Our Faculty

Background

Laura Fine-Hawkes' work broadly encompasses scenic design for theatre, opera and musical theatre, as well as art direction for live shows, themed visitor experiences, museum exhibits, events and television programming. Theatrical engagements include design for Houston Grand Opera, Utah Opera, Arizona Opera, Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum, Stages Repertory Theatre, Catastrophic Theatre, Big League Productions, the Geffen Playhouse, Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles, the Road Theatre, Circle X Theatre, NoHo Arts Ensemble, the Fountain Theatre and a short film within Cirque du Soleil's Iris production at the Kodak Theatre, among many others.

Fine-Hawkes joined the faculty of Binghamton University in the fall of 2017 as an assistant professor in scenic design, having served as chair of the Performing Arts Department at Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a 2016 recipient of the Laureate Education GPS Award for Leadership. Previously, Fine-Hawkes has worked with academic institutions and young artist training programs as a guest designer and guest faculty in scenic design. Highlights include Rice University Shepherd School of Music, the Opera Institute at Cal-State University Long Beach, San Francisco Opera Merola Program, UCLA Opera and Cal-State Los Angeles.

Fine-Hawkes has participated in the development of multiple international large scale live shows and themed visitor experiences for Thinkwell Group, Inc. and the Hettema Group, both based in the greater Los Angeles area. She designed the THEA award-winning Air Force One Discovery Center housed in the Air Force One Pavilion within the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA. Art direction for television includes programming for NBC/Bravo, Comedy Central, PBS and the FUEL Network. Fine-Hawkes is a former assistant and associate of the late scenic designer David Mitchell. She holds an MFA in scenic design from UCLA.

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