It all started with a pink poodle.

And in the years since, McKenna Webb’s journey to becoming an actress has included a slew of roles from the Peanuts’ Linus to a librarian, meeting her idol – and now, the opportunity of a lifetime.

Webb, who just completed her freshman year at Auburn Riverside High School, has been accepted into a two-week program this summer at Wagner College, a private liberal arts school on Staten Island, N.Y.

She was among just a dozen students selected for the program, which runs July 17-31 and teaches skills including acting, dancing, improvisation and singing.

Webb, 15, first learned about the possibility last summer. Her parents agreed to take her on a vacation of her choice if she maintained a perfect grade-point average during middle school. She chose New York, and a visit to Wagner, which featured the top-ranked theater program in the Princeton Review’s best colleges guide for 2014, made sense. Their tour guide introduced her to the activities director for theater, who suggested that she apply for the summer program.

Webb had to submit an audition tape and monologue – she followed her mother’s recommendation of “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown” – along with a head shot, résumé and an essay on why she wanted to participate.

When the call came, she jumped out of the shower to answer the phone.

“I was telling myself to make a good video to make a good first impression,” Webb said. “I was just excited that I even got to try out.”

She did not expect to be accepted on her first attempt, but her introduction to theater also came early. As a kindergartner, Webb tossed a flier about the school play into the recycle bin. Her father noticed and sold her on participating in “101 Dalmatians” with the prospect of playing the pink poodle.

“By second grade, I got my first speaking part and that’s when I realized that I really, really like doing this,” she said.

Another pivotal role came when Webb starred in “The Music Man” as Marian Paroo, the town’s librarian.

“Every year, I’ve been pushing to try and get the leading lady because I wanted to know what it was like to be the leading character,” she said. “I was that character and I was like, ‘Never again.’ I like the goofy sidekick roles because they have the most diversity. It’s never the same.”

Webb, who describes herself as an introvert, loves playing diverse characters. Her favorite part was playing a boy, Linus, in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and she also enjoyed Serena, a cheerleader, in “Legally Blonde.”

“I love being able to come on stage and be someone totally different,” Webb said. “If this were my job, I would just get to play all day.”

She became involved with the Auburn Avenue Theater through a children’s camp in sixth grade and has performed in a variety of community shows since, including her latest role in “Mary Poppins.”

As she became more involved, Webb quit playing soccer to focus her attention on theater and joined Auburn Riverside’s choir to develop her voice. Webb, who also takes voice lessons during school, believes that has been successful as she will move into the Ravens’ symphonic choir as a sophomore.

In addition to her voice, Webb has another area where she is striving to improve.

“With dancing, I’m strong but I really think I need to get some lessons because it’s hard when you’re getting into the more difficult things. I don’t really know a lot of the terms. They tell you to do a tour jeté and I’m like, ‘What?’ It’s only going to get more difficult and there’s only so much I can learn from watching.”

But Webb is confident she can learn. She was not overwhelmed by the chorus of honking horns and crowds jammed into the New York subways. Or by meeting Tony- and Emmy-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth during her trip to the Big Apple.

“I’m pretty short and she’s short, too,” said Webb, adding that she is 3 inches taller than the 4-foot-11 Chenoweth, whom she calls her idol. “That resonated with me.”

Chenoweth’s personality, did, too.

“She’s goofy and she’s so sweet,” said Webb, who met Chenoweth after she performed in “On the 20th Century.” “It was surreal. I cried forever.”

Webb also listened and learned about Chenoweth, who has blended a career on Broadway with success in movies and television.

“I definitely want to go and I want to major in something with musical theater,” Webb said. “But at the same time I recognize there are a lot of aspiring performers. I recognize that I might have to do some television or movies first before I make it there.”

She thinks Wagner, where the movie “School of Rock” was produced along with scenes from popular TV shows such as “The Sopranos” and “Law & Order” were shot, could be the setting to achieve her goals.

“I’m open to a lot of different schools, but something about this school speaks to me,” Webb said. “It’s just everything that I could ask for.”