From her infectious songs to her astonishing feats in television and YouTube, Tricia Walsh Smith continues to entertain countless of fans around the world.
By: Jacob Elyachar
One of the most talented people that I have ever had the chance to correspond with is the lovely Tricia Walsh Smith.
From her 500 television commercials and appearances on countless national and international shows including Extra, The O’Reilly Factor and Pineapple Dance Studios to her colorful and hysterical videos that have accumulated over 5,985,000 views on YouTube and her impressive plays, Tricia Walsh Smith is a dynamo mover and shaker in the entertainment industry.
In this interview, Ms. Walsh Smith opened up about her desire in the entertainment world, her songwriting process and how she got into comedy.
Jacob Elyachar: Did you always want to be in the entertainment industry?
Tricia Walsh Smith: Yes – from the age of four I told anyone that would listen that I would be a princess. When the succession of the monarchy was explained to me by an exasperated eight-year-old I declared, “ I’ll just be a star then.” From the age of six, I had “Stars dressing room, please knock before entering” on my bedroom door. It was strange as no one in my family was in showbiz and as my father was in the military, we lived in places such as Libya so we did not have television and there was not a celebrity culture in those days.
JE: Who are your role models for performing (singing/comedy/songwriting) and why?
TWS: I love Jennifer Saunders – she is just genius as a comedienne and writer. Sarah Brightman is my favorite vocalist and I love Madonna. As far as songwriting goes Tim Rice for me is the ultimate lyricist – he’s clever, witty and incredibly insightful.
JE: Could you please share your songwriting process with my readers?
TWS: It’s always different, sometimes a song will come into my head out of nowhere walking down the street and I’ll grab my notebook, jot it down and hone it later.
One song, “Stop,” came to me in the middle of Oxford Street when I was thinking about a guy I was dating who I rather liked but I did not want to get involved as my choice in men always seems to leave a lot to be desired!! “Sellin’ My Soul,” the opening number to my musical Change the Day came to me coming out of the hairdressers and walking along Curzon Street.
A few weeks later I was in Los Angeles, when Simon Kay, my über brilliant composer, sent me an e-mail asking for one more verse. I wrote it in five minutes before breakfast and the lyrics are I think my favorite ever:
“Every day is a fight to survive
I curse the Gods for bein’ alive
Each day I pray that death is beckoning
It’s life that I fear not the day of reckoning
The world’s a stage and I don’t like my role
Fed up of livin’ the dark night of the soul
I’m tumblin’ tumblin’ down a bottomless well
A helpless puppet in this livin’ hell.”
Simon was flabbergasted and said, “Bloody hell – that was quick!”
But sometimes getting the lyrics can be like pulling teeth, such as the finale of Change the Day, I had no idea what I was going to write so didn’t push it, as I knew that it would come when it was meant to come. Then, Simon sent me the MP3 of one of the songs that he’d completed the music on: “Your Body is Your Tool.” I was listening to it on the balcony of my apartment in Chelsea when “Behind the Veil,” the finale song just dropped into my head, so I dashed to my computer and banged it out.
JE: How did you get into comedy?
TWS: When I was attending the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, I aspired to being a dramatic actress but the school told me I was too funny. I rebelled and would recite lines from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, “Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband…” and everyone would crack up! Then, I cleaned up shooting T.V. commercials – all comedy. I don’t want to brag but I had no competition in those days! At school, I played one dramatic role, Grusha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle and the director told me to keep my eyes half-shut otherwise the audience would laugh, he told me that it would be my first and last dramatic role and he was right!
JE: You have been posting some hysterical music videos on your website. How long does it take you to film the videos from start to finish?
TWS: Generally two days. “Arm Candy” was a two-day shoot in Beverly Hills on location and in the studio. “Be Careful Dear” also took two days to shoot. Yes, it took two days to film the videos but they are great fun to make. I’m the Inspector Clouseau of directors, it’s always chaos but it also always works out.
JE: What are some of your highlights from your career?
TWS: I actually don’t have any highlights as yet as I’ve nowhere reached where I want to go. I’m basically a playwright and I really just want to be sat in a theatre watching great actors speak and sing my words. My ex-husband, who seems to enjoy torturing me, has always snatched the productions of my plays away from me before production. Unfortunately he’s very powerful so there’s not much I can do about it except pray! The day I’m sat in a theatre at the opening of one of my plays will be the ultimate for me.
JE: How do you think social media has helped your career?
TWS: I don’t think social media has helped me at all, in fact I’m thinking of withdrawing from it because it’s so Big Brother! I’m very careful about the things I share, I never say I’m traveling until I’ve arrived etc. There are so many people watching every movement and it’s not good.
JE: If you had any advice for aspiring performers, what would it be?
TWS: Be true to your art and follow your gut. Never sell out!
For more information about Tricia Walsh Smith, visit her website: http://triciawalshsmith.com/
