[1][2] She has performed comedy before musical acts including Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross.
[5]: 318 Hansome began her stand up comedy career as a way to earn money between acting roles, and by 1989 was performing regularly at colleges and clubs.
[7][8] Hansome is featured in Debra J. Robinson's 1984 documentary I Be Done Been Was Is about the obstacles faced in the careers four of black female stand-up comedians, Alice Arthur, Jane Galvin-Lewis, and Marsha Warfield.
[6] In 2005, Hansome directed the play Sweet Songs of the Soul, starring Melba Moore.
[10][11][12] In 2006, she directed the play Real Black Men Don't Sit Cross-legged on the Floor: A Collage in Blues.