Jess Hirsh is Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at University of Idaho. From Cleveland, Ohio, she holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she was awarded the John and Mary Burns Scholarship and the Kathryn McAllister England Scholarship. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from Youngstown State University. She also holds a Musical Theatre Certificate from Open Jar Institute in NYC, and she studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in their Shakespeare Summer School program. Jess is a two-Time Irene Ryan competitor and was a Musical Theatre Initiative semifinalist at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Favorite past roles include Fabiana Aziza Cunningham "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," King Lear "King Lear" The Witch "Into The Woods" Ilse "Spring Awakening," Sheila Bryant "A Chorus Line," and Rose Stopnick Gellman "Caroline, or Change." Jess was head of the Musical Theatre Program at the Salt Lake School of The Performing Arts for two years, where she directed multi-award nominated and winning productions of "Matilda: The Musical," "The Lightning Thief," "Mean Girls" and "You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown." She was awarded the “Spirit of SPA” Award in 2024 in recognition of her dedication, spirit, and contribution to the school community. She also worked as the Cultural Consultant for the 2023 production of "Cabaret" at the University of Utah.

Jess’ areas of interest in the field include healthy belt technique, transgender voice and presence in musical theatre, demystification of classical text, First Folio analysis, and the historical connection between national/international tragedy and the Broadway musical.