Dahlia was born and raised in Abu Dhabi- a diverse, multicultural city that fostered her love for rich and varied traditions of storytelling. As an artist and collaborator, Dahlia is interested in exploring unlikely connections and creating evocative, eloquent spaces of possibility for students, actors, artists, technicians, audiences.

Dahlia’s recent and upcoming credits include designs for the Dallas Theatre Center, The Goodman, Trinity Rep, The Rep of St Louis, Fordham University, and Harvard University; she won the KCACTF Region II Award for Distinguished Scenic Design in 2020 for THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME at Albright College. During Covid, she directed an all-remote, communally-created adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, pairing a company of student actors with 50 artists of all ages from around the world.

Dahlia has held faculty appointments at Albright College and Wake Forest University, and has given guest lectures and workshops for NYU, Wellesley College, University of Texas-Austin, Binghamton University, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts, and many others.

Dahlia completed her MFA in Scenic Design at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama and her BA at Wellesley College. She received additional training at the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, where she went on to serve as the annual Young Playwrights Conference design mentor for almost a decade.