I had considered it, but after quite a while spent beating my head on the wall, I came up with the answer on my own.
$game_map.events[event_id].character_name = $game_party.actors[id].character_name
worked after declaring the necessary class.
Unfortunately, it turns out that manipulating the events to have different potential animations based on which party member is using that event will probably be way more trouble than its worth. I was wanting to condense the basic syntax down into a common event I could call and then modify for cut-scenes, but it looks like I'd have to code them by hand. On the plus side, I'm suddenly much more familiar with the basic elements of Ruby.
...But thanks anyway.