Background:
BIO:
Spencer specializes in theatre education, directing actors of all ages, and ensemble play development . With a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts/ Speech Communication Education and an M.F.A. in Theatre Studies, Spencer has dedicated more than a decade to using theatre as a tool to inspire and educate. Spencer has directed plays for audiences at the university and high school levels including The Arkansaw Bear, Mother Hicks, The Crucible, and The Imaginary Invalid. As a graduate student, Spencer wrote, directed, and performed in a documentary theatre piece on the experiences of students with dyslexia. This piece was accepted for entry into the University of Texas at Austin’s highly competitive Cohen New Works Festival. He later incorporated a shortened version of the piece into a professional development workshop he facilitated across Texas and Arkansas. This professional development workshop focused on providing teachers with insight into the experiences of students with learning disabilities and introducing them to drama-based instructional strategies for addressing special learning needs. He currently holds the position of Drama Specialist at Arkansas’s premier performing arts magnet high school. In this position, he directs the fall main stage production and a yearly student-devised performance that tours area elementary schools. In addition to these responsibilities, he teaches year long, in-depth courses in Theatre History and Children’s Theatre for 10th through 12th grade theatre students. Spencer has also taught Introduction to Improvisation and Introduction to Theatre on the college level.