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Chasing stardom, keeping grounded PERRY'S HANNA KEMP GOES AFTER HER ACTING DREAMS WHILE RAISING MONEY FOR LOCAL THEATER BY MICHAEL W. PANNELL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSICA WHITLEY W here to start? With Hanna Kemp's starring role in a tech company's new commercial? Her lead in a locally-shot feature film? e short film she's just finishing? Or her first-ever effort as a stage director? All showcase the 19-year-old's talent and gumption – gumption enough that when COVID-19 cancelled the Perry Players' 2020 season, she boldly offered to raise the money needed for a year-end run of "A Christmas Carol," recruit the volunteer cast and crew and direct it for free. It turned a challenging circumstance into an opportunity for her and a sorely needed fundraiser for her home playhouse. "I started piano and singing when I was 4, but I was 10 when I started wanting to be an actor," Kemp said. "It was when I watched 'e Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and saw Lucy, its main character. She was a strong, young girl about my age having a great adventure and I wondered, 'How does she get to do that?' I wanted adventures – plus, I have to admit I really, really loved Lucy's English accent." A resident of Perry, Kemp knew a trip to Narnia, the fanciful land of the movie, wasn't in store but believed by becoming an actor she could enjoy all sorts of adventures. Young and homeschooled, she said she hadn't a clue how to become an actor. ere were no drama clubs or school theater programs she could easily slip into. Undaunted, Kemp went to the internet and researched how she might get into acting and began doing the one thing she could do: develop her own English accent. "I found out about eatre Macon's Young Artist's Company (YAC) and got my first-ever part in a play," she said. "It was in 'e ree Musketeers.' When I was 12, I did 'Oliver' at home here with the Perry Players. I became a theater gal and have been in their shows ever since." Kelly Mann handled YAC workshops and productions for eatre Macon at the time and said though years have passed, she remembers Kemp. "I do remember her," said Mann, who lives in Macon but is a faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. "She was in 'ree Musketeers' then played a unicorn in 'e Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.' I remember that technically she was a year too young for the program, but honestly, though she was a very shy, reserved young girl, she was very focused and had a real spark. She started out hardly saying a word that wasn't on the script but then she really blossomed. I didn't regret letting her in." In Perry, Kemp convinced her parents, Chris and Lucy Kemp, to audition for plays – though they'd never been interested in theater. ey got parts, got interested and even became board members with the Perry Players for several years. Kemp's siblings joined in, too. Kemp's first lead role came in her early teens when she and a friend, Jamie Stricklen, rotated playing the dialogue-heavy role of Anne Frank. After graduating homeschool, Kemp chose to seek acting work over entering drama school, but with her parents' help took a number of one- off classes at Atlanta's well-known Catapult Acting Studios. She said her online professional profile led to an audition for a commercial for OnJuno's banking- checking app. It was her already-in- place British accent – thank you, Lucy – and comedic flair that helped her land its starring role. "I'D LIKE TO KEEP HANNA HERE FOREVER BUT I SUSPECT SHE'S TOO BIG A FISH FOR OUR LITTLE POND. SHE HAS A FUTURE AND I'M SURE SHE CAN DO WHATEVER SHE SETS HER MIND TO." -JIMMY STRICKLEN 68 maconmagazine.com | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021