The Sitayana (or "How to Make an Exit")

A young princess, Sita, prepares for her impending nuptials. A young man, Ram, passes Sita's father's test and wins her hand in marriage. She follows him to his kingdom in Ayodhya, but soon after they arrive, he is banished to the forest for fourteen years. She refuses to abandon her husband, so she follows him into the forest, only to be captured by a demon, Ravan. After she is rescued by her husband, she is forced to undergo a test to prove that she was faithful to him during her capture. And even after she proves her purity, she is yet again banished to the forest—this time pregnant and alone. Eventually, she is reunited with her husband, but she realizes she has no desire for this partnership. She chooses to move on by herself and plunges into the earth from whence she came.

All 12 characters are performed by one actor. It is an adaptation of the Hindu epic, The Ramayana, from Ram's wife, Sita's perspective. The Ramayana is one of the most important literary works in South Asian and Hindu culture, traditionally shared with children on Hindu holidays to teach loyalty and goodness. While our contemporary gaze can recognize the patriarchal dominance in the ancient source text and in contemporary South Asian culture at large, this production makes a space to open dialogue to unpack these issues in our American context. The telling of this story gives a voice to and reasserts the power and humanity of Sita, widely known as a Hindu goddess incarnate and deemed to be The Ideal Woman.