Faculty Profile for Andy Park

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Andy Park is an educator, artistic director, stage director, and puppeteer. Andy is the Head of Directing at Texas State University and Associate Professor of Theatre. Prior to coming to Texas State, he was a faculty member at the University of Southern Mississippi (2023-2024), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2017-2023) and taught at Columbia College Chicago (2014-2017).

Andy has served as artistic director for multiple theaters, organizations and festivals over a professional theater career that spans more than two decades.
Andy served as artistic director of Nebraska's only professional, equity theater, Nebraska Repertory Theatre from 2017-2022. He forged a multi-year collaboration with the St. Louis Black Repertory Company and served as the writer and director for N150: Music and Milestones, The University of Nebraska’s 150^th celebration. He directed numerous productions for The Rep including The Glass Menagerie, Mother Courage, Avenue Q and Hair.

In 2023, Andy returned to his post as artistic director of the John G. Shedd Aquarium a position he had previously held for a decade (2007-2017) writing, directing, and producing multispecies aquatic shows that featured dolphins, beluga whales, sea lions, penguins, and birds of prey. Past shows at the Aquarium include Fantasea, A Holiday Fantasea, Land and Water and One World.

Additional directing highlights include the opening spectacle for the Lollapalooza Music Festival in Chicago’s Grant Park, Circus Crashers at The Actors Gymnasium, Failure: A Love Story, Peter and The Star Catcher and Cymbeline at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and three productions for the Cirque Shanghai franchise in Harbin, China and at Navy Pier's Pepsi Skyline Stage in Chicago and the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City.
He conceived and directed the European tour of Quest Theatre Ensemble's Blue Nativity and The People's History of the United States which were nominated for two Jeff Citations including "New Work," and the Jeff Award winning production of Evolution/Creation nominated for five Jeff Citations including "New Work" and "Direction."

Andy has written twelve full length musicals with his longtime collaborator, composer, Scott Lamps. Their musicals, A Christmas Wish and Return of Neverland were nominated for three Jeff Awards in 2014, including a nomination for "Best Music and Lyrics." Their musical adaptation of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children was the recipient of three KCACTF awards, including "Best Adaptation."