There are more famous faces at the Sydney Theatre Company but only Justine Clarke has fans who scream, giggle and wet themselves when she walks into a room. The actress andPlay School presenter doesn't mind a bit - she's even accustomed to signing autographs on messy bibs. "It's an interesting demographic," smiles Clarke. "Most of the questions are along the lines of, 'How did you get outside the television set?'"

Sitting beside the glittering harbour, surrounded by the early morning bustle of actors and production staff arriving to work at Walsh Bay, Clarke is perfectly at home. She has spent seven years, on and off, with her "second family" at the STC. "This is one of the things I love about Sydney ­- having all these theatres on prime real estate," she says, gesturing towards the splash of water, parks and angular wooden architecture. "It seems to have some effect on the audience. In Melbourne, the audiences are more serious, maybe slightly more conservative."

When we meet, Clarke is starring inA Kind Of Alaska, directed by Cate Blanchett, and preparing for her own musical theatre show,I Like to Sing, at the Opera House. It features songs from Clarke's album (also calledI Like to Sing) and is aimed at kids aged 2-8.

"I have strong memories, as a child, of being in a dark theatre watching performance after performance," says the 35-year-old mother of two. "I want to introduce kids to those sorts of memories, to bring them into the wonderful world of theatre."

Clarke has been acting in front of a camera since she was seven, when she scored her first gig on an Arnott's Biscuits television commercial. A series of small roles followed, including that of feral child Anna Goanna alongside Mel Gibson inMad Max Beyond Thunderdome. But her real break came in 1988 withHome And Away, although soap-opera fame weighed heavily on her. "I was getting recognised and it wasn't sitting comfortably. I tried my hardest to remove myself from people. In my late teens, I would feel physically sick going past a bus stop. I was worried [people] would recognise me and start screaming. It was strange but has anyone had a normal adolescence? I doubt it."

Clarke eventually left the series to go to drama school and refine her craft. It has led to tandem careers as an actor and singer. Apart from many TV and film roles - including inLook Both Ways andJapanese Story - she performs at jazz venues such as the Basement. The past seven years atPlay School have brought a new kind of celebrity and allowed her to stay in touch with her love of singing and performing for children. "I sing everywhere - in the car, in the shower. I always have."

Clarke lives in south-western Sydney with her husband, actor Jack Finsterer, and their children, Josef, five, and Nina, three. She talks happily about playing card games or going tenpin bowling with the children but there is inevitably some conflict between family life and an international acting career. Last year, she zoomed off to New York for five weeks to star opposite Blanchett in the STC production ofHedda Gabler, with her children in tow. "You don't want to impress your own life on their childhood. I want them to go to the same school but we do have to move and go where the work is."

For the time being, Sydney is home - as long as it's sprinkled with a few adventures. "I don't have a long attention span so I'm always looking to the next different thing. But I do keep thinking, 'You do all this for work! Wow, I'm lucky.' "