ASPIRING actress Eliza Harris has been offered a place at the prestigious New York Film Academy, whose guest speakers include Al Pacino, Ben Stiller and Kevin Spacey.

The 20-year-old of Marshfield Road, Chippenham, was accepted to study musical theatre in the Big Apple from this September after a gruelling audition process involving an interview and performances of songs and monologues.

But living the dream is going to cost Miss Harris $32,000 in fees for the year, and she is hoping local companies may want to support an up-and-coming Chippenham actress.

Miss Harris, who has already forked out tuition fees for an English Literature degree at the University of Warwick, has received a $10,000 scholarship but that leaves her with £14,640 to find.

Her stage career started when she joined the Marshfield Players at the age of seven and, on moving to Chippenham at 15, joined the Colerne Amateur Operatic Society and Chippenham Light Operatic Group and took part in Hardenhuish School productions.

With CLOGS she played Leisl in Sound of Music and was part of the stage crew for The Producers earlier this month.

Miss Harris, who was inspired to act by Dr Who star David Tennant, names her ultimate ambition as performing on Broadway.

She fell in love with New York when she spent a month on a short course at the New York Film Academy last year.

"I got off the plane and went to Times Square and burst into tears because it was so cool," she said.

“The teachers there are currently on Broadway themselves, so they’d be teaching us in the daytime and that evening they’d be off in the Lion King or Cinderella."

She has managed to pay the $1,000 deposit by getting some filming work locally and in London. In Biddestone she played one of the boy band fans in Agatha Raisin, making £100 for a 6.30am-7.30pm day's work.

Miss Harris said: "My mum is a nurse at the Royal United Hospital and she is going to work overtime and help me as much as possible.

"Being in so much debt afterwards has made me doubt pursuing this countless times, but I don't think I'll get this opportunity again so I feel like it's something I have to do."

Miss Harris can be reached at elizaharris94@hotmail.co.uk