Stage star in the East dreams of going west

Ottawa-born-and-raised, the vivacious brunette in her early 20s is on Prince Edward Island to play the role of Diana Barry in Anne of Green Gables - The Musical at the Charlottetown Festival. The well-loved production opens June 18th at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

While Smyth can claim deeper Maritime roots than just her casting as the best friend and foil to Canada's most famous red-haired orphan - Smyth's father originally hails from Edmundston, N.B. - the actress and singer is firmly an Upper Canadian, as Maritimers call folks from Ontario.

Smyth has spent her last five years in Toronto, where she began training as an opera singer at the Royal Conservatory of Music's Glenn Gould School before dropping out to join the cast of the musical Hairspray.

The latter led her to a minor role in the upcoming film of Hairspray that opens in late July and stars John Travolta. Over a very Maritime salmon salad nicoise at Mavor's (the restaurant in Confederation Centre named for Mavor Moore, the founding artistic director of the Charlottetown Festival), Smyth relates how the movie company flew her out to Hollywood for one day to fit her with a fat suit.

At that point, the studio thought she might film a scene as Hairspray star Nikki Blondsky's understudy. While that never took place, Smyth said she got a quick glimpse of where she hopes to end up: out west in television and film. "That's my ultimate goal."

Smyth showed talent early on. At age six she began studying dance and ended up acting in the musical Annie at age 11. A year later, she started working with Ottawa vocal coach Yoriko Tanno-Kimmons.

In 1999, Smyth won first place in two important provincial music competitions in Ontario, the Kiwanis Music Festival and the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association.

Smyth knew Anne of Green Gables well. She read the book as a child and when she was young her parents took her to the musical while the family was visiting the island. The performance left such an impression on Smyth that back home in Ottawa she performed her own version of the musical with her friends.

"I've heard my Diana is a little more silly than last year," Smyth says.

Her favrouite scene to perform is the tea party where Anne (played by Amy Wallis) and Diana famously get drunk on raspberry cordial.

"That's my little comedic moment," Smyth says. "When people become inebriated, sides of them come out that you don't usually see, so she just gets a little crazy and releases her inhibitions."

Smyth expects to do the same herself in The British Invasion, the other big musical opening at the Confederation Centre on Tuesday. She'll do double-duty singing as Petula Clark and Lulu in the show.

"If you see the shows," Smyth says, "everyone is 1908 and manners (one night) and then the next night rocking out."

Anne of Green Gables The Musical plays at the Charlottetown Festival today through to Sept. 29. The British Invasion runs to Aug. 31. Tickets & times, call 1-800-565-0278.