For actress Robin Walsh, there’s no place like home.

At various times, she pursued her career in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

But she kept coming home. She missed her family. She missed her house on the South Side slopes with its view of Pittsburgh. She even missed the groundhogs and deer that wandered through her yard.

She also missed the theater community.

“When I was in San Francisco, I remember thinking that (acting) didn’t mean anything because I was always being seen by strangers,” she says.

“Moving back was the best thing I ever did,” she says. “I got one fabulous role after another.”

Here, she can combine acting with teaching acting and dialects as an associate professor in Point Park University’s Conservatory of Arts.

Among shows she has performed in locally are Quantum Theatre’s “Indian Ink” — which she calls “the most magical experience” — as well as Quantum’s “Therese Racquin;” “Hedda Gabler” and “King Lear” for Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre; and “The Muckle Man,” “Gompers” and “Worksong” at City Theatre.

Through May 5, she’s performing at City Theatre as Lorraine, one of a family trio of Irish women who shoulder adversity and experience growth in Elaine Murphy’s contemporary drama “Little Gem.”

The star who would play me in the movie version of my life:

Helen Mirren, even though we’re nothing alike, because I think she’s awesome. Is that cheating?

Childhood hero:

Santa Claus, because he was supposed to give you stuff when you were good, and I was very well-behaved.

Pick one:

A. Go-Gos

B. Goo-Goo Dolls

C. Lady Gaga

D. Yo Gabba Gabba

Comment: How about Hedda Gabler?

The piece of memorabilia from my childhood I wish I still had:

My Santa Claus doll

The superpower I wish I had in real life:

A magic wand to remove emotional angst. If we could only see things clearly and calmly, life would be so much easier.

The first stage play or musical I saw:

“Annie” on Broadway with my high-school thespian troupe.

My favorite reality show:

I watched “The Bachelor” with my mom a few times. I got a real kick out of how involved she became with it.

App I wish I could invent:

One that could easily explain how to use technology?

My favorite website:

WordSplay for online Boggle.

Favorite brunch food:

Spicy Bloody Mary

I can’t live without my: iPod, cell phone, DVR or laptop?

Laptop

Something I would do over if I could:

I did “Anna Karenina” with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and got to sit in the middle of the violins until I jumped up to say my lines. It was amazing. I could feel the music on the inside of my ribs.

The best stage play or musical I’ve ever seen:

“The Revenger’s Tragedy,” directed by Melly Still in London. The first act made all the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

My favorite sandwich, plus fixings:

Medium-rare hamburger with red onion, tomato and salt with or without the bun

Celebrity crush:

(Canadian actor) Paul Gross

My favorite “bad” movie:

“Bridget Jones’ Diary”

My childhood nickname:

Boozie

My most memorable fashion mistake:

I recently went to a dinner party wearing 2 completely different shoes without realizing it.

Favorite guilty pleasure:

Lindt dark chili chocolate with a good peach and a glass of red wine. So good, it’s sinful.

My quirkiest inherited trait:

My face tends to show exactly what I’m thinking when I most wish it didn’t.

Favorite lunchtime spot:

Piper’s Pub — where I watch the Steelers

In five years, I’d like to:

Have a book published.

Pick one:

A. Stephen Sondheim

B. Richard Rodgers

C. Andrew Lloyd Webber

D. John Kander

E. Stephen Schwartz

B. Richard Rodgers

My favorite thing about Pittsburgh:

It’s unpretentious and easy to be creative here.

Pick one:

A. Pirates

B. Penguins

C. Steelers

D. Other

E. I hate sports

Steelers. I have been known to shout at the television.

Star I’d like to dance with on “Dancing With the Stars”:

Any hot Latin tango dancer.

In high school, I was:

Very active and very shy.

Three people I’d love to have dinner with:

Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Eleanor Dusa. Yes, I know they’re all dead.

Live ones: Hilary Clinton, (British director, designer and choreographer) Melly Still and (author, storyteller and spiritual healer) Sonia Choquette

One word my mother would use to describe me:

Strange

Best new gadget I’ve tried recently:

Kindle Paperwhite

My first job:

In a pizza parlor

The oldest thing in my refrigerator:

It’s a tie between the jelly and the fat-free salad dressing.

Exercise I hate most:

Aerobic classes with chirpy instructors who lie about how many reps you have left

I’m deathly afraid of:

Being pulled into an underground river and trapped.

The best concert I’ve ever seen:

Luciano Pavarotti in San Francisco

Favorite Pittsburgh-area landmark:

Kaufmann’s clock

Saturday mornings, you’ll find me:

Walking in Schenley Park

The worst advice I ever received:

If you don’t try, you won’t be disappointed.

If I could tour with any two bands, they would be:

Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey — I like the idea of big bands.

When I was 10, I wanted to be:

Doing crafts

The movie that always makes me cry:

“It’s a Wonderful Life”

If I wasn’t an actor/dancer, I’d be:

A professor — which I am — and a writer.

The person I’m most often mistaken for:

I’ve heard I look a bit like Ann Curry and Natalie Merchant.

My favorite Pittsburgh pizza:

I try not to eat pizza. Gotta save room for the burgers.

People would be surprised to know that I:

Have a soft heart and crave peace.

The last book I read:

Mary Higgins Clark’s “Daddy’s Gone A Hunting” — love a good suspense novel

My favorite Pittsburgh athlete:

Roberto Clemente

What you’ll always find in my glove compartment:

My insurance card and registration — I hope

My most embarrassing junk food:

Well, the hamburger is pretty bad.

Top thing on my ‘Bucket List’ to do before I’m gone:

Feel totally present

My most treasured fashion accessory:

Silver spoon earrings

My worst job:

I got fired as a telemarketer for standing up to the bully of a boss.

My favorite cable channel:

Hallmark or ABC Family (I’m sappy)

The first band I saw in concert:

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at the Civic Arena when I was in college

TV marathon I could watch all day:

I couldn’t watch TV all day

Movie I could watch every time it appears on cable:

“Rear Window”

Life would be better without:

Bureaucracy!!!

I never travel without my:

Journal and at least two books.

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