Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Pierce.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I hail from Bishop California in the Owens Valley, nestled between the Sierra Nevada and White Mountain Ranges. On a Quaker compound built by my father, grandmother, and her partner Alexandra, I grew up in a close-knit family of artists and educators. Bluegrass music framed my childhood, as there was always a family band jam, festival or show in the park to clog too. Through this, I got a keen taste for performing and creating. Bishop is a small, rural town and lacks options in the realm of performance. I was able to do one play a year when the Missoula Children’s Theatre came through town, and annually, I seized the moment. Putting on DIY plays and participating in music and dance is what made me sparkle.
At sixteen, I moved to Grinnell, Iowa with my Aunt Betty, an academic librarian. Funding and enthusiasm for the arts at Grinnell High made for a deliciously creative year. At seventeen, Betty and I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where I found it difficult to find my footing. I decided to head back to Bishop to graduate high school with my childhood chums.
Upon graduating, my pride got the best of me, and I refused to take family money for tuition at San Francisco State University, where I had been accepted into the theatre program. The attempt to validate this choice led me to Reno, Nevada. To save money for college, I worked during the day as a residential electrician and in the evening, providing respite care for adults with disabilities. Despite my ambition, an abusive relationship with an older man thwarted my plans and finances. After two excruciating years, with the help of my family (mostly Aunt Molly) I escaped back home to regroup. Other than my freedom, the greatest gift I got from getting out was the start of themed Thanksgivings with the family (backdrops and costumes- diseases of the Mayflower being my favorite year).
While pouring over what path to take next, I thought back to the theatre company that came through town as a child. I checked it out and saw that many of the cast members had gone to a school called AMDA. This led me to audition for and being accepted into The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles. I spent two fervent years in the conservatory program, making mistakes, achievements, and lifelong friends.
After graduating, I followed the old trope- waitressing at a late-night Hollywood diner and busking on the boulevard for ramen money. In the thirteen years since graduating from what I lovingly deem “clown college” I have put up shows with the Open Fist Theatre Company and have acted in a myriad of films and shorts. I play music as well, the flute being my primary instrument, banjo coming in a close second (you can also find me singing back up with the Satanic Doo-Wop band Twin Temple). Coming from collaborative roots, I continue to engage in projects that move me. My muggle job is nannying, and I find fulfillment and curiosity in teaching and helping raise children. I am proud to be part of this boundless, beautiful city, and am always on the hunt for innovative ways to breathe life into the stories of its inhabitants.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
A hike isn’t enjoyable unless you break a sweat or maybe an ankle, eh?
A sizable personal obstacle has been domestic violence and how self-worth ties into the experience. I moved to another state with Aunt Betty at sixteen because of manipulative and emotional damage with my mother’s husband. That year ended up being one of my most cherished and memorable, but it came at a cost. Those are formative years, shaping your identity, forming opinions and heck, just trying to see what kind of music you like. I was grateful to be removed from the situation but the harm holds on, tight. Inherited blueprint. The result of being caught in this environment created the perfect storm to be a super easy target for other predators. When I moved to Reno, freshly eighteen and ready to be a grown-up, I met a 32-year-old man who perpetrated the narrative. The thick irony that comes with this is that my late grandmother, Eileen, and her partner Alexandra started the first domestic violence shelter for the Owens Valley, called Wild Iris. I grew up in a fiercely feminist household and yet, I found myself and other women in my family in compromising situations. It has taken much time and reflection to be steady as a survivor and advocate, not a victim, and it has informed my emotional and artistic life in immeasurable ways.
Creatively, the voyage to Los Angeles has been transformative. As a child, coming to Southern California to visit great grandparents I swore I would never live here, crabgrass, smog, and gnarly water (siphoned from my homeland, nonetheless) were the best deterrents. However, it called, and I picked the fuck up. My rural mountain woman heart knew I had to find out what went further than that rocky silhouette. Coming to the city, putting myself through a conservatory, and working to the bone to make rent and discover the muse have helped cut my creative teeth. It has been a journey to keep my values and voice alive. One huge challenge has been participating in what moves me, and part of that involves going outside of the prescribed “actor” guidelines. I believe there is a way to approach this industry that doesn’t include the right headshot (forever elusive) or having likes. I am actively not on social media. It propels and inspires me not to sell something I don’t believe in just to get face time. Having peered behind the curtain, I found, for myself, that the trick here is not to have a five-year plan. It’s a life plan to be inquisitive and immersive. This has led me to expand my creative and imaginative palate, reaching far outside of what I thought possible.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am in the business of storytelling – pick a synonym and medium! Music and comedy share a certain symphony, as acting and painting inhabit the same canvas. My lifelong dream is to be a mime, to occupy the physical world, making communication tangible in the silent negative space. I dance ballet, make music, and am currently finding fun and voice in podcasting.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Future plans include a podcast with my father- he is an arson investigator and we both love true crime and cold hard facts. Having an expert at my fingertips who also has dad jokes! I also have in the works a girl gang, vigilantes for joy style, grassroots cleaning up our city, and advocating for advocates (Also brunch). Always collaborating with my beautiful musician friends to make visual and audio madness.
Image Credit:
Nicole Smith (Church of Pickle)
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