Empowering Social Change Through Theater: The Inspiring Story of Sujatha Balakrishnan
Sujatha Balakrishnan is a well-known personality in the theater industry, and she is the founder of Theater for Change. This organization aims to address social issues by using theater as a tool. But before we dive into her initiative, let’s take a closer look at her background and personality.
Sujatha Balakrishnan was born and raised in a conservative Tamil household. However, her mother instilled in her a sense of critical thinking and standing up against injustice from a young age. Sujatha was fascinated with the stage and always took every opportunity to perform, despite societal taboos.
She attended a prestigious college in Bangalore, where her rebellious nature made her a misfit. Sujatha fell in love with someone outside of her community, which became a problem for her father, who wanted to marry her off after her graduation. However, her marriage turned out to be a turning point in her life, as she married into a progressive family that supported her dreams.
Sujatha’s husband told her that she had the freedom to make her own choices in life and to remove the word “permission” from her vocabulary. This ground rule for their marriage allowed Sujatha to make choices in her life, and she chose to become a homemaker when her daughter was born.
However, when her daughter was studying in the US, Sujatha’s passion for acting resurfaced. She had already obtained a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in psychology and had worked for 20 to 25 years as a teacher, counselor, and educational coordinator in different schools. She decided to pursue her passion for acting, which she had set aside earlier.
During her visits to the US, Sujatha volunteered in public schools and realized that special needs children and differently-abled individuals were being isolated from the regular stream of school. She wanted to sensitize the so-called normal children to understand and respect their differently-abled peers. This led to the birth of Theater for Change in 2015, which aimed to convey social messages through art, specifically theater. Her first project, UDAAN (Undoubtedly Differently Abled Amazingly Nebulae), which means “flight” in Hindi, was for specially-abled children and was received well by the audience.
Sujatha coined the term “Art-activism,” which is a combination of art and activism. She used this term to describe her work in Theater for Change, where she wanted to create social change through art. In UDAAN, she had a special needs child play the role of a differently-abled child to have a greater impact on the audience.
Sujatha Balakrishnan describes their multilingual production, “For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enough,” as an adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s choreopoems for women of color, tailored to the Indian context. The production features a range of first-person stories from women of varying ages, classes, and genders, all narrated with courage, conviction, pride, and honesty. With local actors in each location, the production has achieved a diverse and inclusive representation across the globe. The Q&A segment following each performance has sparked meaningful discussions about culturally stigmatized topics, bringing communities together through shared humanity.
Sujatha’s work has been recognized and appreciated by others, and she has received awards and certificates for her community service and work in special education. However, Sujatha emphasizes that awards and certificates are not her main motivation for doing what she does. For her, the real reward is seeing the impact that her work has on the lives of the people she serves and the satisfaction of knowing that she is making a positive difference in the world.
Sujatha’s message to others is to follow their hearts and live life to the fullest, making their own choices as long as they don’t harm society. She encourages people to connect with her if they want to take her theatricals to different cities.
She can be reached at theaterforchange1015@gmail.com if you are interested in bringing her show to your city.
Staff Reporter
