Faculty Profile for Spencer Dee Hansen

Biography Section

Biography and Education

I have trained and worked in both the fields of Music Direction and Performance for nearly fifteen years. Throughout my university education at Texas State University and West Virginia University, I have pursued mastery in both Performance and Music Direction. Outside of education, I have worked professionally (in NYC, on tour, and regionally) as a performer and music director. Academically, my teaching experience began during my undergraduate education where I served as Accompanist, Assistant Music Director, and Teaching Assistant. I have continued to ​cultivate my skills in ​Performance, Music Direction, and Education in order to ​provide as wholistic of a ​Musical Theatre education as possible.

Teaching Interests

Consent for Unscripted Acting Exercises:
Many scene study/acting classes incorporate unscripted exercises as part of their curriculum without establishing a base expectation of safety and consent before asking students to improvise without a scenario or a script. I am particularly interested in finding acting exercises that emphasize and establish consent and boundaries before the improvisation begins.

Research Interests

Song Analysis Using Scansion Techniques:
The music/underscore/accompaniment to Musical Theatre songs can give the actor clues towards characterization and story just as Shakespeare’s poetic structure does. I am interested in forming musical analysis techniques that allow actors to scan songs like they would Shakespeare’s text.