Frank Sinatra sang that "if you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere", and budding actor Jaimee Lee Gaston is doing her very best to soak up all that's on offer in New York.

The Cathedral College 2022 graduate, who was chosen to take part in a Melbourne VCE drama and theatre studies showcase in early 2023, has spent the past two years performing and choreographing in the Big Apple and is currently home in Rutherglen for the Christmas/New Year break.

Jaimee began auditioning for New York acting schools soon after completing her secondary schooling, and was accepted into the Circle in the Square Theatre School two-year conservatory, following a musical theatre track.

After some time working in Rutherglen to save money after school, she headed to New York in August, 2023.

"People say it was young to go over when I was 18, but I didn't want to wait - I wanted to go and do it," Jaimee said.

"As my parents said, you can always come back and follow your back-up plan, but if it's your back-up plan, why would you do it first?

"So far, I haven't felt that I need to come back. Sometimes you get wrapped up in the process of auditions, but then you go outside and see the Empire State Building, and realise where you are."

Jaimee said her plan to study and act in New York was hatched after she visited the city with family when she was 10.

"I said then that I wanted to go back," she said.

"There is always something to see, and it fuels your own inspiration; when I'm working, I'll go and see something, because it's pretty accessible to go see Broadway and off-Broadway shows, and I think, 'Yes, that's what I want to do - I want to make people feel like that'.

"Everyone you meet is a creative in some respect, and while it's easy to get lost in the work of it, my friends and I are good at keeping each other on track; I've made some great friends who are my family away from my family.

"There is always something I can do that involves art and culture - and for free too. If I'm bored, I'll go to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) or MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), or see a part of Central Park that I haven't seen yet; I love going there to wander."

Jaimee is currently cast as a role in the development of an off-Broadway play set to debut in October, and has been fascinated by the process.

"It's so interesting, seeing how they cast and go about getting producers, and all the steps a show needs to go through," she said.

She has also written her own play, in which she will star when it plays in an off-Broadway festival early in the New Year.

Jaimee said her studies had given her the opportunity to see experienced actors at work in rehearsal, opening her eyes to their processes and the fact they were only human.

"You think something magical happens and that they will be perfect, but they were calling for lines and had their own processes like any actor," she said.

She's also found, through her performances and auditions, that Australians are much-loved in New York, and has had the opportunity to chat to and gain insight from Aussie star Sarah Snook.

"I heard someone say that Australians take the work seriously, but don't take themselves seriously," she said.

Now 21, Jaimee said her younger self would be pleased with what she's achieved so far, and she's excited about where the future may lead her.

"I'd love to work across mediums, in stage and screen, and to live a life where I could work in New York and visit Australia regularly," she said.

She's enjoyed the chance to return to be with family over the Christmas/New Year break, though it took her some time to adjust to the pace of North East life, but Jaimee is looking forward to returning to her new home and continuing to follow her dream.