Q&A with Martha Byrne
(Lily Walsh Snyder, As The World Turns)

If you thought searching for her daughter was enough to keep Martha Byrne and her ATWT alter ego, Lily Walsh Snyder, busy all summer, think again. The Emmy-winning actress is juggling several outside projects, but her first devotion is, of course, to husband Michael, a Sargent with the New York Police Department, and their son, Michael, who celebrated his first birthday earlier this year.For several years Byrne has also sponsored an annual gala benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This year, the event will be held at the Marriott Marquis in New York Friday, Oct. 15. Scores of soap stars are scheduled to attend, and the event is always a great chance to meet-and-greet the actors. Call (212)251-0270 for more information.— Michael J. Maloney

How are your Michaels?

They're great, thank you. My husband's amazing. He was promoted to sargent. Our son is talking up a storm and he's just great. There's a new word every day. We went away for a week with my family and some friends. There were a lot of kids around and he picked up a lot.

How did you feel about Lily's recent storyline where she searched for her daughter?

It was really an ensemble piece. There were certain days more difficult and more emotional than others. Months can go by where you're working every day, but lately I've found it more balanced. This has been certainly less [work] than the Diego murder storyline or the Orlena drugging storyline. Those were nonstop and I loved playing them. Things moved along quickly with the baby storyline.

I couldn't make up my mind who I was supposed to root for: Lily or Denise? Both were sympathetic.

I think that's the point. There are many aspects to the story. I wish we could have explored the avenue of Denise's abuse to herself and that she didn't know she was pregnant and the fact that she sold the baby. The issues are still there, regardless of how wonderful [Denise] is. The baby's illness is directly related to Denise's [alcohol] abuse. We shouldn't just move along from that.

Fans were thrilled when you came back to the show in 1993. What went into that decision?

I wanted to control my own destiny as much as I could and [playing Lily] was the closest thing I could get to that. Three weeks later, Douglas [Marland, ATWT's head writer] died. If he were alive today, God knows what would have happened [with the storylines], but one thing's for sure — he was so dedicated to his actors, I really feel I would have had a job for life. It was a big emotional blow when he died. My surrogate father was gone and that was true for a lot of us. We lost a lot of actors and characters when he died.

The show has gone through changes at the top every few years since Doug's untimely passing. How have you managed to keep a through-line for Lily all this time?

First, I have to say that I've been so lucky that I've made it through all these changes. There were a few points over the last six years that Lily could have been lost through the cracks. I think I just lucked out, with a few scars along the way. The audience is pretty forgiving and they want to cheer for Lily. I think that, in some ways, she's one of the characters the audience can trust will be there. That's a big responsibility in a way, but it makes me feel good that I must have established some kind of trust with the audience. Lily may make some strange turns, but she always gets back on track.

Will Lily be interacting with Bay City/AW transplants like Jake and Vicky?

I hope so. It's always nice to have new blood and I've been a big fan of Jensen Buchanan's (Vicky) for a long time and I would have liked to have crossed paths with her. But you never know. A lot will depend on the audience's reaction.

I love the AW characters, and bringing them over to Oakdale is the best thing next to the show still being on the air — but people have also said that ATWT has to be careful to stay focused on its own characters.

I think [the writers and producers] are. The only person staying around for a while is Tom Eplin (Jake). The other characters will visit. The writers can see what happens and play it by ear.

Does the fact that Lily is adopted factor into her love for baby Hope, a child who is not hers by blood?

Yes. I like the idea that Lily decided to bring Denise into the picture and allowed her to get to know Hope. She didn't try to keep Hope away from her natural mother. That's exactly what happened to Lily with [adoptive mother] Lucinda and [birth mother] Iva.

Fortunately, Lily didn't pull any Lucinda-style shenanigans.

Exactly. That's not the way Lily would handle things, and I'm glad. There are so many aspects to explore, especially in light of what Lily went through with her mothers. Regardless of what's gone on with the characters, Elizabeth (Hubbard, who plays Lucinda) and I have always been able to maintain our relationship as mother and daughter on the show. We always had that underlying love for each other.

Tell me about your work for the soundtrack to the film Jane Doe, starring Ally McBeal's Calista Flockhart?

It was an amazing experience. I was approached to write a song for the film after one of the producers saw me sing a song in New York at Tramps. I wrote it with my partner, Jennifer Marks, and it turned out very well. I also shot a supporting role in a film called Mergers and Acquisitions and I've been asked to write a song for that film as well. The character, Charlotte, was such the opposite of Lily. She calls herself "Iowa." The film's about big business trying to take over the little man and was shot in New York, so I'd go work [at the soap] in the morning and shoot [the film] in the afternoon. I hope it comes out by the spring of next year.

Sounds like the music's going well!

I'm really trying to do more. I want to have another CD out by the end of the year. We'll see. I'm definitely going to do something. I've got seven songs done right now and I hope it will be out before Christmas. That's my goal.

When you see your former TV husbands like Thomas Gibson and Paolo Seganti (ex-Derek and ex-Damian) find fame outside of soaps do you ever think about taking another break from the show?

I love my job and being in New York. I have no plans to go anywhere. I wrote a screenplay and we're going into pre-production on that. I'm really trying to do as much from my home base as possible. I say, "home" because I've spent so much of my life at ATWT. I want to maintain the integrity of the character. That's the only time I would ever think of walking out the door. If it weren't interesting any more or if the audience didn't want to see Lily anymore. Why go to work if you can't enjoy it? Right now, we have a new boss [executive producer Christopher Goutman] and there's new energy. It's like starting a new job whenever that happens. I'm really not an L.A.-type of girl. I'd work there if I had to, but I prefer being in New York.

How do you juggle all your projects outside of ATWT?

I'm trying to be better at it, to be honest. There are so many things going on. I feel I have to focus on one thing soon or else I'm going to miss everything. Nothing's going 100 percent, but that's part of the experience. You never know what's going to take off — if anything. You just have to be prepared.

On New Year's Day this year, CBS ran a classic episode of ATWT from 1987 when Lily found out that Rod/Josh and Iva were her parents. It was a powerhouse show. Was it flattering that CBS selected that episode to be re-broadcast?