Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Rice
Hi Hannah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up in Aotearoa, New Zealand, entertainment options were limited to watching Country Calendar, the All Blacks rugby team and Sir Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth. Hence, the emergence of Flight of the Conchords and their hilarious tv show, piqued my interest and ignited a story-telling spark. Watching two dweeby Kiwis amble about New York trying to “make it in America” as New Zealand’s Fourth Most Popular Folk Parody Duo with their dry, witty sense of humor was so refreshing and unlocked a love for comedy that has remained with me. Wanting to expand my horizons beyond my sheep-ridden nation, I went to Northwestern University and studied Economics and Cognitive Science. While there, I performed in many plays and became further immersed in storytelling. In the final year of completing my undergraduate degree, the world shut down and I hunkered back down in Aotearoa, New Zealand. With the globe at a standstill, there was little to do beyond studying, running on deserted roads and writing. Having been involved in theater throughout high school and at Northwestern, I was well versed in plays and began my foray into writing. Playwrighting became a wonderful outlet for me during this time and I quickly hopscotched over to screenwriting. An avid learner, I was eager to expand my knowledge of the craft and so applied to the American Film Institute Conservatory and completed my Masters in Fine Arts, majoring in screenwriting. This experience fostered my sense of story and allowed me to hone my voice as a writer. I emerged from this program with a strong sense of what I can contribute…a good wee laugh! Since then, I have written a number of short films which was currently doing the festival circuit and have other projects in pre-production. Whether it’s doing funny voices for the kids I nannied, or coming up with a punny title for a script, I try to inject a sense of fun into everything I do.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly it’s been a pretty smooth road. I consider myself very lucky to have had wonderful opportunities come my way and that I have been ready to tackle them. The greatest emotional challenge for me has been living so far from my home. I’m very close with my family and so living a 12 hour flight away from them has its challenges.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a comedy gal through and through. Whenever I try to write something serious, the characters just saw “bugger off let us be funny”. I think there’s something powerful about being able to tackle strong themes using humor and find that it can make them more accessible and palatable. I’m very proud of my dry, witty Kiwi sense of humor and try to infuse some of this into everything I do. A great example of this and something I’m very proud of, is a short film, The Chop, that I wrote and starred in. It’s about a socially anxious New Zealander park ranger who is trying to save a tree from being cut down. It’s delightfully weird and off-beat and sneaks a message in there, hopefully without it feeling like homework. Being able to use comedy as a vehicle for telling powerful stories is a reoccurring theme in my work. I also love writing a delightfully unlikeable character. There’s something satisfying about getting an audience to connect with someone who is objectively awful, yet has some redeeming quality or life experience that people can empathize with.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Don’t take yourself too seriously. This industry is full of such extreme highs and lows that if you let each one get to you, you will burn out. Have hobbies outside of the work that you do so that your creativity doesn’t become all consuming. Drink water.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hannahzrice.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahzrice/
