SPEAKER

Professor Andrew Laine

Dean, School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Professor Andrew Laine is the Dean of the School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Professor Laine obtained a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, with a concentration in Technical Direction and a Bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a double-major in Anthropology and Media Study. His research interests include technical direction, set design, and pedagogical design for technical theatre, theatre design, and theatre management.

Professor Laine has 30 years of professional theatre experience, working from carpenter, flyman, and rigger, to set designer, technical director and production manager.

He has been a professional educator for 25 years, teaching in the public and private sectors. Before relocating to Hong Kong in 2025, Professor Laine served for 19 years on the faculty of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He co-authored and led the Bachelor of Fine Arts program in Technical Production & Management at Temple University since 2019.

Apart from his duties at the University, Professor Laine worked across the region as a freelance set designer, technical director, and technical consultant, while serving as resident designer for Mauckingbird Theatre Company in Philadelphia.

Professor Andrew Laine

Organisation Description

The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), established by The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Ordinance in 1984, is a world-leading higher education institution for the performing arts. It provides professionally-oriented undergraduate education and postgraduate studies in Chinese Opera, Dance, Drama, Film and Television, Music, and Theatre and Entertainment Arts. Its educational philosophy reflects the cultural diversity of Hong Kong with an emphasis on Chinese and Western traditions, and interdisciplinary learning. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings, the Academy ranks 10th for Performing Arts and 1st in Asia.