
Shyama Iyer
writer - composer - choreographer
About me
Shyama is an emerging Indian-American writer, composer, and choreographer who works most often in live Theater settings. Her expertise lies in the blending of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance movement, Carnatic and American Musical Theater music, and on the aesthetics of classical Indian poetry and drama. She holds a BFA in musical theatre from Western Kentucky University, an MA in theater from The Ohio State University and is currently working towards her DFA from the Yale School of Drama. Her recent musical theater work include The Sound of an Anklet (Book, Music, & Lyrics), A Game of Dice (Book, Music, & Lyrics), and The Rasa Jar (Music, & Lyrics). These works reimagine Indian myths, theatrical traditions, and musical genres for contemporary American audiences. She has presented work at New York's 54 Below, The Yale Cabaret, The Kentucky Center for The Arts, the Geeva Arts Festival, and several venues in India.
As a scholar she has spent time studying Rasa Theory, Indian Drama during the Colonial Period, and American Musical Theater. Through her academic research, she developed "The Bhava-Rasa Method": a Natyashastra-based performance practice that is focused on inciting spectator feeling. This research has lead to invigorating theater workshops, dance choreographies, and musical theater compositions that challenge what theater can look and more importantly feel like.