ABOUT | BriannaKolybaba

about me

Brianna is an emerging set, costume, lighting and projection designer based in ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Amiskwacîwâskahikan, Treaty 6 Territory) or Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Designing for theatre, opera and film, she specializes in visual storytelling from stage to film set. An ever-morphing artist of the occasion, Brianna brings her passion for world-building through visual story support. From overall broad-sweeping colour schemes, to the smallest button on a blazer, Brianna brings an acute attention to detail to every aspect of her design. She is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with Distinction, in Theatre Design from the University of Alberta, 2019. Brianna works as a freelancer in Edmonton and beyond.

While still in university, Brianna was nominated for two design awards in Toronto and Edmonton. Her work as costume designer on the national tour of Bears (Alberta Aboriginal Arts & Punctuate Theatre) in 2018 earned her a Dora Mavor Moore Award Nomination for 'Outstanding Costume Design'. In 2019, her work on Lake of The Strangers (Naheyawin & Fringe Theatre) received an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award Nomination for 'Outstanding Multi-Media Design'. She has also since Won an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for 'Outstanding Set Design' in 2020 for Mr. Burns, A Post Electric Play (You Are Here Theatre & Blarney Productions).

In her final year of university Brianna made the Dean's List (2018/2019), and was invited to be the first Undergraduate student to design for the U of A's main stage- usually designated exclusively for Professors, Graduate students, and visiting professionals.

She believes in fostering a strong collaboration to create a clear concept and bold aesthetic. In addition to theatre design, she frequently works in theatre production, doing model making, scenic painting, prop creation, art department and set decoration.

Select credits include; scenic design for The Marriage of Figaro (Edmonton Opera), set & costume design for Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (You Are Here & Blarney Productions), set and projection design for Tell Us What Happened (Theatre YES & Azimuth Theatre), costume design for The Drowsy Chaperone and After Juliet (Citadel Young Companies), co-costume design for national tours (2018 & 2019) of Bears (Punctuate! Theatre), and projection design for Lake of The Strangers (Naheyawin & Fringe Theatre). Upcoming: set & costume design for Macbeth and As You Like It (Freewill Shakespeare Festival).

reviews

The Marriage of Figaro, Edmonton Opera, 2020

"[Brianna Kolybaba] deserves much acclaim for presenting this Opera's environment... you will appreciate her focus on presenting thoughtful, yet unabashedly bold backdrops"

-Dustin Jussila, The Wanderer (Edmonton)

The Marriage of Figaro, Edmonton Opera, 2020

"[The production} quite a lot going for it. First, it has a splendid set... the lack of obvious period matching the director's vision of a timeless setting. The set is versatile, visually pleasing, very well judged in its playing areas and its multiple doors, and morphs magically... in the last act"

-Mark Morris, The Edmonton Journal

Les Belles-Soeurs, L'Unithéâtre, 2020

«Du yéyé flyé aux sobres habits beiges, une attention toute particulière a été portée aux costumes, le travail magistral de Brianna Kolybaba.»
"From funky mod to bland beige clothes, very special attention was paid to the costumes, the masterful work of Brianna Kolybaba.

-Simon-Pierre Poulin, Le Franco

DOWNLOAD RESUME