way of life.
Act 1 Scene 4 - My literal activity for this is yelling at Vanessa for disappearing during work and then giving her a hard time for still helping her mom out.
Act 1 Scene 6 /No Me Diga - My literal activity is telling Nina and all the women at the salon the latest gossip.
96000 - My literal activity in this song is telling Carla and the audience what I would do with the lottery money.
Club - My literal activity in the song is dancing and flirting with the men at the club.
Blackout - My literal activity in this song is yelling and searching for Carla.
STEP TWO:The Want. What does my character Want in the scene?
In the Heights - In this scene, I want Carla to really listen to me and pay attention to what I am telling her about. I thrive on sharing gossip and being a source of information for Carla and the other girls. During the choruses of the song when I am singing to the audience, I want to teach/tell the audience about my life and my story.
Act 1 Scene 4 - In this scene, I want Vanessa to stop dealing with her mother’s issues and live her own life. She is so tied up in her mother’s problems that she can’t see how bad it is for her. I want to help her see that it is time to detach herself from her mother.
Act 1 Scene 6/No Me Diga - In this scene, I want everyone to listen to what I have to say and being really engaged in my stories and gossip. I also want everyone to have a good time even though this may one of our last times all in the salon together.
96000 - In this song, I want to share with Carla and the audience my hopes and dreams and I want them to care in return. I want to tell them all about what I would do with the lottery money if I were to win.
Club - In this song, I want to have a good time and I want to feel wanted by all the men in the club. They make me feel young again.
Blackout - In this song, I just want to find Carla and get home. I know I will feel safe again once I find my friend.
STEP THREE:The Action.
In the Heights - My action on Carla is to get a friend to need me.
CAP: Carla asks me a follow-up question.
My action on the audience is to get a stranger/strangers to understand me.
CAP: They nod or tell a neighbor they see where I’m coming from.
Act 1 Scene 4 - My action on Vanessa is to get a friend to wake up!
CAP: Vanessa says: You know what, you are right. I am done with her!
Act 1 Scene 6/No Me Diga - My action on the girls is to get friends to rely on me.
CAP: The girls to say: No way! Tell me more!
96000 - My action on Carla and the audience is to get a friend or stranger to care.
CAP: They say: She has some interesting dreams.
Club - My action on the men is to get someone to compliment me.
CAP: A guy coming over to ask me to dance.
Blackout - My action on Carla is to get a friend to make me feel safe.
CAP: Finding Carla in the blackout.
STEP FOUR: The As If.
- WHAT ARE THE STAKES? (What do I have to win or lose?)
In the Heights - The stakes are very high in the scene. With Carla not as much as with the audience. With Carla, I see her all the time so I have had many opportunities to perform my action. However, with the audience, I have no history with the audience so this song is sort of a first impression. So basically, my reputation with the audience is on the line in this song.
Act 1 Scene 4 - The stakes are very high in the scene for a number of reasons. First of all, Vanessa has a lot to lose! Her mother just keeps taking her money and before she knows it she is going to be in huge debt because of her mother. Also, I have a lot to lose! It is two days before I am moving the salon and I need all the help I can get in the salon.
Act 1 Scene 6/No Me Diga - The stakes in this scene aren’t too high because for the most part I know I have the love and respect of the girls in the salon.
96000 - Since this song is mostly just fantasizing about things we don’t have, I don’t really have much to lose or gain in this song... except for maybe time.
Club - In this song, I don’t have much to lose. For the most part, I am pretty self-confident and I don’t NEED the compliments from the guys I just like them! But I do have a lot to gain! I can have a really fun night and maybe even end the night in bed with one of these guys!
Blackout - In this song, the stakes are really high. The streets are dangerous during a blackout. There are vandals out and people can really get away with anything.
- WHAT IS THE URGENCY? (Why must I do it NOW?)
In the Heights - With Carla, I must do my action now because who knows what will happen when the salon moves! Although Carla is coming to work at the salon in the Bronx, who knows for how long. With the audience, the urgency is that I only have a few songs to connect with the audience and get my action across to them.
Act 1 Scene 4 - I must get Vanessa to wake up now because I may not be around much longer since the salon is moving.
Act 1 Scene 6/No Me Diga - The urgency in this scene and song is that the salon is moving in a few days and this is sort of our last hurrah! I want to have the best time possible.
96000 - The urgency is interesting in this scene. I think it comes from the fact that I feel like my world is on the brink of changing (with the moving of the salon) and I want to get my hopes and dreams out there and heard before anything changes.
Club - The urgency in this song is that I am not getting any younger!
Blackout - The later in the night it gets, the more dangerous. I need to find Carla and make my way home before anything bad happens to me.