We recently connected with Hannah Corneau and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Hannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I have been a performer my entire life.
I have written original songs before, but had not attempted to write a full piece until 2 years ago.
It was a night in the early summer and I downloaded GarageBand onto my iPhone.
Do you know when they say, “the muse came to me. “?
Well, it really did that evening. It was as if Zelda Fitzgerald’s ghost flew into my Washington Heights apartment, sat with me, whispered her life secrets into my ears and was excited when I would add a violin, guitar or drum beat into the songs.
My experience portraying Edna St. Vincent Millay in a show off-Broadway called Renascence gave me the ultimate gift.
The experience provided me with the chance to portray a woman in history, who we know about, but really, have no idea of their artistic impact. The responsibility and opportunity to educate and inspire minds through the words of Edna St. Vincent Millay and music of Carmel Dean was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career thus far.
I then found myself in a little show called, Wicked on Broadway.
Although this experience was enriching in many ways, it made me realize that I wanted to dedicate my life to creative artistry.
Which brings me to ‘beautiful little fool’ my original show that is now in development. Michael Grief is directing and it is currently in development with myself, Jessie Mueller and Damon Daunno.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a dreamer.
If I could make a living, dreaming, sign me up.
I also love to sing.
Singing is when the most joy lives in my body.
Well… there are other moments in life where ultimate joy lives in my body, but that is not for Canvas Rebel.
Playing Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway was fulfilling, yes.
But not as fulfilling as writing my own musical and developing art from the ground up.
Gracefully letting go of the need to perform and finding such fulfilling opportunities as a creator has been the most empowering journey.
Joy and a joyful artistic pursuit in this life continues to make me feel authentic as f*ck & excited about the future of ART.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Investigation of individual artistic autonomy.
I want artists to feel free and not judged.
So much judgment lives in musical theatre. Stifling art.
Let’s let people LIVE and FIND their art.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The consistent realization of what creativity lives inside me, if I remain open to it.
There are worlds of possibility within each of us. We must remain sensitive to these unqiue opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/album/0u6nvg0f3zfVoWacv2a55m?si=mkipggKgRoCpH9DqjD7H8w&nd=1&dlsi=c591d4f31c564c74
- Instagram: @hannahcorneau
- Youtube: @hannahcorneau
Image Credits
@pedropicz / Pedro Alejandro Hernandez
@yaztea / Yaz Tulca