The true, funny, unflinching story of how severe bipolar disorder took Wambui Bahati's Broadway career, her home, and nearly her life — and how she took it all back.
Wambui Bahati trained at the New York University School of the Arts and performed on Broadway in Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. Then severe bipolar disorder took it all — Broadway to welfare, to homelessness, to hospitalization. Doctors said she'd spend her life in and out of institutions.
She rebuilt. She changed her name, wrote Balancing Act, earned a Habitat for Humanity home with her own hands, toured ten cities under a National Alliance on Mental Illness grant, and won a national award. Balancing Act may be presented as a solo theatrical program or as a full musical production with live musicians — the story is the same either way; the scale simply changes to fit your event.
Her story is her story — it is not medical advice, and she never suggests that one person's journey should become someone else's treatment plan. What she offers is an honest look from inside the experience, and genuine hope that a diagnosis does not have to erase a person's gifts, dignity, dreams, or future.
Mental health conferences, healthcare systems, NAMI chapters, peer-recovery events, universities.
A scene from Balancing Act. Ninety seconds tells you what a paragraph can't.
"One of the most memorable performances of the conference. Through her storytelling, humor, authenticity, and stage presence, she created a meaningful connection with an audience of peer specialists."
"Wambui was wonderful — she had them all mesmerized. Following her performance, attendees were excited, inspired, and ready to go back out on the front line."
Wambui Bahati trained at the New York University School of the Arts and performed on Broadway in Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. Then severe bipolar disorder took it all — Broadway to welfare, to homelessness, to hospitalization. Doctors said she'd spend her life in and out of institutions.
She rebuilt. She changed her name, wrote Balancing Act, earned a Habitat for Humanity home with her own hands, toured ten cities, and won a national award. She has since performed across the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and been commissioned by The Carter Center, the National Organization for Women, and Habitat for Humanity.
Tell Wambui the date, the audience, and what you want them to walk out feeling. She answers personally — usually within a day.