49 pages • 1 hour read
Kelly BishopThe Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use.
In 1974, Kelly Bishop (then known as Carole Bishop) was almost 30, unemployed, and in an unhappy marriage. Despite loving life as a chorus dancer in New York, she knew she was unlikely to continue working beyond the age of 35. Hoping to transition into acting, she gave herself a two-year deadline to achieve her goal.
Bishop received a call from the Broadway dancer Tony Stevens that changed her life. Tony and his partner, Michon Peacock, wanted to create opportunities for Broadway dancers by forming a co-operative company. He invited Bishop to a workshop at a dance studio, mentioning that Michael Bennett, a famous Broadway writer, director, and choreographer, would be observing. Bishop respected Bennett professionally, but there had been tension between them in the past: In 1967, while working as a chorus dancer in the musical Promises, Promises, Bishop confronted Bennett when he ridiculed her during a rehearsal.
At the workshop, Bennett asked the group to share their experiences as professional dancers. He recorded the participants as they talked about their backgrounds, their love of dance, and their dreams. Bennett wanted to create a musical called A Chorus Line “based on dancers’ experiences and their audition processes” (9). Bishop was excited about the show. However, soon afterward, the project was put on hold until Bennett could raise more funds. Due to her husband’s gambling debts, Bishop could not afford to wait. She accepted an uninspiring six-month role in a touring production of Irene, taking Venus, her German Shepherd, with her.
During the first two weeks of Irene, Bishop learned that Bennett had secured funds for A Chorus Line. Devastated, she believed she had missed out. However, Bennett convinced the producer of Irene to release Bishop. Afterward, Bennett suggested Bishop should have borrowed money from him, but Bishop insisted that she would earn everything she had.
The role of Sheila Bryant in A Chorus Line marked Bishop’s transition from ensemble dancer to actor. Sheila’s monologue in the original script was based on a recording of Bishop’s personal revelations at the workshop. Bishop was not a strong singer, so she was dismayed to learn that the monologue had become the song “At the Ballet.” However, the lyrics were an ode to her childhood love of ballet classes where “everything was beautiful” (19).
Chapter 2 Summary
Carole Bishop was born in 1944 in Denver, Colorado. She loved her older brother, and her mom Jane was her best friend. In contrast, Bishop’s father Lawrence was a “mean, alcoholic bully” (23). Bishop’s grandmother Louise was 16 when she had Jane and became a single mother. Jane met Lawrence Bishop in the 1930s after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English. At the time, 20 was the standard age for marrying, so Jane felt pressured to do so. Having felt unwanted during childhood, Jane ensured her children knew they were loved.
When Bishop was a girl, her mother explained that having children restricted a woman’s freedom. From that day, Bishop resolved not to have kids, directing her maternal instincts toward animals.
Bishop hated school and was academically unengaged. However, she did excel at the ballet lessons Jane gave her. When Lawrence refused to pay for formal classes, Jane played piano in exchange for Bishop’s classes at the American Ballet Theatre in Denver. There, Bishop was taught by the renowned dancer Dimitri Romanoff and his wife Francesca.
One day, Bishop asked her mom if she would grow up to be pretty. She was devastated when her mother replied, “You’ll be very different. You’ll be dramatic. And you’ll have a lot of flair” (31). Nevertheless, she felt pretty in her dancing classes. Ballet also provided comfort in her teens when her parents finally divorced. Although Bishop did not miss her father, the lack of stability disturbed her.
When the Romanoffs relocated to Northern California, Jane decided to follow so that Bishop could continue classes. Focused on a ballet career, Bishop was tempted to give up school at 16. However, she decided she owed it to her mother to get her high school diploma. In her sophomore year, Bishop applied herself and got good grades despite having dyslexia.
Bishop was determined to join the renowned American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in New York. Dimitri Romanoff supported her ambition, sending photographs of Bishop to Lucia Chase, the principal dancer and co-founder of the ABT. Romanoff also arranged for Bishop to attend two classes with the American Ballet Theatre when they toured San Francisco, but Bishop was disappointed when Lucia Chase did not come to watch her dance. At 18, Bishop decided to move to New York to audition for the ABT.
Chapter 3 Summary
In 1962, Bishop arrived in New York, staying with family friends. As she traveled to the ballet school where she studied, men often exposed themselves to her. One day, a man touched her inappropriately, and she turned on him, drawing the other passengers’ attention to his actions.
Dimitri Romanoff and Lucia Chase judged auditions for the American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet. Dancers were categorized into two types: “soft” and “hard.” While soft dancers were stylistically gentle and elegant, Bishop was a hard dancer, excelling “at jumps and turns” (41). Bishop felt confident that her performance was one of the best. However, during the audition, she saw Romanoff nodding toward her while Chase turned away. Bishop got through to a second audition, but Chase avoided eye contact and did not select her. Bishop remained convinced she’d performed better than the successful “soft” dancers. Afterward, she learned that Romanoff wanted to select Bishop but if he had insisted, Chase would have made Bishop’s life miserable.
Bishop needed to earn money for rent, so she successfully auditioned for the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall, securing her first job as a professional dancer. The ballet dancers at Radio City Music Hall were a secondary attraction to the famous chorus line, the Rockettes. The job required four performances a day and was poorly paid. However, Bishop was grateful for the work. She started dating Roy Volkmann, a fellow dancer who wanted to become a professional photographer. To allow them to move in together, Bishop wore a fake wedding ring as landlords refused to rent to unmarried couples. At first, Jane also deeply disapproved of her daughter “living in sin” (49); however, Roy eventually won her over.
Roy convinced Bishop that her talent was wasted at Radio City. In 1964, she was hired for a dancing job at the World’s Fair, which introduced her to a wider variety of dance styles. When the World’s Fair ended, Roy and Bishop moved to Las Vegas, where dancing jobs were in readier supply. Shortly afterward, Bishop learned that her father had died during heart surgery. She felt no emotion at the news, having rarely seen her father since the divorce. However, at the funeral, she was shocked to find herself wailing.
Bishop immediately returned to work in Las Vegas, progressing from a second-rate lounge act to the Vive Les Girls show, where she enjoyed performing five dance styles. However, the pace was relentless, involving all-day rehearsals and three shows a night. When Bishop felt she could not continue, the choreographer gave her amphetamines, and she began to take them daily.
Roy announced that he felt trapped and used, “like a dancing bear” (57). Meanwhile, Bishop realized the only way to progress in Las Vegas was to dance topless, a step she was not prepared to take. After a year and a half, they returned to New York. Bishop stopped taking amphetamines, and she and Roy mutually agreed to end their relationship. Roy went on to become a successful fine arts photographer.
Bishop took what felt like a somewhat demeaning job dancing at a nightclub in Times Square. Auditioning constantly for Broadway shows, she realized that personal connections were as important as dancing ability. In 1967, she was finally cast in Golden Rainbow on a choreographer’s recommendation. While working on the show, Bishop fell in love with a married publicity agent but ended their affair when she realized that the situation was unfair to his wife. Afterward, she threw herself into a new Broadway show, Promises, Promises.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
Chapter 1 subverts the reader’s narrative expectations, beginning Bishop’s life story in media res, when she is already almost 30. By starting the narrative with Kelly’s invitation to the workshop for A Chorus Line, the author emphasizes this moment as a defining incident in her life. The flashback to Bishop’s childhood in Chapter 2 suggests that all earlier events have led to this crucial moment.
Readers gain a strong sense of Bishop’s character through her narrative voice and decision about which aspects of her life to depict. One key aspect of her personality is the desire to live life on her own terms. For example, in one formative childhood moment that shaped the adult she would become, Jane’s assertion that having children restricts a woman’s freedom had lifelong resonance, solidifying Bishop’s conviction to never have kids. Jane’s warning contradicted societal expectations of the day, which dictated that women found true fulfillment through motherhood. Another example of Bishop’s determination to live her own way was her decision to move in with Roy, defying 1960s taboos on unmarried couples living together. The author’s anecdote about confronting director Michael Bennett during a rehearsal demonstrates the feisty spirit that prompted her to stand up for herself, regardless of the power dynamics at play. Kelly’s integrity and independence are likewise the impetus for her insisting on earning her own money and refusing to become a topless dancer to advance her career in Las Vegas. Sheila Bryant in A Chorus Line was thus the first of many strong female roles that reflect Kelly’s personality.
Bishop’s recollections of her early career convey formidable determination, as well as pragmatism and a lack of self-pity. For example, she doesn’t grumble about touring in an uninspiring role in Denver: “I had no right to complain. In fact, I had to be grateful for it, and trust that for some reason I was exactly where I was supposed to be” (14). This combination of ambition, self-assurance, and fortitude when events do not go her way forms the core of Bishop’s Personal and Professional Resilience. Bishop’s encounter with Lucia Chase, the principal dancer of the American Ballet, adds to the theme. Bishop saw Chase as the key to achieving her ambitions, moving to New York for “the sole purpose of proving myself to Lucia Chase. Nothing more, nothing less” (39). Chase’s rejection is Bishop’s first major professional disappointment. But it doesn’t shatter her childhood dream; instead, Bishop bounces back and remains confident that she deserved to be selected.
These chapters introduce the memoir’s significant motifs. “At the Ballet” is a song that holds great personal significance for Kelly, encapsulating the formative moments of her childhood. The song’s lyrics convey how the author discovered The Fulfillment Derived from Artistic Expression in ballet. Dance not only gave her purpose and direction but also provided stability and comfort at challenging times, such as during her parents’ divorce. Her willingness to challenge herself with new dance styles, transforming from a ballerina to a Las Vegas showgirl, demonstrates the confidence and fearlessness that ultimately led to her success.
The memoir provides behind-the-scenes insight into the world of professional dancing. While conveying her passion for the profession, the author also illustrates its considerable challenges. The pressing need to transition to acting as Bishop nears 30 emphasizes the brevity of the average dancer’s career. The poor pay means that Bishop often has to take less desirable jobs to stay financially afloat. Bishop briefly uses amphetamines to endure the “brutal schedule of rehearsals and performances” (58). Bishop expresses irritation at the sexism inherent in the industry: “[A]dult female dancers were referred to as ‘girls,’ and the male dancers were referred to as “men” (46). She also suggests that nepotism and favoritism often trumped talent in auditions: Bishop finally secured a role on Broadway due to personal connections.
