MALE CHARACTERS
MR RUSKIN (FRANK) 40 – 55 Years
Business and Accounting Teacher
He has been in the teaching game for at least 20 years, and has taught through what he calls “the golden years”. He dresses in very sensible clothing (what many would call boring). He is a minimalist, and does not go out of his way to please anyone. He lives on his own with his four cats, however, he is content being on his own, because he very much prefers his own company.
In past years Mr Ruskin found love, but each situation fell short of the ideal model he holds in his mind, so he chose to stick with his fantasy and abandoned all pursuit of reality where relationships are concerned. He has had his ups and downs, and has had to access ‘stress leave’ on at least one occasion, but he loves teaching, and his senior classes especially respect him for his wealth of knowledge. Mr Ruskin has worked in different industries and had several life experiences which have forged his philosophical approach to teaching and life. He starts off the season a little stressed coming back from stress leave, but he soon finds his groove. He forms a special bond with Mr Bates, and the two enter into a casual mentor/protégé relationship. Mr Ruskin has a “Why rush when you know you will eventually get there” attitude to life. Throughout the series he offers his philosophical teachings to Mr Bates, and with each “gem of wisdom” a little more of Mr Ruskin is revealed.
MR KLUNTZ (RALF) 45 – 65 Years
The Principal / Potential BIPOC Role
Principal Ralph Kluntz likes to present himself as a strong confident authority figure. He is in his late 50s and only a few years out from retirement.
Discipline and respect are important to him, and he believes a well regimented school is a happy school. He wastes no time with small talk but the staff respect him. He favours the males a great deal but does it in such a way that makes it impossible to call out. Mr Kluntz is firm but fair, and is well respected by the students as an authority figure. He is often looking for ways to improve the school, and he very much sees himself as the “captain of the ship”. He occasionally does the rounds of the school, looking out for students and staff doing the wrong thing. He feels that his “presence” on deck helps to “keep the troops in order”. Mr Kluntz feels the pressure of his job, and carries this stress bottled up inside of him. Although he very rarely blows his stack, we can occasionally see his pressure gauges heading into the red, beneath the calm façade that he likes to hide it under.
MR CLEGG (NORM) 35 – 50 Years
Vice Principal / Potential BIPOC Role
Vice Principal Norman Clegg is an over enthusiastic Vice Principal who really does love his job. He holds a very high opinion of his own abilities, and takes great pride in his execution of the daily Vice Principal routines, such as catching students out of uniform or playing games in class. Being a relative new comer to the role of Vice Principal, Mr Clegg sometimes forgets that he is executive class, and occasionally indulges in staff gossip and banter with the “lads”. Although now entering his late 40s, Mr Clegg still considers himself as a “young buck”, and he is known for his flirtatious behaviour with the office ladies, and questionable behaviour at the end of year staff parties. Mr Clegg currently finds himself in an estranged relationship with his wife, and therefore drawn to Denise (Daily Organisation Manager) who is also in a stalled relationship with her husband. Mr Clegg is a typical Alpha Male who is in love with his own reflection. In his younger day, his looks and limited talent, landed him an audition on a the singing show “the Voice”. He didn’t make it through the audition, however, this part of the story never escapes his lips.
MR KING (Stephen) 30 – 40 Years
PE Teacher
Mr King or “Kingie” as everyone calls him loves his sports, and vividly recalls the day when he was a “sports legend”, well, at least in his own head. Now in his mid 30s, his teaching career sprung from teacher training in an elite PE Teacher training course. As far as he is concerned, PE is the most important subject at school, and his life purpose is to build future Olympians. Mr King is fiercely competitive, and relishes any opportunity to prove his physical superiority. Students live in fear of being teamed against him in a game of dodgeball, because he has a deadly throwing arm that has been known to knock a student out on occasion. Mr King is also not one to miss a good story telling session, and he is very well known for stretching the truth of his stories well beyond the point of believability. His stretching of truth is so well recognised, that the staff have a secret term for them: A “Kingie with extra mayo”.
MAVERICK (MAV) 20 – 30 Years
Housemate – (Wheelchair)
Maverick has an extremely high IQ and is always working on new and exciting projects. He can teach himself anything he wants, however his self-diagnosed ADHD prevents him from ever following through with an idea fully. He loves the challenge of problem solving and doing things people think are impossible. He was in a car accident when he was younger which made him a paraplegic. He can never admit when he is wrong, claiming that any miscommunication is the fault of others who are not capable of seeing things from ‘his perspective’. Maverick is very cheeky and curious by nature. His wheelchair does not limit his ability to race around the apartment at 100 Km/h. He has a habit of bursting into Mr Bates’s room to tell grill him about something, or just stir him up because he needs to let of some energy. This gets on Mr Bates’s nerves sometimes, however, it all balances out, because Maverick has saved Mr Bates’s ass on numerous occasions. The two have known each other for years and see themselves as brothers. They always look out for each other, but that does not stop them from trying to “notch up a win” by playing a mean prank on one another. This juvenile behaviour is how they bond, and it gives them many a story to tell when they have their house parties.
PAULO (PALO) 20 – 30 Years
Housemate – Flamboyant Bisexual
Paulo is an extremely flamboyant person that you would swear was definitely gay based on his gestures. However he insists he is bisexual as it increases your chances of getting what you want. He believes it’s just bad business to limit your sexual preference and a change is like a holiday. Everything about Paulo screams freedom of choice. Although he drinks more than he should, his conversation is on point. He adores Maverick who has become almost like his brother. They banter and have secret in-jokes together. He changed the pronunciation of his name from Paul to Palo but no one ever remembers. It is his pet hate. Paulo is Maverick’s go-to when he is pissed off with something Mr Bates has done. The two have been known to cook up cruel pranks for Mr Bates, but this is all done with good intentions as these pranks “rarely” cause Mr Bates stress or harm. Paulo is a welcome distraction for Mr Bates after a hard week of work in such a conservative field of employment. Paulo encourages Mr Bates to let himself go and ‘ride the wind’ to see where life will take him.
MANIX 13 – 18 Years
Minor character role
Manix, a Year 9 student at Stashamo High School, is a cheeky prankster, who, with his mate Alex cause mischief in the classroom. He is confident and a little arrogant, and brazen enough to offer bribes to teachers for certain “privileges”.
ALEX 13 – 18 Years
Minor character role
Alex, like his best mate Manix, is a “class clown”. Always testing the teacher’s patience, Alex feigns innocence in situations where he is often the culprit behind a prank. He and Manix are always in the thick of trouble, and earn their keep by “offering protection services” to teachers in return for canteen goods.
JOSH 13 – 18 Years
Minor speaking role
Josh is mates with Manix and Alex, and occasionally gets drawn into their schemes and pranks. He is a self-confident alpha male, and even though he can be quite cheeky with his teachers, he has managed to win over Mr Bates’s respect.
PETER 13 – 18 Years
Minor speaking role
Peter is one of those students that all teachers cannot stand. He is loud mouthed, disrespectful, and ignorant to the impact he has on the feelings of others. With his mate Hamish, they gang up to make the lives of teachers and students hell. His bullying of others is fuelled by a need to compensate for his insecurity about not being good at school work.
HAMISH 13 – 18 Years
Minor speaking role
Hamish is a bully just like his mate Peter. Hamish however, has an even lower intellect than Peter, and as such, he is easily drawn into mischief by Peter, and willingly does Peter’s bidding. Hamish scores very low on class tests and assignments, but this is largely due to him allowing himself to be constantly distracted by Peter.
NOAH 13 – 18 Years
Major speaking role
Noah is a sweet year 9 boy who is mostly confined to a wheelchair or walker due to physical conditions caused by Cerebral Palsy. Noah has learned to live with his disability, and accepts it as an important part of his identity. He is highly optimistic about life, and enthusiastically jumps into every activity. Noah is perhaps Mr Bates’s favourite student at Stashamo High School. Mr Bates often keeps an out for Noah, to help boost his confidence girls, and guide him through the tricky situations of adolescence. Noah looks up to Mr Bates as a father figure, and idolises him as a potential dad. Noah’s biological dad left his mother when Noah was five years old.
DUC 13 – 18 Years
Major character role
Duc is an international student from Vietnam. He is still learning English, so he often makes mistakes with the language, and allows the naughty boys to teach him rude slang phrases. He is sweet and innocent, but has a rather cheeky side to his personality. Because of the language barrier, it is impossible to tell if Duc has made a genuine mistake, or if he is just feigning innocence to escape getting into trouble.
NATE 13 – 18 Years
Minor speaking role
Nate, a Year 9 student at Stashamo High School, is cheeky by nature, and is overconfident in his comedic abilities. He is quick and witty, and therefore cannot help but to call out his funny lines in class.
ETHAN 13 – 18 Years
Minor speaking role.
(Bonus if you have red hair)
Ethan is a happy-go-lucky character who is well liked by his peers for always being happy, positive and cheerful. He loves Mr Bates as a teacher, because he has such fond memories of when Mr Bates taught him in primary school.
JORDAN 13 – 18 Years
Minor speaking role
Jordan is your typical good average kid. He is the type of kid that is often getting ignored because he doesn’t do anything wrong. If anyone is going to remind Mr Bates about the “correct” school rules, it will be Jordan.
MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS 13 – 24 Years
General Students
- An International student.
- An Overactive student.
- The dreaded bully.
- An artsy creative.
- The slacker.
- Sports Captain.
- The class clown.
- A teacher’s pet.
- A rebel student.
- A loveable nerdy tech guru.