At 14, Paige listened to the film soundtrack of "West Side Story", which evoked the desire for a career in musical theatre. Paige's musical ability was encouraged by her school music teacher, Ann Hill, who was also the head of the music department. Paige was a member of Hill's choir, and her first role on stage was playing Susanna in a school production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", which was followed by parts in "The Boy Mozart" and solos in Handel's "Messiah" – "a difficult work for little children".