Emma Joy Galvin -- 11-22-2005

St. Peter's youth one of three
from Warwick in Trinity favorite

THE WARWICK BEACON
Tuesday, November 22, 2005

BY MARK SILBERSTEIN

She can sing, she can dance, and 9-year-old Emma Galvin plays the piano, too. But most of all, the 4th grader at St. Peter's School can act, cast in this year's version of "A Christmas Carol" at Trinity Rep in Providence, one of three Warwick children performing in the holiday favorite, now in its 29th annual production.

"I dreamt that I was Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz'," Galvin said with her cherubic smile last Thursday, describing how she first got the bug to act. When she awoke that day three years ago, Galvin said she rushed to tell her parents, Laura and Brian, she wanted to be on-stage.

Emma's first audition with the All Children's Theatre Company proved successful, winding up cast as the lead in "The Empresses' New Clothes." From there she's had supporting roles with theatre groups performing in "The Sound of Music," "Alice in Wonderland" and her induction into the world of Charles Dickens playing the character role of "Fan" in "A Christmas Carol" with the Academy Players in East Greenwich.

"That was awesome," she said.

Recently, when the family, including her 11-year-old brother, Marcus, stayed at their summer home in Jamestown, Emma was given an opportunity to try out for a local talent show.

"I sang, 'Somewhere, Over the Rainbow,' said Galvin, winning the competition and receiving front page notoriety in a Newport newspaper.

"I really want to be in movies, and I really want to be in a Broadway play," said Galvin, wiggling in a chair with excitement as she considered the prospect. If given the chance, she said she'd like to perform on the Great White Way in a stage version of either "Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang" or "Mary Poppins," although for the latter she declined to say if she would be interested in playing the part made famous in the Disney film by Julie Andrews.

"I don't know," Galvin said, suggesting the more age appropriate role for her would be the young daughter, Jane Banks.

Crediting her father with digging up information on Trinity Rep's auditions for "A Christmas Carol," Galvin was cast in a dual role of "Young Belle" and a "Young Singer" in one of two rotating companies the theatre uses to satisfy the near endless cycle of performances in order to meet high audience demand to see the show. Emma is one of 32 children from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, ages 6-12, that are in the show.

The play, directed by Amanda Dehnert, also features veteran Trinity actors William Damkoehler and Timothy Crowe, each taking turns playing the classic role of the miserly Scrooge.

Rehearsing with the "Ivy" company (the other is the "Holly" company), Galvin is preparing to make her big stage debut at Trinity tomorrow, admitting she'd never been to the theatre before she got cast in the play. Still, Emma said she's a quick learner and has had no difficulties memorizing her parts or changing in and out of costume or makeup to fulfill the needs of two separate characters.

"I love it so much," Galvin said of the time she's spent on and off stage. When she's not performing, Emma said she enjoys basketball, baseball and swimming. Oh, and she revealed she composes songs, too.

In mid-December, about 45 St. Peter fourth and fifth graders will head downtown to Trinity to see their classmate perform.

"They're really supportive," Emma said of the faculty and staff at the school on Mayfair Road, just behind St. Peter's Church.

The other two Warwick children in Trinity Rep's "A Christmas Carol" are 7-year-old Dominique Moreria, who attends Oakland Beach Elementary School, and 11-year-old Janelle Boehm from Aldrich Junior High. Erica Agyemang, a 6-year-old attending Daniel Waterman Elementary in Cranston, is also cast in the show. Performances run through December 24.

(Editor's note: For ticket information, contact Trinity Rep at 351-4242 or on-line at www.trinityrep.com.