Young gun aims for the Great White Way

Viveca Chow Hung-ka was just nine when she first set foot on the stage, as an ensemble member in a local production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. That moment eight years ago changed her life.

Since then, she has steadily polished her singing and dancing skills, and is routinely selected for leads in Hong Kong's summer musicals. She has had training stints in New York, and in January she beat 36 other young performers to win a scholarship to attend a Summer Broadway Camp at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts in Massachusetts.

Viveca first heard about the competition from her mother, but both her parents helped her prepare the song It's a Perfect Relationship from the musical Bells are Ringing for the auditions.

'You go into a room and all the faculty is there, and you sing one song for 32 bars and they assess you based on your voice technique, acting, how you dress and how you express the song and your interpretation.'

Despite her stage experience, Viveca says she was astonished by her win. 'The talent there was amazing, so I was very surprised.'

That's pretty good going for the 17-year-old who describes theatre as 'my life'. Still, she recognises she's just getting started.

Viveca is quick to attribute her successes to a combination of luck and the help from her coaches and parents, but it is clear that she is a hard worker and consummate perfectionist.