It Began with a Photo

By Carol Woolum Roberts

It began with a photo.

That is how our time with our friend Nancy Hanks began yesterday as she came to our house to be the subject of our February Dreams and Bones podcast.

She pulled the above photo out of a bag and showed us the framed photograph of her mother performing in a theater production at Coeur d’Alene High School.  This photo was the inspiration for many of Nancy’s creative pursuits throughout her life.

She wanted to be a performer just like her mom.

And the reason I know this is because we sat down and listened to her story.  I heard about how her parents were always supportive of her creative endeavors, no matter if it was playing the flute in the high school band or entering a hula-hoop contest.

Nancy loved telling stories, and at one point in her life, someone said the best way to tell stories was by making movies.  She had no idea what that even meant, but that did not stop her.

Since Los Angeles was the place to learn about film making, she moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990’s and showed up at different film studios and started learning.

At first her gender (female) and her age (late forties) were a barrier to her being hired by any of the studios.

But this did not stop her.

Once the cost of film equipment started dropping, she bought a camera and other equipment.  She started with a documentary.  Then she started making short films.  She took classes at the University of Southern California.  She was an extra in films at prominent Hollywood studios.

I met Nancy in about 2002 when she had a film making competition here in the Silver Valley.  I covered the competition for the local newspaper.

Paul and I later spent over eight years performing in some of the “Across Bank Street” productions, that, for the most part, were all filmed here in the Silver Valley.

She helped young actors learn how to act in films.  She helped adults learn how to use a camera.  She herself continued to hone her story telling skills with each movie.

Nancy even secured a red-carpet premier of her one feature-length film on the big screen at a movie theater in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

The fact she was female could not keep her from telling her stories.

The fact she was over forty did not keep her from telling her stories.

The fact she did not have the backing of a major movie studio did not keep her from telling her stories.

Because she knew this was what she was meant to do.  God, the Creator, gave her the ability to create.  And she said, “Okay”. 

She refused to quit.  She refused to give up, even when there were roadblocks in her path.

“We are all creative, and God helps us use our creativity to then help others”.

That is why she follows her dream.  That is why she doesn’t quit.

She wants the story to continue.

Hear the rest of Nancy’s story beginning with her first episode on Friday, February 4, and each Friday throughout February.  To subscribe to the Dreams and Bones podcast to hear Nancy, and listen to our January episodes with Joy Persoon as well, click here.

To leave a comment on our blog, you can use Disqus.  It is easy to sign up.  You can use Google, Facebook, Twitter or your email.  There is no cost.  Just put in your name and email address and create a password.  Then confirm your account with the email they send you.  Then you can use Disqus to comment on the blog.  We would love to hear your thoughts.