Call Backs

When I was little, a local music store asked my dance teacher if her dance class could appear in its new commercial. I don’t remember much about the experience except for endless takes of grapevine-ing across a hot parking lot in front of the music store. I did see it on TV a few months later.  Our little dance routine was on the screen for a few seconds. I figure I still have about 12 seconds left.

For those seeking their 15 seconds of fame, I recommend the following titles:

Seeing Stars by Diane Hammond

Hammond takes us into the world of child actors. Centering around an agent called Mimi, the novel follows a circle of characters as they hope to be discovered.  

Ruth and her daughter Bethany have just moved to Los Angeles from Seattle. Ruth is all too eager to purchase the headshots, remove the braces, and visit the beauty specialists required. She also ferries Bethy to auditions, acting lessons, and showcases the agent insists on (and charges for). 

Angie and her daughter Laurel have left the Southern pageant scene for Hollywood. However, Laurel, at 16, is getting too old for most parts, so time is running out.  

Quinn, since being dismissed by Mimi, is couch surfing and also worried about the future. Trying for a part in a new Gus Van Sant movie may be his last chance.

From on-set scenes (equal parts homework and Cinnabons) to acting classes with vaguely familiar has-beens, Hammond makes the process look both grueling and well, grueling.

I’m Glad About You by Theresa Rebeck

After college (and a stint in Seattle theater) Alison Moore moves to New York with hopes of making it as an actress. A friend calls in a favor and soon she is auditioning for the role of “witness” on a crime show. One hit show later, she is walking the red carpet and appearing in celebrity magazines.

Her ex-boyfriend Kyle works as a pediatrician in their hometown of Cincinnati. Newly married, his wife Van is eager to start a family but wary that Kyle may still have feelings for Alison.

The novel follows Alison’s career and the people she must (or chooses to) leave behind.  Like most celebrity obsessions, we empathize with their trials while at the same time rolling our eyes at the drama.

Rebeck, a playwright and television writer (also the creator of one of my favorites), engages the reader with clever dialogue and characters that you'd much rather watch on the screen than befriend