Check Out Hannah’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah.

Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I received my MFA in Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design after earning my BA in Theatre Studies with a minor in Business from the University of Central Florida. Since graduating from SCAD, I signed with my agent, JPervis Talent Agency, and have been pursuing my acting career in Theater, Film, TV, Commercial and Voice Over ever since.
In 2019, I was cast as the voice of Paula Wallace, President and founder of SCAD, in a 4D interactive show called SCADstory. After I recorded the show, Paula also asked me to record her memoir, The Bee and The Acorn. I instantly fell in love with Audiobook Narration, but then BOOM, the pandemic happened. During that time, my husband and I decided to stay in Tampa so that we could have some family time instead of being all on our lonesome in Savannah.
It was during this time that I became incredibly close to Kandi Steiner, she was dating her now-husband, Jack, who has been a close friend of mine since middle school. She is an amazing romance author and fierce supporter of women in general. Right before we were about to move back to Savannah full time, she asked if I did Audiobooks. With my whole chest I said, “Yes!”… even though I had only recorded one…with a director and an engineer… Haha. She said, “Great! I have a novella coming out in December, would you like to give it a try and see how it goes?” I said yes immediately and then rushed home in a panic to my husband and asked, “Can we do this?!”
At the time he was in school at SCAD for Sound Design and learning how to record Audiobooks. He said, “…I think so?”
So, we ended up recording “A Christmas Blanket” by Kandi Steiner in the closet in our guest room with him sitting on the floor with our laptop, haha. Once we handed it in and she gave it a listen, she said, “Amazing. I’m going to hire you from now on.”
You can imagine our delight, especially because that woman is not only prolific in her own writing, but a huge part of the romance author community. So, once we had done another of her books, her author friends started asking, “Who is this chick?” and they started contacting us as well!
All of a sudden, we had a need for a full production company, so we could hire other narrators for the projects rolling in.
During this time, I was also working as the Director of Student Performance at SCADstory and my husband was finishing his degree. We even turned in a project the same week I gave birth to our daughter and my husband graduated from SCAD… then we moved 2 months later to Atlanta.
Needless to say, it’s been a whirlwind! Our company has just continued to grow through positive word of mouth; with me doing the directing, producing, casting, marketing, performance side of the business and my husband doing the editing, mastering, engineering side. We’re so beyond grateful for our team of engineers and narrators and all the wonderful authors we get to collaborate with.
I’m still doing commercial work when I can and am looking forward to doing more in TV, Film, and Theatre as well, but Audiobook Narration and our company, OSYS (Old Souls Young Spirits) Studios, have truly given me the chance to live my dream life. Being present with my husband and daughter, while also chasing my dreams as an actor.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh, there’s definitely been challenges. It was a big leap to leave our day jobs and go full time with OSYS. We had a newborn and had to (got to) be stay-at-home-parents while simultaneously running our new business. There were financial bumps and all nighters, but every single one was worth it to get where we are today.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love audiobook narration. I love crafting different character’s voices so that they’re genuine and unique. I never want a listener to question which character is speaking, hopefully they just know based on my performance.
My main bread and butter is Romance and I’m obsessed with it. I’ve always read romance novels since my mom handed me my first one when I was twelve. I love love. I love the feeling of falling in love and I get to do that over and over with my job. Whether that’s falling in love with the romantic leads or the found family in each book. It’s all magic. Bringing interesting, complicated characters to life in a way that is relatable and heart-wrenching and ooey-gooey in all the best ways.
I think I’m known for bringing the emotion to characters. I feel all the things when I’m in my booth and I hope my listeners can feel that. I want them laughing out loud and squealing while kicking their feet and crying with my characters. Living their listening experience to the fullest.
I’m most proud of myself, honestly. I’ve really pushed myself these past few years to be the best mama, wife, friend AND career driven baddie that I can be. It’s been hard, but so beyond worth it.
I hope what sets me apart from others, is that I don’t set myself apart. I’m a community builder at my core and I believe lifting others up is the best way to have everyone rise to the top. I love that I run a business that can provide job opportunities to my community and celebrate their wins along with mine.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Oh, absolutely. Like I said before, it was a huge risk to leave our full time, stable jobs in 2022. Even before that, in 2019, we had been living in Atlanta for two years and were about to buy a house and try for kids; then we got a call that offered my husband a full ride to SCAD. After much deliberation, we said yes. They said, “Great! Be here in two weeks.” … We had to put in our two weeks notice at multiple jobs, rent a house site unseen, get our current lease covered by a friend, pack/unpack, had no savings because we had just bought a car, etc. While my husband was in school, it was up to me to pay the bills (he did the same for me when I went to Grad School), and even though I tried everything, I was unemployed for 3 months. I ended up getting the job at SCAD, which was such a blessing, I loved working at SCADstory.
And if we hadn’t done all of that, we wouldn’t have the company or life that we do now. Worth it!!
Big risk takers. Say yes. Take the leap. You’ll figure it out and you’ll be all the better for it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hannahchiclana.myportfolio.com/ &. osysstudios.com
• Instagram: @hannahchiclana
• Other: @hannahchiclananarrator on TikTok