She was on stage with Hugo Weaving in TOI's Vivaldi's Ring Of Mystery at the Sydney Opera House.

``There was a live orchestra and I'd never struck anything like it,'' Otto says. ``It was a lot of fun and I thought it would be great to be a kid and to watch that.''

Now with a child of her own, Otto was thrilled when TOI founder Kim Carpenter invited the Lord Of The Rings and Cashmere Mafia star to be the company's co-ambassador, along with her Rings co-star Weaving.

``It's a magic experience for kids to go to a live production,'' she says. ``Not just if they want to be an actor or artist. It shows kids how to be creative, to think outside the box. To promote that, I think, is really important.''

``What's interesting with these workshops, which are about space and Mars, is that what they do help create TOI's show next year,'' says Otto. ``They are about finding things kids are interested in and then the shows are shaped around the workshops.''

In the meantime, Otto is about to start filming an Australian movie, South Solitary, directed by Shirley Barrett, who directed a previous film Otto worked on, Love Serenade.

*Theatre Of Image Creative Workshops, Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris St, Ultimo; tomorrow and Thursday, 9.30am-4.30pm, $95, 95188458,