George Coates (born March 19, 1952) is an American theatre director most notable for his work with George Coates Performance Works (GCPW), which he founded in 1977 in San Francisco, CA.
The company produced over 20 multi-media live performances over a span of 25 years, winning a multitude of awards for its international performances, earning critical acclaim in Asia, Europe and South America and gaining North American attention at Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival.
In the 1990s, he was the first to merge live performers within stage environments created by computer generated graphics in real time live theatre.
Coates became known as a pioneer of experimental live theatre using stereographic projections and 3-D glasses populated by live actors and musicians.