Friends of an aspiring 16-year-old actor who died Saturday in a collision with an Amtrak train near his Rowe home met Sunday to share memories of a teen whose Broadway ambitions were cut short by the tragedy.

Acquaintances recalled Galen Stoller as an enthusiastic actor who was always full of energy.

"He was a wonderful, bright light. He always had a joke. He was the life of the party," said Lisa Lincoln, director of the Eldorado Children's Theatre and Teen Players.

Stoller had been practicing with the group for a leading role in the musical Oliver, slated for performance in January. He was especially proud of his developing baritone voice, Lincoln said, and had planned to study at Boston Conservatory after he graduated from Santa Fe's Desert Academy in 2009.

Lincoln recalled Stoller liking the actor's life so much, he asked her not to take breaks between shows.

On Sunday, friends tied a bandana to a tree near the site of the crash, with a note saying, "We love you." The theater group had worn bandanas to show their camaraderie during a recent performance of Godspell, Lincoln said.

"He was constantly coming up with ideas," said Antonio Marquez, who hosted the memorial gathering at his Eldorado home.

Marquez said Stoller was a consummate magician, entertaining his friends with new tricks he had learned. Lincoln said Marquez would take over Stoller's role as a leading male in the January production.

On Sunday, friends practiced a now-poignant Barbra Streisand song, "Being Alive," that Stoller had performed at Santa Fe High School after an intensive Broadway actors workshop.

Lincoln recited the song's lyrics: "Somebody crowd me with love, somebody force me to care. Somebody make me come through. I'll always be there — as frightened as you — to help us survive."

She said friends practiced the song Sunday for a memorial planned at Desert Academy at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A state police spokesman said investigators suspect Stoller was trying to beat the train when the Honda station wagon he was driving was struck about 2:45 p.m. at a private crossing at Plaza del Ortiz Road and the Rowe Frontage Road. Sgt. Andrew Tingwall said police do not suspect alcohol was a factor in the accident.

Stoller is survived by his mother, Maida Henderson, whom he lived with in the Rowe area, and by his father, Dr. Kenneth Stoller, of Santa Fe.

Dr. Stoller is widely recognized as a leading advocate of hyperbaric medicine, which uses oxygen to treat a variety of complications. Dr. Stoller was a founding board member of the Humane Farming Association and remains a founding board member of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association. The father and son in 2003 both signed a petition calling for closure of the Area G chemical-and-nuclear-waste landfill at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Contact David Collins at 986-3064 or dcollins@sfnewmexican.com.