Starry-Eyed: 16 Stories that Steal the Spotlight

by Ted Michael, Josh Pultz, Clay Aiken (Introduction)

Overview

No light is as unforgiving as the spotlight, but to be in it while being a teenager is just plain brutal. This collection of fictional short stories highlight the struggles, hopes, failures, and triumphs of young aspiring singers, dancers, actors, actresses, and performers. While these characters may feel out of place during their everyday lives, they are able to find a home onstage and in rehearsals. Woven throughout the anthology are personal anecdotes from several of today's most celebrated performers of stage, screen, and television.

Whether hilarious or romantic or devastating or suspenseful, these diverse coming-of-age stories are perfect for anyone who is reaching for the stars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762449491
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	10/08/2013
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	981,926
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Ted Michael is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and graduate of Columbia University and The Juilliard School. He is the author of So You Wanna Be a Superstar: The Ultimate Audition Guide, a YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults, The Diamonds, and Crash Test Love. He lives in Manhattan's Upper West Side, where he is surrounded by many Playbills and even more books.

Josh Pultz is the senior agent at DGRW Talent, and his clients include stars of television, screen, and stage. He regularly appears as a guest and speaker for such venues as the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, The School for Film and Television, Actors Connection, and One on One Studios. He currently lives in Manhattan.

Editorial Reviews

"The short stories themselves, each of which is memorable for unique characters and situations, spotlight the importance of the arts in the growth and development--and even the survival!--of a large portion of the teenage population. Complex and focused on far more than art as a high-school extracurricular. Starry-Eyed 'breaks a leg' in the finest sense of the word."
--Booklist starred review

"Under the hubbub of the theater world are themes that deal with common teenage issues such as insecurity, jealousy, the fear of coming out and young love. Definitely worthy of applause."
--Kirkus Reviews

"...especially appealing to teens with a personal interest in the performance arts, and those who enjoy stories of teen romance, which are prominent in the collection."
--VOYA

From the Publisher

2013-09-15
Sixteen stories of performing are each paired with anecdotes about life behind the scenes and in front of the footlights. Even a teen with only a pang of stage or screen hunger will be fascinated by this book, with its various accomplished contributors, from the introduction by Clay Aiken to stars from television shows such as Modern Family and Glee. The stories run a rich and varied emotional gamut. A handkerchief might be a worthy prop when reading Maryrose Wood's story about a teenager who finds herself under the reluctant tutelage of an aged, renowned singer; she is stingy with compliments but has a tremendous heart and a tragic secret. Cynthia Hand's "Stage Kiss" is a hilarious tale about a high school junior who seeks to change her never-been-kissed status by auditioning for a play in which the last scene ends with a kiss. Her plan goes comically awry, but readers will swoon at the ending that plays out at the final curtain. Each story is followed by a first-person anecdote by a noted performer, which is itself followed by a brief biography. Teens needn't be star-struck to enjoy this collection, as under the hubbub of the theater world are themes that deal with common teenage issues such as insecurity, jealousy, the fear of coming out and young love. Definitely worthy of applause. (Anthology. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews