The backstage cast and crew filmed season 1 (30 episodes) in 30 days!
It appears that the show Alya is an homage to Rent. The name of the show is Da Boheme, and La Vie Boheme is a song from Rent. Also, Alya's character, Little Mimi, shares a name with a character in Rent, Mimi.
Devyn Nekoda, who plays Vanessa actually injured her ankle outside of production. As she was forced to wear a cast, the producers decided to write an injury into the script, as seen in episode 12.
Vanessa, carly, Sasha, and Julie were all in the show The Next Step.
Da Boheme is a nod to La Boheme (the opera on which the musical Rent is based). In all three, there is a character named Mimi.