Actress Nancy Travis is a home-grown talent

Back in the 1970s, when Nancy Travis was on stage in Framingham school theater productions, she never expected those experiences would be the start of a lifelong career.

[Read about Nancy Travis' days at Framingham North High]

Travis is now a professional actress whose latest project, the TBS cable television series "The Bill Engvall Show," premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. The show stars comedian Bill Engvall as a family therapist and father. Travis co-stars as his wife, Susan. The cast includes three young actors as their children and seasoned performers Tim Meadows ("Saturday Night Live") and Steve Hytner (Kenny Bania on "Seinfeld").

After her Framingham school days at Walsh Middle School and North High School, Travis went off to New York University to pursue her acting education more seriously. After graduation, she made her feature film debut in the 1987 hit, "Three Men and A Baby" with Ted Danson, Tom Selleck and Steve Guttenberg. She's been working steadily in film, theater and television ever since.

In Boston for a press tour, Travis admitted to being nostalgic for Framingham. "I've been to Boston many times, but I haven't made it back to Framingham in years," she said. Her family moved from Framingham in the early '80s.

Travis wasn't exactly bitten hard by the acting bug when she first got on stage. "My mom was looking for extracurricular activities for me in second grade. 'Do you want to join the drama club?' Sure, I guess.

"Then it just continued. There was never any explosive moment, it just sort of happened," she said.

That slow burn lead her to Framingham North and the late Henry Schlickman, an English teacher, director of most of the plays and faculty adviser to the Performing Arts Club.

"Henry Schlickman motivated me a lot. It was a tough love sort of thing," she said. While a commanding presence and stern taskmaster in front of a whole company of actors or a classroom, Schlickman was a kind and motivating mentor one-on-one. "He was a deeply sensitive person," said Travis.

"He pushed me," she said. Travis recalled one audition where, she now admits, she was "phoning in" her performance. Schlickman took her aside and gently but firmly told her "if you don't try harder, you won't get (the part)," Travis recalled.

And although Travis said she was no great singer, Schlickman cast her as Maria in "The Sound of Music," looking beyond that obstacle to see a role she could excel at. "His belief in me was strong," she said.

Now in her 40s, Travis is transitioning from ingenue to more seasoned roles.

"Now there are starting to be parts for 'older' women," she said. "Cable, for instance, is offering incredible opportunities for women."

Eight episodes of "The Bill Engvall Show" have been filmed for TBS. If response is good, another eight or nine shows will be produced.

"The director is great," said Travis. "Jamie Widdoes; he's directed all of them. When a show is new, it's good to have someone there to shape it and mold it."

Playing the wife role can be tricky. "It's easy to be a stereotype," said Travis. "There are a lot of women who give up things to be the wife and mother." In a future episode of the show, Susan tries her hand at a job outside of the home. But Travis said her character is still developing.

"I'm hoping that we'll see more of her," she said.

Working on a series near her Los Angeles home provides Travis with a stable job. "I drop the kids off at school and go to work" like other parents, she said. Then she is home in the evenings with her family, including husband Rob Fried, a movie producer, and sons Benjamin, 9, and Jeremy, 5.

"My older son has become aware that I'm an actress," she said. "His friends are impressed. Now he's telling my husband he wants to act.

"Don't you want to be a writer (instead)?" she joked. The acting profession can be tough, but its one Travis has always enjoyed.

"I've been very lucky. I've been able to do what I wanted to do, and do it on my terms."

For more information about "The Bill Engvall Show," visit www.tbs.com/shows/billengvall/.