Jemima Riley-Duddin is a name you will be hearing again.

The St Kevin’s College year 12 pupil, who most recently blew audiences away with her performance as Artful Dodger in Musical Theatre Ōamaru’s production of Oliver!, has exciting times ahead.

Since the show wrapped last Saturday (July 20), the 16-year-old has been overwhelmed by the positive feedback that has come her way.

“My mum has received most of the compliments for me, actually. Like people have stopped her during half time, at all the six shows that she went to, to say, ‘oh, are you, are you Dodger's mum? Man, you must be so proud’. Which is so lovely.”

Jemima’s mother Helen Riley-Duddin, who owns Inc. Design Store on Itchen St, says she still has strangers come up to her in town, and wishes she could “bottle” the compliments for when her teen daughter needs a confidence boost.

“I've lost track . . . It's everywhere we go, every day,” she says. 

“Every day someone stops me, and often it's people that we don't know as well . . . and somehow that means even more. 

“She was absolutely amazing. But we are really conscious, a show like that is, it's everybody. You know, you can only shine in your role if everyone is in sync. 

“We are really aware of that . . . it's everything. It's the costumes and it's the lighting and it's the choreography and all of that.

“But yeah, it's just been absolutely, totally overwhelming.”

Jemima says the closer she came to the show opening, the easier she found it to embody her character.

“It only really came to me in probably the week leading up to the actual show date, I think is when I felt the most in character . . . because I find it quite hard to get in character off stage. I mean, I can do it, but it's, it's not like natural.”

The role was physically demanding and involved a lot of singing and dancing simultaneously.

Jemima says while she was tired after each show, she never felt drained.

“It absolutely fueled me being on that stage doing what I love.

“Within the show, I got quite tired, after Consider Yourself, but it's interesting, because Dodger as a character, I find myself like grasping his energy and so his energy becomes my energy, and my energy that I had before the show still remains. 

“So I get a different sort of energy. I'm not sure where from.”

Jemima admits she has a small case of the post-show blues.

The Artful Dodger (aka Jemima Riley-Duddin). Photo: Supplied

“It's not like the kind of sad that I know it's gone. Like it's still here and it's still a part of me. It's just not happening anymore.”

Since Oliver! wrapped, Jemima has leapt straight into her next role, as Sour Kangaroo, in her school’s production of Seussical - a musical that combines characters and stories from several Dr. Seuss books.

Rehearsals started the day after Oliver!’s closing night, and Sour Kangaroo is Jemima’s first villain role, which she says is interesting. The show is being performed in September.

But as well as shining in local theatre, Jemima’s talents are bringing her national and international recognition.

Last January, she spent a “downbeat summer” observing from the sidelines as a lot of her friends took part in the Netflix filming of East of Eden, in Ōamaru’s historic precinct. An opportunity she missed out on.

“I watched them do their acting for hours down on set, and I was happy for them, but I was a bit bummed out myself.”

So Mum got busy trawling the internet, to see what other opportunities were out there for Jemima.

One that caught her eye was a Musical Theatre International and Travel Gang collaboration called International All Stars.

Thirty-two teenagers from the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand would be selected to travel to New York to work under the instruction of Broadway industry professionals, to create a performance for the Junior Theatre Festival to be held in Atlanta, a week later.

Jemima sent in an audition tape, not really thinking she had much of a chance, and then carried on with life.

One night in June, after picking Jemima up from a late-night Oliver! rehearsal, Helen showed her the promotional video for the programme.

“I watched that and I was like, ‘wait, isn't this thing I auditioned for like two months ago?’ And she said 'yes . . . you got in', and I was... I did not speak for the rest of the ride home, I was so shocked.

“I'm still a bit in disbelief . . . and if I tell people about it, I see their reaction. Honestly, I feel the same . . . it seems like a dream.”

Jemima admits she doesn’t pay much attention to politics, so has no particular feelings about travelling to a Trump-led US, other than feeling “really lucky” to be going overseas, and to have been recognised for something she loves doing.

The trip is for two weeks in January, and now Jemima and Helen (who will chaperone) need to raise money for flights to and from the US, and the almost $15,000 ( USD $9000) required to cover the cost of the two-week programme.

It is a daunting amount, but the two agree the opportunity is too good to pass up, and Jemima is one of only three who have been selected from New Zealand.

Jemima says she hopes to run a “stage club” involving singing, dancing and acting for children ages six to twelve during school holidays.

Other people have also reached out with ideas and offers of fundraising help, which Helen says they are grateful for.

But before then, Jemima is also competing in the National Young Performer of the Year competition.

She qualified at the North Otago Performing Arts competitions in March, and was one of only two who went through the process of preparing two separate seven-minute pieces which were a monologue leading into a song.

One of Jemima’s performances was as the Artful Dodger singing Consider Yourself, and the other as Maria Von Trapp from The Sound of Music singing I Have Confidence.

“It was this really strict, long list of rules that had to follow. 

“It was really confusing, and I didn't really know what I was doing . . . and the song I Have Confidence wasn't actually in the original musical, and so it almost got disqualified . . . but the judge said it was too close to the competition time for me to change it, so I just did it anyway and I got nominated through, which is amazing.”

The national competition is being held in Palmerston North in October and Jemima is now working on coming up with a second piece, but will stick with her beloved Artful Dodger, she says.

“So thankfully I don't have to say goodbye to Dodger just yet."

While Jemima has a natural talent, she also works hard doing what she loves.

Consider Yourself entertained - Jemima and the cast of Oliver!. Photo: Supplied/Facebook

There are lessons in ballet, jazz dancing and singing, and she has been involved in theatre shows since she was about eight.

“I think the other thing that helps me, is just the motivation to keep doing better, and to keep like, being my best self.

“Yes, it’s fun, but there’s also a goal at the end.”

Jemima’s ultimate ambition is to feel proud of herself and happy that she has done her best. 

“And out of that, I hope will come some sort of career pathway, some opportunities, and experiences that allow me to grow."

She also wants to make her Musical Theatre Ōamaru family proud, and prove the things she has learnt being involved in Ōamaru theatre are as good as she could have learnt anywhere else.

“But the ultimate goal is just to feel happy," she says.

"And to keep feeling happy.”