Shyama is an emerging Indian-American theater writer, composer, and choreographer. Her expertise lies in the blending of Bharathanatyam 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 MFA from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, and is currently working towards her doctorate there. 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 Prospect Musicals' IGNITE Festival, at New York's 54 Below, The Yale Cabaret, The Kentucky Center for The Arts, the Geeva Arts Festival, and several venues in India. She was recently selected as the 2026 finalist for the June Bingham commission with Live and in Color. 

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As a scholar she has spent time studying Rasa Theory, Indian Drama during the Colonial Period, Orientlism and the American Musical. Through her academic research, she developed "The Bhava-Rasa Method": a Natyashastra-based performance practice that is focused on inciting spectator feeling.  In addition to her creative work, she co-directs the Guru Vandana Arts Academy (An Indian classical dance company) and Geeva Arts Festival (Indian Classical dance and music festival) in Kentucky.