August 2011,

A Q&A with Culture Klatch from 92st Y!

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July 2011

Press Coverage for Clubbersguidenewyork.com Anniversary Party

Here!

Here!

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March 2010

A wonderful review from our friend Peachy Deegan at whomyouknow.com

http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/04/nightlight-irish-arts-center-hosts.html

 

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

www.whomyouknow.com - by Peachy Deegan

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Fiona Walsh, Actress, Comic, Writer, Producer, Activist and President of Westwood Entertainment

 
Fiona Walsh is an actress, comic, writer, producer and activist and President of Westwood Entertainment. She trained at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin under the tutelage of Joe Dowling (AD at the Guthrie Theater). In London she appeared in television on shows for BBC, LWT and Carlton television. Her credits on screen include The Commitments and The Education of Max Bickford (working with one of her favorite actors, Richard Dreyfuss) along with many indie films and foreign TV shows. Favorite stage roles include Nellie Nora in Eclipsed at the Irish Repertory Theatre, Moya in The Shaughraun (also at the Rep) Sister Impartial in Celtic Tiger (me arse!) at the Irish Arts Center and The Yellow Peril in Da at the Guthrie, directed by Doug Hughes. She appeared in Mind the Gap's production of Britbits 5 and 6 at Manhattan Theater Source and also in A Celebration of Brian Friel at the Irish Arts Center. She was also in Origin Theatre Company's Mondays in May Reading Series of the acclaimed "Pump Girl".  Her film work was in the soon to be released indie feature “All that Glitters” (atgmovie.com) and she will be filming the romantic comedy “Three Days in Dublin” later in the year.


Fiona has been writing since childhood! Her first production – The Fairy in the Bush – received its premiere in Mrs. Hoolan’s back yard! Other collaborations include While You Were Outa one act play about the struggles of the temping world, and Irish Soap a spoof on soap operas and Irish people, both of which were produced in NYC. She writes and performs character and sketch comedy and as a stand up has performed at clubs all over the city as well as New Jersey and the Northeast and the Galway Comedy Festival and the International Comedy Club, both in Ireland. Her material has been published in Judy Brown's compilation humor book Love's Funny That Way (Barnes & Noble 2006) alongside such folks as Ellen, Jerry Seinfeld and Rita Rudner. She’s been on The Joey Reynolds Show on WOR710AM and on Lionel Show on Air America.


You can also see her at Sundays at Seven, a monthly music/comedy show she co-produces and performs in at the Irish Arts Center which regularly features comics from HBO, Comedy Central and all the late shows. She also co-produced other comedy and theatrical events, including benefits for Chernobyl Children’s Project and Operation Smile. As a comic she has also performed at benefits for League of Humane Voters (NYC) and Coalition for NYC Animals “Great White American Teeth”, her one person show, debuted at the Midtown International Theater Festival in 2004 and ran off-Broadway at the Irish Repertory Theatre in 2006 and in 1st Irish 08 as well as touring the Northeast and New Jersey and the Mexican Riviera aboard Irish Music Cruises.


Fiona has also written two short films, Going Without and ErectOStop. ErectoStop won Most Outrageous Comedy at the Giggleshorts Festival in Toronto and has played at the LA Intl. Short Film Festival, Asbury Short Shorts, Galway Film Fleadh, Kittyflicks 2003 (part of the CatLaughs Intl. Comedy Festival in Kilkenny) Her short film script (Stashing the Ash) got to 3rd rounds of the British Short Screenplay Competition and she is working on a feature as well as several projects for film and television. She won the Warren Adler Short Story Competition (Peoples Choice) (www.warrenadler.com – writer of The War of the Roses. Random Hearts) and appeared with Mr. Adler at his book reading/signing at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Center.


Her interest in electronic music and deejaying has seen her branch out as a freelance writer/interviewer for www.clubbersguideireland.com and the soon to be launched www.clubbersguidenewyork.com and she also covers events for RTE Pulse Radio in Ireland. This will take her to Miami in March to cover the Winter Music Conference. As one of the organizers of the tri-state regions largest meetup groups for electronic music, Fiona is kept busy –moving and shaking!  We are so pleased to present her as our latest Mover and Shaker!  Peachy Deegan interviewed Fiona Walsh for Whom You Know.


Peachy Deegan: When did you realize you were funny?
Fiona Walsh: I used to do impressions of my grand aunt getting out of a chair (she had a bad leg!) when I was 5 that used to make my family laugh, And then I used to do impersonations of Frank Spencer, a funny TV character. So I suppose pretty early on! 

What role have you enjoyed playing the most and why?
I would say it was a dramatic role - Nellie Nora in the play Eclipsed at the Irish Repertory Theatre. It was very heavy subject matter, about unwed mothers being sent away to homes run by the Magdalene Sisters. I had to play my character both as a young girl and as an older woman. It was a challenge but I really enjoyed it. 

Can you please tell us about Westwood Entertainment?
I started it a few years ago producing comedy gigs. People often ask me to put together shows for them. I've done gigs in NJ and in Long Island for the Elks Club and various places. But I'm expanding it to cover the TV and film pitches I'm working on. I do enjoy putting together a great show for people. 

Tell us about your field hockey career please.
Haha! Well as you saw from the excerpt of my one person show, Great White American Teeth, I did have a brief sojourn on the hockey field, very brief. I did play in school and was actually a sub on a team for a brief spell but spent most of my time running away from the ball. I always feared brain injury. The stage was a safer bet! 

What are you doing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
Well I will start in Cielo dancing with two of my favorite DJ's in the city, Niki McNally and Alex Pearce and I'll probably join some friends downtown to drown the shamrock later on. I'll watch the parade from home! 

What should most people in Manhattan know about the Irish that they don't know?
Irish people born in Ireland do not eat corned beef and cabbage. I may have had it once growing up. We ate bacon and cabbage!!  But we do love our spuds!! 

What's your favorite joke?
My favorite joke is too naughty for publication!!  

When will we be able to do a double feature with you and Warren Beatty?
From your lips to Gods ears!! I would love to take the show to LA and am working on that at the moment. There at least the possibility exists that I could invite him along!! It would be so fantastic to meet him in real life.  

What or who has had the most influence on your pursuit of excellence?
I would have to say my parents. My dad always believed in not doing things in half measures - do a good job or don't do it at all - so I always try to live up to that. My mom instilled the love of theatrical arts in me. 

What are you proudest of and why?
I have a passion for good causes so I'm always proudest when I combine my acting/comedy skills for a bigger purpose, like doing benefits for animal -friendly or kid-friendly causes. I helped to organize a few benefits over the years that made money and promoted a good idea - that always me happy. 

What would you like to do professionally that you have not yet had the opportunity to do?
Truly, I would love to work with Steve Coogan. He's probably one of my favorite comedic actors. I never tire of his work. Steve... I'm waiting for your call!! 

What honors and awards have you received in your profession?
I won many medals and trophies for Irish dancing!  I've won several writing competitions, a giant chocolate Easter egg on the Late Late Show back home and most recently the Peoples Choice Award for my short story in the Warren Adler short story competition. It's called 'High Heels" and is available for download on Amazon.com 

What is your favorite place to be in Manhattan?
I love walking along the newly refurbished Hudson River Park. Lots of dogs and dog runs and great views near my home! 

What is your favorite shop in Manhattan?
Forever 21!!! And Saks for perfume! 

What is your favorite drink?
What a loaded question for an Irish woman!! Mmm. Have to say an apple martini but I can get down with a lovely Jameson too!

What is your favorite restaurant in Manhattan?
Being vegetarian, its got to be Candle Cafe on 3rd and 75th! Delish! 

What is your favorite Manhattan book?
Well I'm in the process of reading "Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann and I'm sure that will turn into my favorite book but Warren Adlers' New York Echoes collection is wonderful. 

If you could have anything in Manhattan named after you what would it be and why?
An animal rescue center. Because I love animals and believe in adoption first and foremost! Get those puppies out of the pound! 

What has been your best Manhattan athletic experience?
Well I dance every weekend - is that athletic? I don't do much in the way of marathons or anything like that. 

What is your favorite thing to do in Manhattan that you can do nowhere else?
Get a kati roll at 5am in the morning! 

What has been your best Manhattan art or music experience?
Well I saw the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the Whitney in January which was truly beautiful. Music I would have to say it was Electric Zoo last year at Randalls Island - a two day electronic music festival with some of the best artists in the world performing. Amazing! 

What do you think is most underrated and overrated here?
Most underrated is how friendly people are - most overrated - pizza! 

Other than Movers and Shakers of course, what is your favorite Whom You Know column and what do you like about it?
Well its got to be TOP TEETH!! My one person show is called Great White American Teeth - I think my interest in it is obvious!! 

What else should Whom You Know readers know about you?
I hate strong gusts of wind and unmanageable sandwiches!! I love having my feet tickled!! Maybe thats TMI?
How would you like to be contacted by Whom You Know readers?
www.fionawalsh.com or friend me at facebook.com/fiona.walsh 

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The Mirror (Irish Daily Mirror)

September 3, 2008 Wednesday
Eire Edition

COMIC BITES AT BROADWAY;
PLAY

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 24

LENGTH: 79 words
IRISH comedienne Fiona Walsh was so self-conscious about not having gleaming white American teeth she turned her torment into a Broadway play.
Tipperary-born Walsh grew up watching TV shows in which the stars had bleached gnashers.
And Fiona, whose show Great White American Teeth debuts at New York's First Irish Theatre Festival, said: "I had my teeth straightened after years of agents pointing out I had an unmarketable gap.
I still have a retainer - how 'Yankee' is that?"

IRISH MUSIC CRUISE TO MEXICO - a review
by Hamish Douglas Burgess of Maui Celtic. (www.mauiceltic.com)
 
In January, great Irish musicians headed to California, when legendary singer Liam Clancy was joined by nephew Robbie O'Connell and niece Aoife Clancy, the famous Danny Doyle, the Makem & Spain Brothers, Evans & Doherty, Gabriel Donohue, Eugene Byrne, Matt & Shannon Heaton, George Keith, Ciaran Sheehan, Emigrant Eyes, and Fiona Walsh. They were there for an 8 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera with Irish Music Concerts at Sea presented by Debbie Casey (www.irishmusiccruises.com) on the ship 'Norwegian Star'. 
 
Festivities started in California with pre-cruise concerts in Ventura, where the Makem & Spain Brothers put on a memorable show of traditional songs and sea shanties with their fantastic 5 man harmonies, and in Santa Barbara with a great show of Irish songs, jigs and reels from Robbie O'Connell, Aoife Clancy, Matt & Shannon Heaton and George Keith.
The following night saw an informal meet-and-greet at the Long Beach Marriott, where you could reconnect with old friends, make new ones, and meet the musicians.

The next week’s adventure started with 2 days at sea with plenty of activity including a welcome cocktail party, great music sessions where anyone could join in, an informative and fun Celtic art lesson, music workshop, ceilidh dance band Emigrant Eyes and fantastic concerts in an intimate theater setting.

From solo sets by the talented multi-instrumentalist and singer Gabriel, to the full Celtic sound of Robbie, Aoife, Matt, Shannon and George with songs accompanied by guitars, bodhran, flutes, whistles, and fiddle, the singing covered the spectrum from traditional folk to originals.
Kevin Evans & Brian Doherty were well received with their great songs and humor, as was the hilarious singer Eugene Byrne. A big hit was the amazing voice of Irish tenor Ciaran Sheehan, who was the lead on Broadway in ‘Phantom of the Opera’ for several years. Not to be missed were the powerhouse vocal harmonies of the Makem & Spain Brothers and of course Liam Clancy, who at the young age of 72, set the stage on fire with boundless energy and passion. With guitar and concertina, he performed heart-wrenching ballads to rousing traditional songs and raucous sea-shanties. A true master of his art.
 
First Mexican port of call was a full day in Acapulco, where you could explore the old fortress and city, watch the incredible cliff divers by day or night, and visit the old haunts of John Wayne and Johnny Weissmuller.
Next was Zihuatanejo, a beautiful fishing village with craft markets and Mariachi musicians, palm-lined beaches, snorkeling and diving or kayaking, and the nearby resort of Ixtapa.

As the ship sailed that afternoon Irish singing star Danny Doyle backed by Gabriel gave a remarkable history concert with stories and songs about the 1916 Uprising. Ceilidh band Emigrant Eyes were joined by 3 young Irish dancers for a great show.
That night the sound of “Minstrel Boy” on the pipes of Hamish Burgess opened a Tribute to Tommy Makem, who was a bagpiper as well as a famous singer. Tommy’s longtime singing partner Liam Clancy sang “The Bard of Armagh”, followed by all the musicians with their favorite Makem songs. Tommy’s sons Shane, Rory and Conor with Mickey and Liam Spain closed a great concert in fine style showing that a family tradition will undoubtedly continue.

In Puerto Vallarta a walk down the esplanade with it’s cool quirky statues and incredible sand sculptures, took you past the bars and craft shops to the old town, where in the magnificent cathedral it was a surprise to see a crowded local Mass accompanied by a large Mariachi band !
Beautiful local places to visit included Las Caletas island, director John Huston’s hideaway - Liam Clancy and Gabriel Donohue knew the film maker and actor who had a house in Co.Galway, and became an Irish citizen. Another fabulous cove is Mismaloya, with the old film set from Huston’s ‘Night of the Iguana’,  where iguanas still bask in the sun on the rocks. The backdrop to the area are the rainforested foothills of the Sierra Madre, where you could fly through the forest canopy on zip-lines.

The exclusive shows of the Irish Music Cruise were so much talked about that other cruising guests were desperate to get in !
More great concerts until midnight, were followed by unscheduled but legendary sessions at one of the ship’s pubs, with Gabriel leading the wild late night sing-alongs with anything from traditional Irish to show tunes !

A ocean arrival to the rock arch and formations at the tip of the Baha Peninsula near Cabo San Lucas is nothing short of spectacular. You could watch the crowds go by from one of the many waterfront bars, or escape it all on a snorkel or dive in clear blue waters, take a water taxi out to the sea arch to watch the pelicans and sea lions, and check out Lover’s Beach that has the Pacific on one side and the Sea of Cortez on the other. Another trip to Todos Santos could take in big surf and a visit to the Hotel California !

Irish comedienne Fiona Walsh had us in stitches with a hilarious show about her life story of trying to get to America !  With a day at sea on the way back to Los Angeles, the time went by with more great sessions and fine concerts, and the awesome Grand Finale with all the performers on one stage, not to be seen again until the next cruise ! An amazing week of fun and stellar Irish music !!
 
January 2009 the Irish Music Cruise will be leaving Tampa, Florida, and cruising the beautiful waters of the Western Caribbean for 7 nights, stopping at Key West, Belize, Guatamala, and the Costa Maya visiting the ancient Mayan ruins.  www.irishmusiccruises.com or call 888-56-IRISH.
 
© Hamish Burgess 2/20/08

 

With the lovely girls of Holy Angels Academy in Demarest, NJ- we raised over $4000 for Operation Smile. Well done guys!

At the Galway Comedy Festival..www.galwaycomedyfestival.com

 


Sunday Is Showtime at Arts Center - November 2006

By Cahir O’Doherty

Sundays at Seven is the ever growing monthly comedy and music show hosted at the Irish Arts Center on West 51st Street in New York hosted by Fiona Walsh, the well-known Irish-born actress and comedienne who has just completed her successful one woman show at the Irish Repertory Theatre.

“The show has been running for six years in its current format at the Arts Center,” says Walsh. “I’d describe it as a comedy and music show that’s interspersed with spoken word or various kinds of performance pieces – from sketches to theater pieces, or improvisation. What makes us unique is that we often feature really brilliant Irish and Irish and American performers each month.”

The singers perform between stand up and comedy sketches, and that’s what gives the evening a wide-ranging feel that delights the audiences.

“I’m particularly excited about this week’s show,” says Walsh, “We always have really good people but this week’s is going to be a standout showcase.“

Although the show’s vibe and setting are completely informal, the performers themselves are in fact top of their game professionals. This Sunday’s lineup includes talents featured on TV’s The Last Comic Standing, the Laugh Lounge and Comedy Central. And at only $8 per ticket it’s also one of the best values for a show of its kind.

“Since we start at seven and we’re under $10, we can promise you that you’ll have a great time and you’ll be home at a reasonable hour. Unless you choose to join us at the after party at Druids,” says Walsh, laughing.

For each monthly show Walsh and her producing partner Ann Design handpick every performer personally. “We make a point of selecting each performer because we want to make sure everyone who performs is a good fit. It’s not like a standard comedy club where you never know what you’re going to get, or if it will work in concert with the other performers,” she said.

“We also want to make sure the people we choose reflect well on the Arts Center – which means its family orientated – so if you wind up bringing your teenage son or daughter you’re not going to be mortified. Part of my job is to see shows and make choices about who’s best for us. We get inundated with requests, but we really do make an effort to ensure we choose the best people.”

Ann Design will host this Sunday’s lineup, and performers include Moody McCarthy, Becky Donohue, Joe Devito, the Stone Twins, Debbie Shea, and Fiona Walsh with music by Enda Keegan.

The Irish Arts Center is 553 West 51st Street. The show starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $8.

  November 2006

 

Memories of Irish Childhoods

Great White American Teeth by Fiona Walsh
Swansong by Conor McDermottroe
At the Irish Repertory Theatre

By Cahir O’Doherty

AS a girl growing up in rural Ireland, writer and performer Fiona Walsh often felt like an alien. An only child in a street filled with 10 person families, she was as bright as she was gregarious and she stood out for her almost unpatriotic disinterest in sports.

Sensing her difference other children gave her a wide berth, and in her loneliness she turned inward — and then eventually outward — and a star was born.

In her hilarious and immensely likeable turn as the narrator of her own play Great White American Teeth at the Irish Repertory Theatre (in which, naturally, she also stars) Walsh reenacts her vexed childhood among the puzzled locals of Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, each of whom follow her antics with varying degrees of indulgence or consternation. Roscrea, Walsh reminds us, is the bacon capital of the county, and the local butcher is the ordained voice of the community (and what a gossipy community it turns out to be).

It’s a tale as old as time: a misfit is rejected by her community, but in the process she finds her own voice, moves to New York City and become fabulous.

What singles out Walsh’s play is its wit and openhearted joyfulness, which is obviously the result of the talent that created it. Roscrea’s loss was New York City’s gain, clearly.

The play and the community it portrays has a dark side too. Beneath all the brittle gaiety on the stage, we discover that Walsh has had some formative adolescent experiences that would have derailed weaker spirits.

Casually she mentions the putrid smell of bone and gristle that wafts out of the bacon factory on certain days, she mentions hearing the squealing pigs in their death throes, but before we can even shudder, reflexively she’s off again on another distracting caper that has us laughing once more.

Teenage erotic stirrings, in Walsh’s case, bring with them gossamer dreams of Warren Beatty and his preternaturally perfect teeth and sun tan. In comparison to her Hollywood idol, the local lads of Roscrea are a let down indeed. The future, it become clear, will involve disco music, glittering fashions, extensive dining options and a plane ticket.

There’s a quiet tenderness lurking beneath the surface of her play, for her home town, for its colorful characters, for her family and even for herself for having survived the ill starred marriage that was her life there until the day she finally left.

Walsh skillfully manages all of these disparate elements without ever once veering into sentimentality or score settling – and so we’re treated to a vivid memoir with the most reassuringly of American of outcomes, a happy ending.


nytheatre.com review "Pick of the Week"

Judith Jarosz · July 19, 2004

Walking in to be seated, I am greeted with no real set, just one black folding chair, stage left, and a large speaker stage right, from which is booming forth the disco song “I Love America.” Then the lights dim and a small spotlight illuminates the face of Ms. Fiona Walsh, who is about to be abducted by aliens who wish to take her to their ship to study, because she is, after all, a very special child. Thus begins Great White American Teeth, a delightful solo performance journey through Walsh's childhood from the age of eight until her landing upon American soil, in New York City, as an adult in 1994.

The once bare stage becomes filled with our imagination as we travel to the town of Roscrea, in the county of Tipperary in Ireland. There, through Walsh's versatile artistry, we are introduced to a colorful roster of local characters. There’s Liam, the gossipy butcher who thinks he knows everyone’s business; the minister with the voice so booming you couldn’t sleep through a sermon if you wanted to; and the nun who spits when she speaks. The young Walsh longs to escape the conventions of her small town, where, “if you part your hair a different way, they would talk about you for weeks,” and feels she is destined for greater things. When she reads a magazine article on New York City she feels she has found her paradise.

We follow along through many adventures: her girlish infatuation with Warren Beatty and his big white American teeth, the “co-ed” community center disco dance for teens (some of the dancing alone is worth the price of admission), and, finally, winning a visa lottery to come to America. There’s much more, and each episode is loads of fun. When she finally gets to the Big Apple, her lively descriptions of what goes on in the city remind me of what it’s like when a relative comes to visit, and you see through their eyes all of the wonderful, amazing things in New York that we residents tend to take for granted.

Though director Virginia Scott keeps the action moving, I found myself wanting to know more about what happens to Fiona after she arrived in New York. Some slight trimming to the Ireland section, an intermission, and then a second act in New York City would be grand! But either way, with her sparkling energy, masterful mimicry, colorful phrasing, and dead-on comic timing, Walsh has the audience in her hand and almost constantly, erupting with laughter.

Irish Emigrant - July 2004

Here’s a beauty tip for you.  If you’re going to see Great White American Teeth, the one-woman show written and performed by Fiona Walsh, remember to wear waterproof mascara.  Walsh’s take on an Irish childhood and the dream of coming to is so funny that I cried laughing.  Not for Walsh tales of poverty, misery and dying siblings.  In fact Walsh’s brother and sister were both black, adopted, “and existed entirely in my imagination.” 

Walsh’s show deals with the usual aspects of small town life, the gossiping, the boredom and the isolation of anyone that doesn’t ‘fit in’.  Although a lot of the references are specifically Irish, in some cases specifically regional, the truth and humor of the writing reflect the global experience.  The materials broad appeal was apparent by the diverse nature of Walshes audience, all colors, sizes, shapes, ages, ethnicities, and all of them laughing uncontrollably.   One African American woman laughed so hard I thought she’d have an accident.  Some things traverse social, racial and national boundaries and the inner life of children is definitely one of them.  Children across the western world, whether they’re in Wisconsin or Roscrea, spend hours practicing their Oscar acceptance speech; wish they had superpowers to fight back at bullies; and fantasize about marrying someone famous.  In Walsh’s case, the famous person was film star Warren Beatty, and her long-term love affair with the actor is hilariously recounted.   “I was totally obsessed with Warren Beatty,” Walsh said when I spoke to her after the show. 

Regular readers of Trendz are probably wondering what this show has to do with make-up.  Well let me tell you!  Where Eagles Dare Theatre on West 36th Street, where Walsh has been performing her one-woman piece, is a small and unforgiving space from the performers point of view.  Walsh is right in the audiences lap so to speak, and with the theatrical lights, no flaw goes unnoticed.  Of course the first thing I noticed was her make-up, which was immaculate and more importantly, stayed in tact for over and hour under the extremely hot lights and throughout much energetic dancing. While other people questioned Walsh about her theatrical and literary influences, I was more interested in the contents of her make-up bag. “Right now, I have Body Shop pressed powder,” she replied, “Revlon lipstick in a fancy case with a mirror, and Body Shop Indian Gardenia perfume.” Walsh went on to add that this particular make up bag was only one of many. “I'm a make up junkie! I have it stashed in different cases all over the house! I have a proper silver make up case -which a friend gave me for a show I was doing. Then I have various other material bags with various lipsticks and bits and pieces in them. If I'm in a hurry, I can just grab one and go!” Being a ‘make up junkie’ Walsh is a regular reader of Trendz as she likes to keep abreast of all the new lines. Like most junkies she has a favorite fix, “I love all make up products,” she said, “but right now I can’t live without my Urban Decay “Lounge” eye shadow”. As for perfume, Walsh says she has seven bottles currently on the go, but thinks that her favorite is Angel, by Thierry Mugler. I asked Walsh if she was willing to share her beauty secrets with Trendz readers. “I have no real secrets,” she said, “for the stage I just do my make up as I normally would; only I use a lot more of it. The strong lights wash all color out of the face - what would be overdone in real life comes across as normal from the stage. And I experiment a lot; I love playing with make up and different looks.” Experimentation began early for Walsh whose mother was a member of the local musical society and theatrical group, and “had a big stash of makeup for the stage.” Walsh’s first ever cosmetic purchase was a Cornsilk Pressed Powder compact. “I'd apply way too much pancake and powder and ended up looking like some kind of Geisha Girl!” Despite her cosmetic creativity Fiona says she never got asked to dance at the local disco. “Fellas thought I was strange!” Audiences at the Midtown International Theatre Festival couldn’t disagree more. All of Walsh’s performances have been packed out. The night I went along the show was sold out and ten people on the waiting list for cancellations. The response to Walsh and her work has been so good that the producers of the festival have added an extra show on Monday August 8th. In September the show goes to New Jersey for the Asbury Black Box Festival and some additional New York dates are also planned. The idea for a one woman piece came to Walsh when she saw friend Wendy Spiro’s show Microthrills. “I thought, I’ll have a go,” Walsh says. Spiro recommended the writing class run by Kirsten Ames and Walsh signed up. “The writing was definitely the most difficult part,” Walsh said. “Although I had most of it written by last November I still hadn’t a whole show. That’s where my director and collaborator Virginia Scott came in.” Apart from the creative challenges the piece presented there are also physical ones.  Walsh spends just over an hour on stage speaking continuously without any water. The show is very high energy and fast paced and involved a few dance routines. “By the end of each show I’m both exhausted and enervated at the same time,” Walsh said. And finally, what advice does Walsh have to give for anyone who wants their own set of great white American teeth?

“Floss regularly, brush frequently and smile often!”