We were lucky to catch up with Hannah Mathews recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

September 6th, 2014 – my 20th birthday at a restaurant-bar in Bangalore, India called The Humming Tree. It was my first ever LIVE performance singing with a 10 member band with a brass section. We performed disco funk, retro music & the energy of that night was nothing like I’d ever experienced before. I came alive. I was nervous and there was fear, but funnily, the fear worked in my favor – it drove me to perform, to put myself out there, to dance, to sing & challenged me to let go. It didn’t cripple me but challenged me in the best way. I still remember the feeling. I’ve been known to thrive on live, impromptu music sessions ever since.
I’ve been singing ever since I was 4 years old but I guess I KNEW I wanted to be an entertainer on this day – like, here I was actually doing it and I ACTUALLY loved it – it wasn’t wishful thinking anymore.

Growing up, I’ve always had this feeling that I’d follow an artistic path, professionally. My big brother knew before I did, to be honest. This live gig in 2014, was a confirmation that I chose right & the opportunities & doors that have opened up since that day has all led to me being where I am today, by God’s grace.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an actor/singer . I’ve been singing ever since I can remember – professionally, I’ve been at it for the last 10 years. Acting however, has been a newer venture – an avenue of entertainment that I’ve been absolutely enjoying. I currently work with local churches here in LA doing music.

My craft is an overflow of the life that I lead and the life that I lead is based on my faith in God. My fulfillment comes from that place – from faith, and then getting to create from that space of abundance & freedom is the most liberating thing. I used to use my craft as a form of escape, at one point in my life. I wanted to avoid the pain of loss as much as possible, until I realized that my gift came ALIVE when I allowed myself to sit with that emotion and give it a voice. There’s so much healing that happens with that too. As a creative, I think it is SO so important not to rush the process. Stay true to yourself. There is no problem at all in slowing things down on your journey, be it in life or the creation process.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Gladly.

This was the second ever LIVE gig that I performed in my entire life, with the band that I was a front woman for at the time. We had a tough crowd that night & I remember that this gig that I was doing was also going to be the deal breaker for the band to either hire me on full time or drop me. So, I had only one mission on my mind – GET THE CROWD TO GET UP AND DANCE. We were at another restaurant-bar but everyone seemed to just be doing their own thing and nobody was drunk enough to dance I guess, I don’t know – either way, I decided to get off stage and dance with the audience if I had too – and so I did! As soon as I got off stage and approached the tables, I remember falling straight on my back, mid song, with EVERYONE watching. I quickly decided to monetize on everyone’s gasps and looks of concern that I was getting from my band members on stage – so, as my backside hurt like hell – I grabbed my mic as I lay on the floor and I said, “ I’m not getting up off this floor until I see SOMEBODY dancing” and quite immediately, I see this gentleman quickly grab his partner & they begin dancing (out of pity, quite possibly) – but hey! THEY BEGAN DANCING. It was comical, yet, I came alive again. And that’s when I knew I thrived on impromptu moments – I really didn’t expect myself to do or say what I said, but it’s crazy how you can be discovering yourself as you function in your gifting! I was hired for the job after that night and the rest is history :)

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Support independent artistes – whoever you know – friends, family, friends of friends – buy tickets to their movies, go watch their live performances. Show up. It makes a WORLD of a difference. Your presence matters.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @hannahelizabethmathews

Image Credits

@potaproductions
@mollypanphotography