Rowena Thorne

Rowena is a beautiful young woman from the thriving metropolis of Bridgeport; a place for the famous to mingle with the wannabe famous and night clubs house dark secrets many choose to explore. She lived on her own in a cheap loft apartment near the outskirts of town; to save on the cost of rent. Since she was a child Rowena had always wanted to be a model and actress; more famous than Sidney O’Simley who made movie blockbusters like “434 Llama Drive” and starred in a recurring role in the famous “Sims in Autumn” television series; which she watches almost daily. 


As a child, she became a young model and her mom Kendra pushed her nearly to the point of breaking in trying to help her become a star on television. It was not to be however, as her modeling career dwindled in her teens, as a lot more competition came into the picture; some moving to the city from Twinbrook or Sunset Valley and others from right here in the city. 

After high school, she got a part time job as a pizza delivery driver for Augusto’s Pizza near the pier and all the while searched for a way back into the field she believed to be her fated occupation. She visited Plumbob Backlot Studios on numerous occasions in an attempt to get to know some of the directors or producers; always using her best lines, but to no avail. She had no agent to represent her and she couldn’t get hired by studio without one. 

Checking online, she found numerous talent agencies here in town and after several interviews and delivering portfolio after portfolio to the many agencies, she settled down to the call that she figured would come any day. The days turned to weeks, the weeks to months without a call and she constantly tried to contact the owners of the agencies, but none ever took her call; seemingly always out to lunch, or with a client.

It was four months before she got a call, from a visionary new up and coming talent agent named Artemis Crumb, scouting for new talent. Many women and men from Bridgeport were asked to come in for an interview and even though she was nervous, she attended the interview in her finest clothes and wearing a smile. Surprisingly, the agent asked her to return several times, each time for reading lines or for photo shoots to update her portfolio. She saw men and women depart broken-hearted and yet she endured the long and arduous process of winnowing out the chaff and getting down to the real talent among them.

A month after her initial call, she was brought in for a dress rehearsal where she and another girl were reading lines as though preparing to do a real show. The script was well written and the plot thick as the women took turns trying to show their finest acting skills to Artemis; who stood silently watching the exchange between them. 

The other woman was good Rowena had to admit, but she is better and should have no trouble sending this one packing, like all the others. After nearly three hours of grueling performances, the agent sends them home with a promise to give each one a call-back the following day. She scarcely slept, so excited was she; like the prospect of going to an amusement park for kids or that nervous tension just before a concert begins. The phone rang at noon and she returned, seeing the other woman just arriving as well. 

She charges for the elevator and hits the button before her competitor can even walk in the door, whisking her to the tenth floor and the agent’s pad. She has to wait at any rate and once they are both there he takes each of them aside and speaks candidly to them. By the words he used and his body language, Artemis believed her only a passable actress and could be much better, but her skills aren’t yet fully developed. She needed more ferocity and strength of character to truly be a good actress, and also a willingness to take what she wants instead of waiting for something to come her way; like his phone call.  His final reason was that she wasn’t “Ethnic” enough for the movie industry at that time; with most directors wanting beautiful Nubian princesses or a Latin vixen with creamy skin.

She understood his meaning well enough and her hopes sank; believing whole-heartedly that she was leaving his pad without an agent. He sent her into the other room without looking back, bringing in her rival to have the same chat about her abilities as an actress.

Rowena watched helplessly from the other room and her heart sank further as she saw the woman perk up at whatever he was saying to her and even got excited by it, her body language betraying that excitement and maybe a little fear.Whatever he said, it wasn’t long before the other woman was celebrating and shaking his hand vigorously before turning to walk out of the pad in a hurry, leaving Rowena alone with Artemis.

Even though Rowena was heart-broken and discouraged she went to speak with Artemis again… and was surprised with what he had to say. “I will take you as my client, but there are things you need to do for me.” He said and she agreed without even hearing what she needed to do; it wasn’t that important. She would give anything to be an actress, even if that means a little private time with him on the casting couch or in his bed should he ask; kind of suspecting that those things happen in the film industry. 

The next words she hears echo still in her mind to this day. “There is a competition in Hidden Springs in a couple weeks, and while I won’t force you, you should really consider participating.” He has said and took a drink of water. “It is a yearly event called the Last Sim Standing competition and it is perhaps the most brutal and unforgiving tournament in the world. It will give you the drive you need to succeed, the courage and willingness to take what you want in life and make you physically and mentally tougher than any other woman in town. The only drawback is if you lose, you die.” Shivers ran up her spine at that last phrase and she just turns to leave. 

She spends the following three evenings at Waylon’s Haunt; her favorite place to hang out and finally decides that this is her one chance at fame and she should take it; just as Artemis had suggested.  With her mind made up, she went home, packed a bag and drove to Hidden Springs, entering the contest the following morning wanting nothing more than to prove herself to everyone in her life that had held her back, dragged her down or pushed her around.