In The Pipeline:

“I was 10 years old and that was my first audition. Imagine, getting a part on ‘The Waltons’ your first time out.”

Imagine. But it happened, and Mary McDonough, sitting in a coffee shop near Bolsa Chica Street and Heil Avenue, still appears to be beaming over the experience. Pretty and bright-eyed, the girl millions knew as Erin Walton is telling me about an upcoming reunion with the remaining cast members, sort of a floating luncheon that rotates from house to house. She is comfortable telling stories about what it was like entering people’s homes for 11 years, portraying a member of one of TV’s most beloved families (she’s preparing her autobiography now and, if our hour and a half together is any indication, it will brim with wonderful anecdotes and lessons learned — a study from inside the unique world of what it’s like to be a child star and not just survive, but thrive).

Days before, McDonough was back in Los Angeles, taping another episode of the Julia Louis-Dreyfus sitcom, “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” on which she portrays Mrs. Wilhoite. She still works steadily as an actress, recently appearing on “ER,” “Boston Legal,” “Will & Grace” and “The West Wing,” among many others, including the Hallmark Channel film “Christmas at Cadillac Jack’s.” She has also worked as an on-camera host and been in numerous commercials, along with having written and directed. But McDonough lives down here in our neck of the woods where, recently, she’s begun a series of acting classes for young people.

“They’re acting classes,” she says, “so obviously they’re geared to help young people hone their performance skills. But beyond that, my classes are also designed to help kids deal with things in life. After all, every day we all face challenges that require a certain performance, a certain confidence and belief in oneself, whether it’s at school, interviewing for a job, or auditioning for a part.”

That kind of motivational encouragement comes easily for McDonough, who also travels the country as a life coach, helping adults confront fears so they can thrive both at work and at home.

She’s energetic and positive, which no doubt plays a big part in how she motivates kids to become better actors and actresses.

“We cover so many things,” she says, “like character development, cold reading techniques, auditions, monologues — all the basic training. But most of all, we have fun. We encourage each other, we laugh, we rehearse — I try and take everything I learned from the industry over the years, all the processes and experiences, and pass them along to the kids.”

Classes are broken down into age groups, so there’s a 5- to 8-year-old group and then a 9- to 14-year-old group (with the possibility of some adult classes starting up soon). Classes are in Huntington Beach and Westminster, and while I won’t quote the prices here, I was very surprised at how modest they were for a month’s worth compared to what it costs up in Los Angeles (with meetings once per week).

Mary brings an incredible amount of passion, energy and, most of all, experience to her classes, and I think it’s a rare chance for kids to work up close and personal with someone of her magnitude. She talks about her parents and how they coped with her near-instant stardom and how, as farm folks from the Midwest, it was tough for them to adapt to the “business.” To that end, she also brings lots of insight to how parents can best encourage their kids’ love of performance and balance it with sensible expectations.

From Erin Walton to Mrs. Wilhoite and everything in between, McDonough has grown up before our eyes and has become a dedicated teacher of her craft, to help nurture the next generation of thespians.

I think we’re lucky to have her in our midst — a direct descendant from TV’s Walton’s Mountain.

For more information or to sign up for one of McDonough’s classes, call (714) 799-5696 or visit www.marymcdonough.com.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at chris@chrisepting.com .