A Washington native with her eye on a stage career is spending her summer vacation from college appearing in America’s longest-running outdoor drama.

Erin Stowe is cast as a member of the choir of “The Lost Colony”, which is based on the still unsolved mysterious disappearance of more than 100 colonists who were included in Sir Walter Raleigh’s attempts to establish a settlement in the New World in 1587. The symphonic drama is performed six evenings each week at the Waterside Theater, built on the actual site of the settlement on Roanoke Island, located on the Outer Banks.

“It’s been nothing but a wonderful experience for me,” Stowe said during a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon. “I’m working with some very wonderful, kind and hardworking people. It’s a great show and everyone should come see it.”

Already several Beaufort County residents have made the journey to the coast to see “The Lost Colony”, including Stowe’s parents and friends.

For Stowe, her journey to “The Lost Colony” began back in January when she auditioned on the campus of East Carolina University, where she is pursuing a bachelor of fine arts degree in musical theatre. In April she was notified she was part of the cast and by mid-May she was immersed in an intensive schedule of rehearsals, set construction and costume fittings. Stowe and her fellow choir members open the show with a musical prologue and perform throughout the two-hour drama.

The show, which is performed nightly Monday through Saturday each week, opened its 2014 season June 11 and runs through Aug. 22, closing just in time for Stowe to begin her junior year at ECU.

And not only is Stowe part of “The Lost Colony” cast, she also plays “Francois”, a main character in the children’s musical “How I Became a Pirate.” That show is presented each Tuesday and Wednesday at the Soundstage Theater on Roanoke Island.

As Stowe recalled, she was bitten by the acting bug as a fourth grade student.

“My class was picked to be in that year’s Steppin’ Out,” Stowe said. “I auditioned and got a solo, and in the middle of my solo the audience started applauding … that was very special to me.”

She followed up with a role in the Beaufort County Arts Council’s production of “Into the Woods.” And a star was born. Stowe later became a fixture in Washington High School’s musicals, tackling such diverse roles as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” and Miss Hannigan in “Annie.” She graduated from WHS in 2012.

The 20 year old daughter of Lentz and Tricia Stowe of Washington, she has her eye on a post-college career as a professional stage actress. She wouldn’t be the first cast member of “The Lost Colony” to use the outdoor drama as a springboard. Since its opening night on July 4, 1937, performers in the drama have found success on Broadway and the sound stages of Hollywood. Popular television, stage and movie actor Andy Griffith was a star of the show from 1947 to 1953. Other notables include soap opera actress Eileen Fulton of “As the World Turns” fame and actor/comedian Chris Elliott.

* For more about “The Lost Colony” production, including ticket information, visit thelostcolony.org.