Fredric Mao obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Arts from the University of Iowa, and then launched his acting and directing career with professional theater companies and film and television works in the United States.

At the age of 27, he was appointed artistic director of the Napa Valley Theater Company in California. He made his Broadway acting debut in the original Harold Prince/Stephen Sondheim musical Pacific Overtures in 1976.

When the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts was established in 1985, Mao joined its School of Drama as head of acting, responsible for training a new generation of local talents. He directed numerous productions at the academy, including major works of Shakespeare, Moliere, Chekhov, Shaw and Brecht.

Appointed artistic director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theater in February 2001, Mao sees it as his mission to produce plays of outstanding quality showcasing the "unique flavor" of Hong Kong. Under his direction, the company's mainstream productions are counterbalanced by a delightful mix of repertoires derived from different genres and production styles from the experiment production, adaptations of foreign plays, modern theater classics as well as original local plays.

(China Daily March 22, 2006)