Lynsey McLeod returns for second season of portraying one of Disney's most beloved characters in "Disney's Sing Me a Story with Belle."

Her background sounds almost like a Disney plot. This beautiful and talented actress actually grew up in a Northwestern town with the interesting name of Boring, Oregon, which she describes as "a suburb of a suburb of Portland." There was nothing boring about the McLeod household, however, for Lynsey and her four siblings. Their father -- a minister -- is famous for surprising his wife with such thoughtful gifts as chickens, ducks, or an occasional goat. "The trouble is, my mom is not an animal lover," Lynsey explains. Her dad's other little surprises include completely remodeling the house while his wife is away. "Whenever my mom leaves the house, she's afraid she won't recognize it when she comes home," Lynsey laughs. "Luckily, my parents are crazy about each other, so it all works out."

Coming from such a lively family, it's not surprising that Lynsey discovered acting while still a freshman in high school. "I took drama because I thought it would be easy," she admits. "But I fell in love with acting and ended up working very hard at it because I was enjoying it so much. It completely changed the focus of my life."

Because of her own positive experience, Lynsey feels very strongly that schools need to emphasize their arts programs. "Whenever school boards start cutting budgets, arts programs are the first to go," she says. "I think administrators, politicians, and even parents overlook the value of this creative outlet for students to express their feelings and talents. When my own school considered cutting back on the classes available, I was devastated."

Lynsey's legitimate soprano voice is a perfect match for the character of Belle, although she hasn't always thought of herself as a singer. Her musical abilities became apparent when her high school held auditions for a production of the musical "Grease." "I auditioned on a dare," says Lynsey. "When I was cast as the lead, no one was more surprised than I was!" Her success in "Grease" led to her decision to study voice seriously.

Two weeks after finishing high school, Lynsey moved to San Francisco, where she attended the American Conservatory Theatre. She continued her education at the Los Angeles Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College.

Perhaps her most valuable experience as a performer came when Lynsey was cast as part of a five-person ensemble in a play called "Secrets." Funded by the Kaiser-Permanente Medical Foundation, "Secrets" is a dramatic play designed to teach teenagers about the importance of AIDS awareness. The ensemble performed "Secrets" for junior high and high school students throughout Southern California, often giving two performances a day, five days a week, for three years.

"The experience I got from 'Secrets' was invaluable," Lynsey remembers. "We were constantly performing in front of huge audiences, and we would answer questions from students about everything from safe sex to drug use to date rape.

"We received ongoing training on the latest AIDS research. Sometimes we performed the play for groups of parents who weren't sure they wanted this information presented to their kids. It was very intense, but I really feel I was doing something important."

Continuing to audition whenever she could, Lynsey caught the attention of casting directors at Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. She has appeared in the "New Works Festival," is regularly asked to appear in readings of new plays at the Taper, and was cast as an understudy in a production of Neil Simon's play "Jake's Women" at the James A. Doolittle Theater in Los Angeles. Most recently she has appeared as "Tess" in the South Coast Repertory production of "Six Degrees of Separation."

For "Disney's Sing Me a Story with Belle," Lynsey auditioned in costume and sang to a group of young children. Once the producers saw her easy, natural way with the kids and heard her beautiful voice, they knew they'd found their Belle.

"I'm so excited to be a part of this series," Lynsey says. "I'm learning great new songs in so many different musical styles. I'm working with terrific writers and songwriters, wonderful puppets, and adorable children who relate to me as Belle, a character they already love from the movie. I'm really thrilled to be a part of it."