TORONTO - Newcomers Noah Reid and Allie MacDonald had no idea what they were in for when they signed on to play crooning teens in the Canadian comedy "Score: A Hockey Musical."

First they had to wrap their heads around writer/director Mike McGowan's unusual premise of a home-schooled hockey phenom who breaks into song at the drop of a puck. Then there was the steady stream of homegrown celebrities who dropped by the set for strategically placed cameos.

But the biggest shock was learning that their first feature film had been chosen for Thursday's opening night slot at the Toronto International Film Festival, putting the young actors under a worldwide spotlight that will also be shared by Hollywood heavyweights including Clint Eastwood, Nicole Kidman, Robert De Niro, Woody Allen and Helen Mirren over the next 11 days.

"I didn't quite understand when I was getting into the project how big it was going to be," says MacDonald.

"Obviously I knew that Mike's films had been in TIFF in the past, so I assumed that it would possibly be in TIFF. I had no idea it would be opening. I knew it was in the running and I was just blown away when I found out.

"It's just kind of bizarre because this time last year I was still struggling as an actor and working in a restaurant. I remember serving the TIFF parties and the TIFF dinners and just being like, 'Oh, I want that to be me someday.' And a year later I'm meeting all of these people."

Before "Score," neither actor had much film experience. The 21-year-old MacDonald, who plays the lovestruck girl-next-door, was a musical theatre student who decided upon graduation that drama was her true vocation.

The 23-year-old Reid was a former Kiwanis kid who played "Oliver" in community theatre at age six and landed the role of Chip in the Mirvish production of "Beauty and the Beast" at age eight. He went on to pack his resume with a string of TV appearances and a recurring role on the sci-fi series, "Black Hole High."

Reid says he immediately recognized "Score"'s hockey crazed hero, Farley Gordon, as a breakout role that could launch a career.

"'Score' for me was like the perfect fit," says the affable Reid.

"It is really comprised of the three things that I do best in life -- which are hockey, acting and music. I read the script and I thought, 'Oh my god, I can't miss on this one.' And of course, you can miss but I thought: 'This is really kind of the perfect thing for me,' so I thought there would be something wrong with me if I couldn't nail this one down."

Reid's Farley is a sheltered, home-schooled teen who becomes an instant hockey star when a local team owner, played by Stephen McHattie, discovers him skating circles around the neighbourhood rink rats, played by musicians Dave Bidini and Hawksley Workman.

None of this sits well with Farley's New Age parents, played by Olivia Newton-John and Marc Jordan, whose eccentric pastimes lean more toward Russian banter and songs about hugs.

Farley's biggest champion is his neighbour and best friend, Eve, who harbours a secret crush but is alarmed by her friend's mounting celebrity and growing ego.

All this is matched with kitschy tunes with lyrics such as: "Hockey without fighting is like Kraft Dinner without cheese/It's still pasta. But the palate it won't please," and the inevitable rousing group sing, "Hockey, hockey, the greatest game in the laaaaand."

Pairing such campy crooning with a tribute to Canada's beloved sport was a risk, admits Reid, but he says it was one worth taking.

"When you're creating something there's always that presence of, 'Oh, what if they don't like it?' But so much of our job as artists is taking risks," says Reid, currently shooting a U.S. pilot for Syfy called "Three Inches," with Andrea Martin and James Marsters.

"I mean for me, it was like, 'Will the hockey people like it? Or will the musical people like it because there's hockey? Will the hockey people like it because there's music?' I don't think it's as tough as a sell though as some people think, I mean hockey and music go very well together."

The feel-good tale is also a love letter to Toronto, with high-shticking scenes set amid downtown landmarks including city hall, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the CN Tower and a subway station featuring a wall mural of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And, it's drenched in Canadiana, with cameos including Nelly Furtado, Walter Gretzky, Theo Fleury, John McDermott, and broadcasters George Stroumboulopoulos and Evan Solomon.

Its opening slot at TIFF kicks off a cross-country road trip that will see "Score" open film festivals in Halifax, Sudbury, Edmonton and Calgary.

MacDonald, originally from the Cape Breton community of Port Hawkesbury, N.S., says she'll be bringing her proud parents to the opening gala in Toronto, but had to wrangle 20 tickets for family members eager to catch her debut at the Atlantic Film Festival on Sept. 16.

The Toronto-bred Reid is a bit sheepish in admitting that he's never even checked out a film at the Toronto festival, considered the most prestigious in North America, and chuckles at the thought that his first glimpse will be from the red carpet.

Meanwhile, MacDonald can't help but think back to that night last year when a group of industry bigwigs took over her restaurant following a triumphant night at the festival.

"It was for the after-party for 'Up In the Air,' " says MacDonald, who recalls spotting director Jason Reitman and several producers but no sign of star George Clooney.

"I remember there was just a ton of people and it was sort of frantic and chaotic and I was just loving it, I wanted to be on the other side."

Now that she's poised to jump the boards, MacDonald says she's prepared -- mostly.

"I'm just trying to keep myself calm and ready so I don't get too excited and get over-excited. But I mean, obviously, I'm bursting."

The Toronto International Film Festival runs through September 19th.

"Score: A Hockey Musical" is set to open across the country in October.