While growing up in Salem, MA, Phyllis A. Tremblay always wanted to be an actress. She never dreamed that she would be a writer since English is her second language. Her parents are French Canadian and Tremblay spoke French until she went to school. "To this day, French is spoken in the house and trust me when I tell you that I have NEVER stopped thinking in French," says Tremblay.
Once in school, Temblay made sure to try out for every play they had. Her first starring role was St. Joseph in a Christmas pageant. "My mom told me that I took that role very seriously even though she couldn’t stop laughing when she was getting me ready," shares Tremblay. "That should have been a hint that I would never get a leading role. In my theatrical career in school and Little Theatre, I was always cast as a man, a hooker or an old woman. This is when I decided to change gears to support my theatre fix in another capacity."
Tremblay's parents bought her that first camera when she was eight. She was constantly taking photos. "I would take my camera with me everywhere. I soon realized that I could get ‘closer to the action’ with my camera." During Tremblay's high school and college years, you would find her backstage at the theatre or taking photos of bands in clubs.
So how does that relate to Tremblay's love of Daytime Dramas? Simple -- many daytime actors love performing in summer stock productions and she was lucky enough to live eight miles
away for the North Shore Music Theatre in Salem, MA. She could now combine her three passions; photography, theatre and Daytime TV.
There was one thing missing however, only Trembay's close friends would see her work. She started to broaden her reach and began traveling to New York for Daytime TV events. She was even lucky enough to have occasional photos published in the daytime magazines. "If getting paid for your photos makes you a ‘professional photographer,’ why didn’t I feel more excited?"
Tremblay had been volunteering for the St. Jude Children’s Hospital Daytime event for nine years when someone approached her and said that Linda Marshall-Smith from www.Soapdom.com would like someone to write about the event and supply a few photos. Tremblay had never written anything except for letters, so she was skeptical. But she soon found out that her passion could be expressed on paper. "Tada, Linda had created a ‘photo journalist’ and in all honesty, I am very proud to be on her staff," shares Tremblay.
Being a photo journalist and being able to meet and work with the daytime actors is very rewarding for Tremblay. But, it may not be for the reasons you think. "I always wanted to be an actress; I understand the hard work that goes into performing. Now with my photos and articles, I can use that insight to create a better story. Thanks Linda, for believing in me."
Tremblay has been contributing to Soapdom since 2003.
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