The 23-year-old is starring as Dusty Springfield in the Dunedin Operatic's production about the 1960s British pop singer which opens this Friday.
But the moment the show is over, Miss Morris-Clarke will begin preparations to move to New York.
She has been awarded a $3000 a year scholarship to study musical theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy there.
"My biggest dream has been to live on Broadway and work on stage.
Broadway is the centre of music theatre in the world.
To get into a school that's on the back doorstep is a dream come true.
"I thought I was going to be sick with excitement when I got the letter accepting me ... all those childhood ambitions are going to be realised."
Miss Morris-Clarke said she had been singing since she was a toddler, but did not perform publicly until she started tuition with singing doyenne Gladys Hope.
Before long, she fell in love with musical theatre.
She has since graduated from the University of Otago with a bachelor of arts degree in theatre studies and appeared in a long list of musical productions.
"There's something magical about live theatre. It can change every night - it's never the same, anything could go wrong.
"It's nerve-racking as hell doing shows, but the feeling you get when you finish is indescribable."
Miss Morris-Clarke hoped to follow in the footsteps of some of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy's graduates who have gone on to appear in Broadway shows, movies and television shows including Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Law and Order.
She hoped to be in New York by the end of June, and, for the next three months, would juggle rehearsals and performances with retail work to raise the "substantial" funding required to live and study at the academy.
"I can't wait. But there's still a lot of funding to go ..."
