MAHONING VALLEY Young Poland native pursues Hollywood dream

The 13-year-old says she has a 'normal' life.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Life as an actress began at age 5 for Krista Gierlach.
She appeared in some shows with Easy Street Productions, and lucky for her, Easy Street co-director Maureen Collins has a sharp eye and gut feeling for talent. Collins recommended her for the Sheely's Furniture commercials.
At age 7, Krista made her first TV appearance in that charming holiday commercial with all the little children, which still airs every Christmas season. She is the first face to appear. Two years later, she did another Sheely's commercial, and is the one who says, "Honey, it's the place where we can save money." It was enough to launch her career.
"When I began singing with Maureen, I loved it, I loved performing," said Krista. "Maureen could tell how much I enjoyed it. After I did the commercials, seeing the end result was awesome. It was so much fun."
Krista, now 13, lived in Poland until two years ago. An only child, she and her parents packed up and moved to Studio City, Calif., so she could really pursue acting.
"My mom asked me, 'Just how serious are you about this?' and I said it was what I wanted to do for life," Krista said. "So we looked for a manager, found a place to live, and I started auditioning."
How it's been
The move has been a happy one for the family. "We love it out there," said Krista's mom, Debbie. "There is so much to do, we are never bored, we love the weather and the people seem to have a better attitude -- not necessarily friendlier, but much less judgmental. It's a real melting pot. People there are going for a dream."
Despite her busy acting schedule, Krista says she has a "normal" life. "I go to Millikan Middle School, which is a performing arts public school," she said. "Everybody is supportive and I have lots of friends."
She noted the one big difference when she first began to audition in California was the number of people trying out. "There are thousands of girls auditioning for the same part," she said. "And most of them have had a lot more experience than me. But I don't feel like I am competing. Everyone wishes you good luck."
In spite of the competition, Krista, whose stage name is now Krista Swan, has landed some parts, including a number of voice-overs. She is the voice of a couple kids in the village of "Brother Bear II" and also does some one-liners for several children in the animated film about baseball, "Everyone's Hero." She recently became the voice of a new character on Nickelodeon's "Danny Phantom."
"It's a show about a boy who is normal until his parents begin doing experiments," Krista said. "Now he can change back and forth between a person and a ghost, and he fights evil ghosts. I play Danielle, his cousin. She is a clone, not a real person."
Krista also got an acting part in "Dexter," a new crime-solving series to air on Showtime. "I appear in one episode and sing 'Amazing Grace,'" she said.
And, of course, her school also offers many onstage opportunities. She recently played Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors."
Meeting celebrities
Krista says she enjoys doing the voice-overs, and has had the opportunity to meet some famous people, like Cree Summer, who has done work with Disney and Nick. And she even got to audition for Al Pacino, but said the part was given to an 18-year-old.
And of course, she still does commercials. Most people in Youngstown recognize her as the little girl who tells us to recycle in the Green Team clips. She also did a voice-over for the Children's Museum of the Valley. "We did that one in California, then e-mailed it," said her mom. "And she recently did a public service announcement, a 26-part series on Youth for Human Rights. Her part is 'a right to an education,' No. 26."
Krista said her ideal dream is to be a movie or TV star. "I don't really think about the fame," she said. "I just enjoy acting."
When asked if she might someday see herself as a director, like Ron Howard, who began as a child actor, and now has become so renowned for his directing work, her reply was that she didn't think so. "I see myself staying on the other side of the camera," she said.
Well, we'll see. After all, she is only 13.