Andrea Bechert is an award-winning union designer and teaches Design & Technology for Theatre & Film at San Jose State University.
Andrea has designed over 350 productions and numerous world premieres at theatres across the country. Local companies she has designed for include Tony Award winning TheatreWorks (over 35 productions), Center Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Opera San Jose, Peninsula Youth Theatre, American Musical Theatre of San Jose, the Douglas Morrison Theatre, San Jose Children’s Musical Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, Palo Alto Players, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, and San Jose Stage Company. Regional companies she has designed for include The Cleveland Playhouse, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Chautauqua Theatre Company, the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas, The Starlight Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Wildwood, The Monomoy Theater, and many others.
Her designs have been included in the 2017 USITT Design Expo & catalog the 2005 World Design Expo & catalog and her scenic, costume, and projection designs for Mad Forest were selected for the 1996 Prague Quadrennial exhibit. She recently received a Silicon Valley Laureate Award for her work as a designer. She also recently received the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for her design of Fun Home with Tony Award winning TheatreWorks of Silicon Valley. She was the Keynote speaker at the USITT Northwest Regional conference in Reno in 2010. Her numerous awards include Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, a Denver Ovation Award, and international Falstaff Award nomination, and more than 20 other regional design awards.
Andrea is a proud and active member of United Scenic Artists, IATSE Local 829. She serves as Western Region Trustee for USA829 and also serves as Chair of the Design Exam Committee.
