Andrew Tsao

After receiving his Master of Fine Arts in 1990 from California Institute of the Arts, Andrew went on to work in regional theaters and off-Broadway. He became resident director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre from 1992-1995, where he directed numerous productions, served as the theater's literary manager, and taught acting in the conservatory training program. He was then invited to become artistic director of the New Harmony Project, a writer's lab in New Harmony, Indiana. There he oversaw development of new work, which ranged from plays and musicals, to screenplays and TV pilots. In 1995, Andrew moved to Los Angeles to begin his career in television. He became a series director on ABC's 'Home Improvement' starring Tim Allen, produced and directed NBC'S 'Working' starring Fred Savage, 'Soul Man' starring Dan Aykroyd, among others, and numerous other prime time comedies, including episodes of 'Friends', 'Caroline in the City', 'Suddenly Susan', 'Jesse', 'The Single Guy', 'In The House', 'The Jeff Foxworthy Show', DAG, 'Madigan Men', 'Sabrina', 'The Tick', 'The George Lopez Show', and more. Andrew has directed dozens of episodes for prime time television, as well as executive produced two short films, 'Dolci' and 'Deserters', both first films of former students. In Los Angeles, Andrew was invited to direct two productions for Shakespeare Festival L.A. ('The Tempest', and 'Julius Caesar' ) a world premiere opera for L.A. Opera ('On Gold Mountain'), and a short feature starring Eric Idle entitled 'Brightness', which was awarded the Gold Special Jury Prize for 2001 at the WorldFest in Houston. He continued to direct theatre, including the world premiere of Theodore Drieser's 'Sister Carrie' for Indiana Rep, The Tempest at East West Players in Los Angeles, 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' for Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Nilo Cruz's adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings' for Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. Internationally, he has produced and directed noted theatre works at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including 'The Grind Show' (Best Newcomer Award - Fringe Guru), 'Ithaca I'll Never See' and 'The Wasteland Sisters' at Summerhall. He produced two critically acclaimed solo shows for Edinburgh: 'Brandy Alexander' and 'Searchers' at Gilded Balloon. In addition to his directing career, Andrew was associate professor of dramatic arts at the University of Washington School of Drama where he headed the undergraduate drama program, lead summer drama programs at the Edinburgh Festival and was the artistic director of The Drama Collective, a European theatre studies creative lab in Europe. In 2018 he founded The Studio Seattle, a small acting studio teaching professional process and practices to local actors. He continues to produce and direct theatre and film/TV projects including 2022's 'A Little Dark' independent TV pilot.