So who is the subject of my seventh Favourite Character Praise Friday?
Ryan Evans from the High School Musical Franchise, portrayed by Lucas Grabeel!
Warning! There will be spoilers!
Ryan Evans, despite being affiliated with the antagonised Sharpay, his twin sister, never went out of his way to cause misfortune and allow it to befall upon the other students at his school
Despite what many may think of Ryan's character in the first movie, he is never explicitly depicted to be the brains behind any of the misfortune that befalls upon Troy and Gabriella. Albeit, Ryan did not discourage his sister, nor did he actively disagree with her, he never seemed to go out of his way to cause any problems for them. This fact in the earlier movies demonstrated that despite how close Sharpay and Ryan are within the franchise, their characters are very different. This gave the creators space to develop their characters in the second film when they have a disagreement that leaves them competing for the same goal as individuals in different acts.
Ryan is demonstrated to be a character that encourages others to partake in the arts.
This enthusiasm to encourage others is demonstrated in High School Musical Two, specifically in the scene that includes the song 'I Don't Dance'. There has been a lot of talks and speculation around this scene, however, in terms of what is presented at face value, what we find is that Ryan wants Chad to participate in the staff performance despite Troy no longer wanting to perform alongside him since he promised Sharpay that he would sing a duet with her.
Ryan encourages Chad to consider dancing with the fellow Wildcats that are a part of the staff through a song and dance number which ends with Chad relenting and deciding to participate. His initial reluctance to join in without Troy has been cast aside due to Ryan's persuasion. And in the third film, Chad participates in the Spring Musical, despite his passions still lying greatly with basketball and his other beloved sports.
Ryan is a good role model for the fans of the High School Musical Movies!
Ryan Evans is a character that is originally depicted in the first film of the series to be rather stupid, unable to understand the plans his sister was conjuring up, or read the message that the basketball team left for the drama club; not comprehending that the message said "Go Drama Club!". Despite how he was depicted in terms of academics, Ryan was very talented in theatrics, being a strong dancer and one of the greatest talents East High had in the drama department, alongside his twin sister, Sharpay.
Despite being treated as an afterthought by the majority of the characters within the first movie, a subject for comic relief etc. Ryan continued to work hard in the theatre. He learned by the start of the sequel, that the schemes his sister was conducting seemed to be outrageous and he distanced himself from engaging in them as one of her pawns. In the second film, Sharpay wanted to spend more time with Troy Bolton and to acquire the Star Dazzle Award, the prize offered at the end of the summer.
Ryan found himself at the brunt of his sister's wrath several times within the second film. When Sharpay manages to get Troy to promise to sing with her in the talent show held at their parents' country club, Lava Springs, Ryan is cast to the side, no longer being her duet partner. In response to that, Ryan decides to work alongside the rest of his schoolmates in choreographing a staff-wide performance to go against Sharpay's duet with Troy and try and beat them for the otherwise un-achievable feat of acquiring a Star Dazzle Award, a prize reserved for the efforts of Sharpay. Regardless of his awareness of this, Ryan does not relent and continues to work hard. It is only when Sharpay lashes out again and has the employees' entry retracted as they would be 'required to work on the night of the show' that Ryan sought to take revenge on his sister. When the opportunity struck, he acted and had Troy learn the song that the employees would have been singing in the show.
At the end of the second film, he receives the Star Dazzle Award, which was about to be given to Sharpay. She revoked her award and offered it to her brother in a bid to make amends with him.
In the third movie; High School Musical: Senior Year, Ryan and Sharpay are pitted against one another, and fellow classmates Troy and Kelsi for a scholarship at Julliard. This opportunity was one that neither of the Evans twins were expecting to come their way and Sharpay was eager to grasp at it - wanting to be the centre of attention. In order to dazzle the representatives from Julliard, she took the role of 'Gabriella' in the Spring Musical to sing alongside Troy and acquire the scholarship. Meanwhile, Ryan found himself choreographing the entire show, working alongside Kelsi to create a show that he and his classmates would remember for years to come. At the end of the film, he is offered a scholarship to pursue choreography as a career path at Julliard.
This ending to the series was satisfying as it demonstrate that Ryan's hard work gained him something he wanted, despite being doubtful of himself and his awareness that Sharpay still wanted to outshine him. Her seemingly unconscious desperation to grasp the spotlight, demonstrated by her covering Ryan's face during the 'I Want It All' performance, meant that it was potentially unlikely that he would achieve what he wanted, which was to continue to follow his passions in the theatre. It demonstrated that despite what happens around you and the fact that people may upstage you, if you work hard at what you love, you can follow your dreams. Children would find this idea inspiring and would therefore potentially act in the same way and continue to strive for success.
So what can we learn about writing characters from Ryan?
- It's okay to have good people be associated with antagonists, a lot of the time it makes them interesting
- It is positive to show characters encouraging others to try new things as it shows the character in a different light. This is good, especially when the character has a questionable morality, like Ryan did due to being Sharpay's twin brother.
- Creating positive role models is a good thing - demonstrating to a reader that hard work can and will pay off is a positive thing to do! It encourages them to not give up and keeps them motivated - Ryan lived in the shadow of his sister for years and yet he only began to be recognised for his own talents when it came to being separated from her, and that was okay! Because his efforts were not in vain!
Thank you for reading my reasons that I adore Ryan Evans! I hope I influenced the way you perceive your own characters!
Until next time!
And remember:
Per Ardua Ad Astra!
- Imogen. L. Smiley
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