UALR Theatre Arts and Dance graduate Marisa Kirby is getting into the Christmas spirit big time this year. She is playing a variety of roles — including the Ghost of Christmas Future — in the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol, The Musical.”

A spring 2011 graduate with a bachelor of fine arts degree, Kirby was the first student to graduate from UALR’s dance program established in 2009. She is a frequent performer in Little Rock area productions and has been recognized for her choreography and performances regionally and nationally.

“I started out as a theatre major at UCA, but when I heard UALR was starting a dance program, I transferred even before the program started,” Kirby said.

The North Little Rock High School graduate said she has been a dancer since she was a little girl, but the experienced, professional dance professors at UALR opened new worlds for her.

“The faculty is amazing, obviously very talented and experienced,” she said. A longtime fan of musical theatre, Kirby said her professors exposed her to more and different types of dance and greatly honed her skill and technique.

“They made me more well-rounded and more marketable,” she said. She also gained experience in choreography — a skill she can use when she is older.

Her role in “A Christmas Carol: The Musical” is her first Equity performance — meaning she is now a theatre professional.

“I love, love, love it,” she said of her new profession.

She has been a full-time dance instructor and choreographer at Ms. Karen’s Dance Studio and a guest artist for the North Little Rock High School dance program. She also is co-choreographer for the Argenta Community Theatre’s upcoming production of “Cabaret.”

Broadway may be in her cards, but Kirby wants to make sure she’s ready for the Great White Way by working on her craft in summer stock and more regional theatre work.

“I want to make sure I experience it all,” she said.