Alessia’s background includes scenic/costume design, art history and fine arts. She has designed sets and costumes for ten operas for the University of British Columbia School of Music (Vancouver, CAN), six of which were co-productions with Metzke Divadlo in Usti Nad Labem (Czech Republic). All have toured several cities in the Czech Republic and Germany, including the Estates Theatre in Prague (Stavoveske Divadlo). Alessia also spent a few years working as a scenic artist and designing scenery and lighting in Italy. Recently, Alessia designed scenery for the national tour of the Montana Repertory Theatre production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Alessia holds an MFA in Theatre Design from Northwestern University and a BFA in Scenography from the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, Italy.
 

 

“I believe in teaching skills-based classes in sketching, drawing, painting, model-building, and rendering. Only through learning basic design skills will my students become able to express their ideas in the way designers are required to do: visually. I do not limit my teaching to the classroom alone. I embrace and thrive on mentoring relationships with my students. What occurs in the production environment can be as beneficial as what happens in the classroom. I believe that students should be actively involved in production work in order to learn the skills required for success in professional theatre. As designers and technicians, we must continue to push the limits of design or construction in order to discover new approaches to our professional practices. I am committed to taking artistic risks and learning from my mistakes. I expect my students to do so as well.”

 

Visit Alessia's website here.