Celebrating inspirational women, and the men that support them, the Waltham native looks to fuel the fire in all of us
For the longest time, Tricia Auld joked about how she didn’t know where her creative streak came from.
That was until she saw her father, Jimmy, in his element as he opened for her headlining gig and special taping at Nick’s Comedy Stop last summer. It was that revelation of watching him make a room full of people laugh, and subsequently the same discovery about her kindergarten teacher mother that made her realize that she was, in fact, her parents’ daughter, and she wanted to finally give that some legs.
The result, in part, is Auld’s new podcast The Dish with Trish, which delves into the Waltham native’s long list of inspiring friends and family, including her parents and four sisters, that have fueled her drive to pursue stand-up, both in direct support of her and through the pursuit of their own dreams. As for starting this new creative journey to deep dive into what inspires others, Auld felt the natural first interview would be one that brings her own inspiration back to the very beginning with her dad.
“It’s mostly women on the [interview] list right now, but I’ll also be interviewing men who have inspired and supported women to pursue the things they love, and my dad has raised five daughters who are all pretty outspoken, and have really pursued whatever they’ve wanted in life, so I’m really inspired by that,” Auld tells Vanyaland. “I don’t think it’s an easy thing to do, so he’s my first interview. I’ll also be interviewing my mom as well, and then from there, it will be people who have inspired me to pursue stand-up.”
Having been on the stand-up circuit for over six years now, Auld is no stranger to the pitfalls of creative dry spells, and she’s hoping that conversing with others on the podcast about their own experiences with professional roadblocks, whether they’re in stand-up, running their own restaurant, or heading their own clothing line, will help both sides of the discussion reignite an inspiration and drive to push through those obstacles.
“It’s hard to stay motivated in any part of the entertainment business, because you just hit a lot of road blocks,” says Auld. “So to have other people who are reigniting your fire and inspiring you again and again to continue to chase your own dream, it’s cool.”
First and foremost, Auld is hoping the podcast’s content can be a catalyst for inspiration all on its own, and help others realize that their own dreams are attainable, but she’s also looking forward to how the upcoming discussions and stories will play into her process of writing new stand-up material, and vice versa.
“Ideally, I hope they both play into each other, and that I’ll be able to write new stuff based off some of the interviews I’m going to do,” says Auld. “As of right now, anyone who has seen my stand-up so far knows that it is pretty heavily based in my childhood and my family, because I don’t like to write jokes that aren’t based on real-life experiences. I imagine that as I continue to interview people who inspire me, that will uncover different opportunities for writing new material.”
There are many hopes for what the podcast can become, and since it’s only one episode into its existence, the sky’s the limit. But above all else, Auld is just hoping that as the show continues, it will remain a source of inspiration for listeners, in any capacity, and help everyone remember that it’s okay to not have all the answers.
“I look at a lot of my friends who are teachers, or have pursued fields where you have to take a test to get to the next thing, and you know what that next thing is,” says Auld. “But with stand-up or anything creative, you don’t know what comes next. You just keep trying unique stuff in hopes that the next thing comes. I think being comfortable with the uncomfortable is really important in any artistic field.”