Alia is a lighting designer and educator originally from Vancouver and currently based out of Toronto. She designed for dozens productions in Vancouver before moving to the UK to pursue her Masters Degree. On returning to Canada, she completed a thesis focusing on the role of integral lighting design in the development of productions and how lighting designers can work more closely with artistic teams as co-collaborators. Alia assisted for five seasons with the Stratford Festival as an assistant lighting designer. She is currently teaching and mentoring at Toronto Metro University.
While Alia’s background is primarily in lighting, she also has experience in set and video design, with a focus on how those aspects integrate cohesively with lighting. While attending university, Alia participated in several projects experimenting with the use of video as a light source in theatre. She is also particularly interested in designing for dance, and musical theatre. Her style often involves bold colour choices and striking geometry.
Alia holds a diploma in Technical Theatre from Capilano University, a BFA in Theatre Production and Design from the University of British Columbia, and an MA in Design for Performance from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.