Video: ALADDIN's Sonya Balsara is On the Rise!

Welcome to On The Rise with Candace Cordelia, a Broadway World production

I'm your host, Candace Cordelia, and I must say, after seeing this performer on Broadway

in Aladdin, I was just so blown away by her performance, everyone else's performances

and the show itself. It's truly a spectacle, and as someone who grew up seeing Aladdin on Disney, you don't

want to miss this, and you don't want to miss seeing Sonia Balsara on stage, and I'm

with her today. How are you, Sonia? I'm excellent. Thank you so much for having me

Absolutely, and thank you so much for being here. I know this is quite a busy time for you

You are all over the place, especially on Broadway stage in Aladdin as Jasmine, and

I have to say, and I'll say it once more, it was so amazing seeing you in this performance

and it's truly a treat, so congratulations to you on your current success

Thank you so much. It means so much to me that you came to see the show. Absolutely

I enjoyed it highly, and I can't wait to talk to you more about the show and your role as

Jasmine, but I want to start at the beginning, obviously, with how you came to be a Broadway

star and actress, a performer, singer-dancer, everything and all of the above

I did some research on you, and your background is very fascinating, Sonia

One of the things that I read up on is your parentage

You have a very interesting background in terms of your parents and their profession

and where you grew up. I understand that you were born in Brooklyn and raised in Berkeley, California, and I

know Berkeley is known for its academics, UC Berkeley. A lot of really cool and interesting things happened there, but you were brought up by

one parent, a professor, chemical engineering, another parent, a professional classical singer

Sonia, what was your childhood like growing up in a household with two parents, one in

academia and one in the arts? I really feel like it was a perfect balance of arts and science growing up

I went home during the pandemic, and downstairs you hear Brahms' Requiem coming through the

vents, and then you hear my dad talking about polymer science on a Zoom call

It's this beautiful cacophony of both worlds. My dad actually does a lot of work in sustainability and lowering CO2 emissions

I'm really passionate about making the planet a better place, and then obviously really

passionate about music and community and coming together to tell stories that I got from my mom

Right now, too, I really want to learn how to bridge that gap

Having both of that yin and yang together, arts and science together, is 100% why I am

the way I am today. I feel so lucky to have grown up in that sort of yin-yang. Yeah

I can't personally relate to that because as a kid myself, there was always the academics

and then also my passion and love for the arts. Trying to bridge those together sometimes can be a bit of butting heads

Was there ever a point in your childhood where one pretty much grabbed you more so than the

other, or did you feel a conflict in terms of what you wanted to be when you grew up

I definitely always wanted to go into the arts. I knew that

I wanted to be a creative and be a storyteller, but I think, honestly, they both inform each other

I actually don't think one can go without the other. I feel really lucky I got a super well-rounded education and it was really important

My dad was like, you have to go to a university where you're going to get a very, very good education

I took computer science in school, and I took classes in the physics department, and I took

English literature. I don't know. I took a lot of things that I honestly feel like inform my artistry

I actually think that they go hand in hand. I don't know if that answered your question

I'm sorry. No, it did. It was very true. I love that you mentioned it because I think for some people, it seems as though you can't

do one without the other. I love the fact that you're stating it's actually the complete opposite

It's arts and sciences. That's a whole department. In most colleges, they go together

I love that you mentioned that. What was the first moment as a child where you thought, that's it

I'm going to be an actor. I'm going to sing. I'm going to dance. I'm going to be on Broadway

I grew up watching so many movie musicals. I also grew up with a lot of Bollywood

I was always creating things on my own based on what I was receiving from the media and

with my friends and my family. My first Broadway show was Beauty and the Beast

My aunt took me to see it. That totally opened up my vision of creative storytelling

I remember the magic in that, the transformations and the lights and it just being such a visceral

theatrical experience. When I saw Drowsy Chaperone, I found out that the guy playing Man in Chair had written the

show and I thought that was super cool. I was like, there's so many ways you can do this

Ultimately, I think what really helped me feel like I want to do this and my parents

were like, oh no, we're in trouble, was I went to go see a high school production of

Oklahoma and I became obsessed because it's a classic and whatnot. I rented the movie and I got out a little notebook and paused and played the movie over

and over and over again and wrote a script. Then at recess, held auditions and cast my friends

I played Lori. I wanted to rent a space, but my parents were like, no, you can't do that right now

We did it in my house and I put on a show and they were like, yeah, we're in trouble

That was probably the moment. That's really cool. You hear stories like that a bit where the moment where you put on a show for your family

or your friends and that just seems to click. That's when you get that spark and you're thinking, yeah, this is the life for me

After that, what happened? Did you start to do more, say high school plays, middle school plays

Was that a part of your life at that point? Totally. I think my parents realized, let's invest less time in soccer and let's invest more

time in doing community theater. I did shows at local theaters. I did a couple shows in high school and I took class

I think that the thing that really, really rooted me. I love performing, but I think I love learning even more

I love being in a group setting where you're diving into a script and talking about it

and understanding it. I took classes at ACT in San Francisco in high school and that was my favorite thing

I took a clowning class. I took super, I don't know. We read really amazing plays

I just remember that's when I really started to fall in love with it. I was like, I would love to go to school for this. Yes

Then you did. You eventually did. What was that experience like, the audition, the process, and then deciding where you wanted

to go if you wanted to stay in California or go to New York City? Yeah

You mentioned I was born in New York. I think when you're born in New York, you have a very, I don't know

I've always been so tethered to the city. When we moved to California, because my dad works at UC Berkeley

That's why we moved. I forget exact. My dad has told me this story, but we moved and he was like, where do you want to go

I was crying because we had moved. He was like, where do you want to go right now

I was like, turn left and don't stop until we get to New York

I always knew I was going to go back to New York

When I applied for college, it was a really intense process. It's actually the most vulnerable audition process

I think one can go through because you're not auditioning for a part in a play

You're auditioning for the role of yourself, sort of. Getting rejected for schools is more heartbreaking than any kind of rejection

I feel like if you can go through that, you can for sure do this industry

After I'd gotten accepted to a couple of places, I was touring schools

When I got to NYU, I was like, oh, okay. I have to be here

My heart and gut and soul just knew. I feel like that's how it is, especially when it comes to NYU

It just seems like the place that you have to go to, especially as an artist

From the environment itself to its world-renowned drama department, it's just a win-win

You made it there. How was that for four years of your life

Going through the trenches of being an actor, a young actor in New York City

It was intense. It was hard, actually. I always heard that college would be where I meet all my friends forever

It was going to be like a bed of roses. It was hard. It's hard to go to school in the city

You don't get this little bubble that protects you. You don't get a campus in the same way

New York City is your campus. I will say it was the most amazing growing experience I've ever had, for sure

I completely learned who I was in those four years. Like I said earlier, I got such a well-rounded education

I thought I was going to be best friends with all of my friends in theater

I ended up finding that my best friends were in marketing and in computer science

I ended up living with those people and I'm still very close with them today

I need to feel like I have branches growing in all directions

I'm really glad I got that out of going to school at NYU

It really prepared me to transition out into the real world, for sure

I love that you mentioned you had friends from all different walks of life

and different backgrounds and not just in theater. Do you feel that that helped inform your characters

Having that experience of talking to someone who's going to a marketing class

or studying neuropsychology instead of just being in that bubble of theater? Totally

First of all, I think being an actor, you have to be curious

We're telling stories about real people. We need to be curious about all different kinds of people

and learn from them and really, really listen to them. If you don't have real relationships with people that do other things

you're not really doing your work as an actor, I think. The second part, honestly, was that I'd have to go and learn a song the next day

for school or a really long monologue, a three-page Shakespeare monologue. I'd be like, oh my God, my life is so hard

Then my friend would be doing quantum physics and I'd be like

oh, I'll go memorize this Shakespeare monologue, no problem. Just having a perspective on the gift that I got to do what I loved

and take class for it, that was also an element of it for me too

You go to NYU, you study theater for four years, you graduate

How do you go from NYU to becoming Jasmine in Aladdin on Broadway

It took time. It wasn't immediate at all for me. I was lucky enough to get agents before my senior year of college

That really helped with my transition. I started auditioning while I was in school

I actually shot a feature film during my senior year of college

It was a horror movie. It was really fun. It was a really cool experience

I got to work with some really awesome people. Boaz Yaquin was the director who did Remember the Titans

I was like, I don't know, I just remember being so starstruck

I did a lot of commercials and I did some TV out of college

That was the first big thing I did. I had a side hustle. I auditioned for theater constantly and didn't get jobs

I really learned how to audition and how to maintain a healthy mentality through auditioning

I booked a few jobs. I booked one international job. Then the pandemic happened, which set us back a little bit

I came back and did the pre-Broadway workshop for The Karate Kid

I did a production of Sense and Sensibility out in California. Then I got this job

They're all building blocks, too. You learn from every single thing and they all lead to each other

Lots of patience, hard work, and figuring out how to play the game mentally, for sure

I have to give a shout out to the horror genre. That's my favorite genre

That is my number one in terms of movies. I love horror, but I can't imagine what it's like acting in a horror film

I've heard it can be quite strenuous, especially if you have to scream a lot and run a lot

It's more intense than people realize. Kudos to you on that because that's not easy, acting in horror

I took a shot where the camera lens was facing upward. I had fructose corn syrup that looked like blood dripping out

I had to aim for that and look like I was vicious above the camera

It is the most ridiculous genre to act in. You feel crazy

Oh my gosh, don't knock first. I know. I can just imagine, hopefully one day I'll get there where I'm in a horror movie

and I can see for myself what that feels like. But I love watching it

As a fan, I enjoy it. I give you props for being a part of that genre because it's a lot

I definitely want to go back to Aladdin and the role of Jasmine

It's so iconic for a lot of people. Kids, teenagers, adults, whichever

It spans generations. It's a part of the Disneyverse. It's huge in pop culture

Now you're a part of it on Broadway. First and foremost, how did you get the role

How was that process before earning the role of Jasmine? I had three auditions for it

I went in and sang the solo song she had written. I sang the solo song she gets to sing, Palace Walls

I was called back for a work session that lasted about 45 minutes

I remember it was the most intense work session. I came out of that audition for 20 minutes

I wrote down everything I could possibly remember. Then I had a final callback

That was it. I'm going to add it in. There's tons of details in there

I'm not sharing. Of course. It's all good. I have to follow up

What did you do when you found out you got the part? I called my mom

She didn't answer. Then I called my dad. He cried. They both cried

That's so beautiful. That's lovely. Now you're a part of history. I want to add, because this is very intriguing to me

You are mixed race. Aladdin itself is a story based in the Middle East

There have been different people to play the role. The significance of being Jasmine, in my opinion, is very important

As someone who personally, I'm very big into representation on Broadway. It's a topic that more people are talking about on a daily basis

They want to see more representation on Broadway. You're a part of this history, given your heritage

That's huge. What are your thoughts about, one, being this role, being Jasmine

being mixed race, and what that means for you? Yeah. Oh, my God

First of all, I completely feel the same way as you. I'm very passionate about there being more representation on Broadway

It's a true honor to get to play Princess Jasmine. She's the only brown, or when I grew up, she was the only brown

princess that there was. It's interesting. I think the world of Agrabah is, yes, it pulls from Middle Eastern

culture, but the original Aladdin was actually, originally, I think when it was written in the 1700s, took place in China

Then it was adapted for, oh, my gosh, 1001 Arabian Nights. Then Disney reinterpreted it, and it pulls from Middle Eastern

South Asian, and North African cultures. Being South Asian, and also within my South Asian identity, my

ancestors are Persian. I have some of that. When I did my 23andMe, I have, I don't know, Mesopotamian and

North African in me, too. I'm culturally only in touch with my Indian side, but I think that

the fact that there's this universe, this world, that exists for so many different colors, for all these different people, that

does not exist. So many stories, which are amazing, tell a story about a very

specific kind of person, a very specific diaspora. To say we're telling the story on behalf of so many different

types of people, that it's so inclusive, and you can actually be

what you are on stage. I don't have to only tap into a side of myself

I can be mixed and fully tell the story, and then have someone

like my father be half black. That can be the reality of our story

I think it's amazing, too, to have kids come to the show, and

every single person can see someone on stage that looks like them, and can say, oh, I could do that, or I can go off and do

this other thing, because I see this happening here. Yes. That's one of the biggest things that I got from, because I

didn't know what to expect. I was just fully prepared for whichever might come, and just

to have a great time, but seeing the absolute diversity that I witnessed on stage for this show, really, it was fantastic

And I wish to see more of that on Broadway in general

So I, you know, it's great stuff. It's really good stuff. And speaking of the cast, I love the chemistry between you and

Michael Maliakel, who plays Aladdin. It's so natural. You both just exude so much charm, and you're so personable

and you really elevate the script, and really elevate the characters, in my opinion

What was it like working with Michael when you both were first

thrust into this world, and getting to really understand each other as actors, but also Aladdin and Jasmine, and the

relationship that they have? Yeah. Michael Maliakel is so kind, first of all

He's like, he just makes you feel comfortable immediately. And, you know, for me it was tricky, because here's this

working, running machine of Aladdin on Broadway, and I have to somehow slip right in as if, you know, as if I was a part of

it the whole time. And I'd never experienced that. I'm only used to creating shows from the ground up, and being

in a rehearsal process, and like, being on the floor in your socks kind of a vibe

And that first show, I mean, I had my put in, but the first show, feeling the energy of like, you know, 1,700 people

and being in the costumes, the lights, and it's so overwhelming. But I feel, you know, he literally goes, do you trust me

in the show? And I have to take his hand, and I'm like, I'm not sure why

but yes. And we jump, and that's, it really felt like, I mean, I did

all my homework, I was prepared, but like, I felt like I could just trust him

In the same way she trusts, in the same way the character trusts him

Yeah, totally. Yes, and it definitely showed, and that was one of the more

magical parts of the whole show. And you're right, when that moment of trust came, I think I

it really leaves you. It definitely, when you leave the show, you think about that

a lot, and it's awesome. So. It doesn't hurt that he's like, his voice is like butter and

gold combined. Like, that doesn't hurt either. And I get to listen to that every day

Absolutely, absolutely. So when you're preparing for a role such as this, Jasmine, I

mean, what goes into the prep for you, and how do you keep

things consistent and make sure that you're in tip-top shape, you know, on a daily basis? Yeah

Well, for me, first of all, it always just, it goes back to the script

I want to devour the script when I first get it. I want to not just memorize lines, but understand why I'm

saying every single thing that I'm saying. And as I, like, work with people, too, I get a deeper, more

rich understanding of all of that. So I'm a big note-taker, annotator

I'm always, like, checking in and seeing what new moments I discovered that day

You know, so I'm big on just the discovery and making things new every day

That's really important for me. But in terms of, like, preparing in and out for the show, I feel

like I wake up and start preparing for the show. Even right now, I'm, like, I'm aware of how I'm speaking so that

I have enough energy for later, and that I'm speaking healthily. I hydrate all day

I try to exercise every day. I do yoga every day before I do the show

Light vocal warm-ups, like, blowing through a straw. After the show, it's really important to, like, have a good

physical wind-down. I try to, like, massage my muscles. My ankles get really tired being in the heels

It's just constant mindfulness, I'll say. Yes. I really like that. And you beat me to it because I was thinking, I wonder how she

decompresses after a show. And that sounds really lovely. But besides, you know, making sure that you're massaged and you

get a good night's rest, what do you do outside of performing? What fun things do you like to get into, Sonia? Yeah

Oh, my gosh. I wish I had more time. I wish I had more time

I wish I had more time. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I wish I had more time to do all the things I love to do

My favorite thing, honestly, in the world is to volunteer. I try to, whenever I have a free morning or afternoon, I'll

volunteer with New York City Parks and do park cleanups. I really, really, right now I'm trying to also just cultivate a

more sustainable lifestyle for myself. And I would also love to bring that into the lifestyle of

people at the theater. Really, really passionate about that. I love to do that

I love to do that. I love to do that. Really, really passionate about that

And just cultivating a deeper connection with our earth. It's really hard in New York City to do that

But we can. And I love painting. Painting is like my side art project

I always have like a painting I'm kind of working on on the side that activates a different creative muscle

And I'd also just say like I'm always reading something. And I want to write more

You know, I also want to bring up TV and film. I want to bring up TV and film

And I want to bring up TV and film. And I want to bring up TV and film

I also want to bring up TV and film. We talked a little bit about horror a few moments ago

But you did mention even before that that you have been in TV shows

I know you were in FBI and Mozart in the Jungle. More television

Is that in your future? Is that something that you would love to dive more into

Oh, totally. It's a huge dream of mine. Yes. So which shows that are out now could you see yourself being a

part of? Have you seen the show Normal People on Hulu? I haven't yet

It's in my queue. I've heard about it so much. I'm like I need to watch

I think it's the way it's shot. The pacing. The direction. The script

For me it always really does come back to the script. I just want to play

I mean I love the show. I bring that show up. It's done

That show is not going to be renewed. I don't think. It's based on a book

But I love that director and I love the way that that tone is set

I love that tone for I mean I'm trying to think of other TV shows that are actually like recurring that I would love to

be on. But honestly I want to do new work. I want to do stuff that has yet to be written

I would love to be on a show that just has a lot of characters

I would love to be on a show that just has a lot of characters

I would love to be on a show that just displays complex vulnerable intelligent women

And yeah. Honestly I would love to tell a story about sustainability in

that capacity too. To not just do the work in my life but to also display it in

a bigger way and to inspire people that way. That would be a huge dream of mine

A little discovery in this conversation. I would love to do that

I would love to do that. I would love to do that

I would love to do that. I would love to do that

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I would love to do that. I would love to do that

On that note, what's next for you? Once Aladdin, your tenure with Aladdin is over, what else might you have on your plate

What are you thinking about getting into next? I am so happy to be where I am right now

It's hard for me to see beyond just because I just started with Aladdin

I feel like I have so much deepening to do in my work there

I can't wait to really get comfortable in the role and use the platform that I hope to have

As playing Princess Jasmine, to do good in the community and inspire other people

Far off dreams for me, definitely to originate a part in a Broadway show. 100%

That's a huge dream of mine. And to do film and TV

Love it. We can't wait to see what's next and what comes down the pike for you

For now, and you make a great point, we are just going to sit back and enjoy your work in Aladdin

As Jasmine. Once again, congratulations, Sonia. It's been really lovely talking with you

I am so excited for you. Yes, I hope you take this experience in and enjoy it

Enjoy it while you can. Thank you. So nice to meet you and chat with you

You as well. Thank you so much, Sonia. It was a lovely conversation with you

Thank you all for watching this episode of On the Rise with Candice Cordelia

Here at Broadway World, we will be back to bring you another fantastic and new interview with another of your favorite stars on Broadway

Thank you for tuning in. Until next time, we'll see you later. Bye