The Contemps: Stasia Ward Kehoe

Stasia Ward Kehoe's debut novel, Audition, is a triple threat -- it's a novel-in-verse that revolves around ballet and tackles some tough issues.

Personally, I couldn't NOT love this book. A stunning debut in every sense of the term. The verse, lyrical. The story, intense. The characters, memorable.

Stasia Ward Kehoe's sinuous verse compellingly weaves this story of high level dance, scandalous romance and personal sacrifice.

~Ellen Hopkins, NYT best-selling author of CRANK and PERFECT

It's Important to Know Where You Stand
by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Sara, the main character in Audition, often avoids making choices. Even in important situations, she accepts other people’s decisions or just lets things happen because she doesn’t speak up. While I admit to being a rather strong personality myself, I remember very clearly a situation in high school when I behaved a lot like Sara.

The choice I didn’t make was about a boy. Let’s call him Marc. I pretended not to notice the way he’d stand beside me in crowds or turn up when I needed help with something. To be completely honest (and it doesn’t make me sound like the greatest person), he was a bit goody-goody for me, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be known as his girlfriend even though I liked him. But, he was cute and he liked me so I didn’t have the courage to turn him away. My only decision was to take no definitive action.

We’d gone with a group of friends but Marc, of course, offered to drive me home alone. We wound up sitting in his car, first chatting, then laughing and holding hands, then talking less with our faces about an inch apart — I mean, seriously breathing each other’s air — almost kissing until I chickened away from the inevitable and said something stupid. The eternally patient Marc smacked his hands against the steering wheel and drove me home.

A week later, he was going out with a girl name Abigail who kissed him all the time and never pretended she didn’t know what was going on. Abigail was an acquaintance of mine who, later on, took pains to tell me that I’d made Marc pretty crazy and that guys needed to know where they stood. She was right, of course. But not just about boys. It’s important to know where you stand in your own life, too. And to make sure you’re the person choosing what that life will be.

_____

Excellent advice. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us today, Stasia!

Audition releases tomorrow, October 13, from Viking Juvenile. Check it out here:

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This is also a debut novel, so please take a moment to congratulate Stasia on her achievement!

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And if you're looking for more YA novels that revolve around the performing arts, check out the Stages on Pages tour.

Happy Reading!
~Lydia

Point-of-View & the Wayne Gretzky Parable

I grew up in a creative bubble. Between hours spent dancing and super-artsy friends, I floated through school barely realizing there were sports teams and student councils and yearbook committees. I assumed everyone’s world revolved around books and stages. (Can you say uber-ballet-Gleek? Or, maybe, snob?)

Freshman year, my English teacher asked us to peer-critique “Someone I Admire” essays. I was paired with super-popular Greg*. He had sandy hair, a perfect nose, and even I knew he was one of our school’s star athletes. We exchanged papers. I can’t recall the person I wrote about but, to this day, I remember Greg’s essay. It went something like this:

“I really admire Wayne Gretzky. He is the most amazing guy. If I could be anybody in the world, I’d want to be Wayne Gretzky. I hope I grow up to have a career like Wayne Gretzky.”

I looked from the paper to Greg’s swoon-worthy blue eyes, while two thoughts ran through my mind.

1) Wow, this guy cannot write his way out of a paper bag.

2) Who the heck is Wayne Gretzky**?

For YEARS, I told this tale to my artsy friends, getting kudos for my lack of sports knowledge and literary superiority, and having laughs at Greg’s expense.*** Then, in college, I was on a date with this cute theater dude and decide to trot out the Gretzky story. He laughed then said, “Seriously? You don’t know who Wayne Gretzky is?”

Here was a guy I admired. A funny guy. A hot guy. And he was basically implying I lived under a rock. I giggled as he talked about “Broadway” Joe Namath and other athletes he admired. He listened as I described my stage idols. Our conversation went on to favorite musicals, military generals, what works in stand-up comedy acts, the space shuttle…all kinds of stuff. But something about his Gretzky comment stuck. I realized I’d been so fixed in my own point-of-view, that I’d never considered learning about Greg’s.

Ultimately, I married the actor guy. We go to tons of theater performances. But I’ve also developed an appreciation for the Jets (I know, they’re football, not hockey). More importantly, as a writer, I make sure to envision the individual “bubbles” in which my characters live—to fill them with quirky details, to respect their differences, and to include the occasional worshipper of Wayne Gretzky.

Stasia Ward Kehoe’s debut novel, AUDITION, will be published by Viking/Penguin on 10-13-11. She is currently cheering for the Mariners (yep, baseball) while counting the days until the Les Mis tour arrives in Seattle. Visit her online at www.stasiawardkehoe.com.

*Name changed to protect the innocent.

**He is a very famous hockey player.

***I should mention that, despite his writing deficiencies, Greg turned out to be a successful businessman J