Natalie came to me whole, as characters sometimes do. I think characters emerge from whatever one sees and hears in one's life. My children grew up with children who had leukemia, so I had long been familiar with the subject. But more than that, I wanted to play three girls to and against and for one another. That triangular structure is one of the methods I use in character and plot building.
Characters define the social order in which they live.
All three characters are very sympathetic, I think. The research involved spending time in an alternative, magnet elementary school in New York City. The wonderful principal there gave me run of the place. I received very interesting responses from the students. I asked all kinds of questions.