TEDx Broadway Talks – Ranked

If you haven’t guessed it yet, I love learning as much as possible about theatre and life and everything related. If you love learning just as much as I do, this is going to be a fun post for you! Here’s my list of all of the TEDx Broadway Talks – with my favorites on top!



Rating: 10/10

If you’re looking for some new TEDxBroadway talks to listen to, this is absolutely where you should start! The following talks are ones that I would 100% watching in order to stay in the loop and up-to-date on what’s going on in the theatre world. These are the talks that changed my way of thinking or brought me to tears.

2018:

“#StartListening” – Joshua Jackson & Lauren Ridloff

2016:

“Our Limitations Are Actually Superpowers” – DJ Kurs
“Theatre for All” – Katie Sweeney

2015:

“Turning (Very) Bad Into Good” – Benjamin Scheuer

2012:

“The Future of Show Content” – Randy Weiner



Rating: 9/10

These talks are ones that are oh so close to being a perfect ten. And they should still be at the top of your list of theatre-related TED talks to check out. Just like the tens above, these talks can potentially be life or career changing.

2018:

“A Revelation of Space” – David Korins
“Building a Bridge Through Music” – Daniel & Ken Trush

2017:

“Redefining Service to Dream the Impossible Dream” – Alton Fitzgerald White

2016:

“Music & Fire” – Wesley Whatley
“Creating a Memorable Experience” – Randy Weiner

2014:

“The Positive Business Plan” – Mark Fisher & Michael Keeler

2013:

“Social Media and Broadway” – Randi Zuckerberg



Rating: 8/10

These talks are still absolutely worth a listen! They may or may not be “life changing”, but they are still among the best in that some really important or interesting ideas are presented.

2018:

“Be a Trojan Horse: The Power of Being Underestimated” – Angel Rich

2017:

“They are Children: How Posts on Social Media Lead to Gang Violence” – Desmond Patton

2016:

“Self-Sabotage” – Beth Clayton
“Making it Big” – James Lecesne
“Live Your Dreams” – Mark McEwen
“Broadway: The Intersection of Real Estate and Art” – Jennifer Ashley Tepper

2015:

“Art, Artists and the Age of Youtube Composers” – Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

2014:

“The Audience Experience” – Diane Paulus
“Times Square Renovation” – Craig Dykers

2013:

“Theatre for One” – Christine Jones
“Infusing Theatre into Digital Mediums” – David Sabel



Rating: 7/10

These talks are definitely ones that I would recommend giving a listen. You’ll most likely learn a few new things, or at least be exposed to some new ideas or ways of thinking in the following.

2018:

“How Broadway Saved New York City” – Michael Riedel
“The Virtue of Not Playing It Cool” – Melissa Anelli
“Can Community Development Occur Through Gentrification?” – Edward Poteat
“Where Does Your Soul Live?” – Patricia Ione Lloyd
“5 Stars” – Ryan Chang
“The Transformative Power of Dear Evan Hansen – Julie Stroud

2017:

“Everything and All at Once (A SpongeBobian Approach to Art and Life)” – Tina Landau
“The Power of WOW! Hurry Up and Live!” – Jon Albert
“What’s Your Dream?” – Kanya Balakrishna
“Owning My Disability” – Gardiner Comfort

2016:

“Say Yes” – Hannah Kohl
“Making Ambitious Art That’s Profitable” – Meredith (Max) Hodges
“Surprising Inevitability” – Alex Dinelaris

2015:

“America is About to Have its Tevye Moment” – Osh Ghanimah
“Following Your Life’s Path, Not Your Life’s Plan” – Emily Simoness
“Monkey Minds, Human Minds and Theatre” – Laurie Santos
“Industrial Storytelling and the Alternative” – Ayad Akhtar

2014:

“The In-Venue Digital Experience” – Dexter Upshaw
“Technology in the Performing Arts” – Natasha Tsakos
“Engaging Millenials with Gamification” – Gabe Zichermann

2013:

“Why Do You Want to be on Broadway?” – Terry Teachout
“My Broadway Debut at Age 75” – George Takei
“Embracing All Audiences” – Thomas Schumacher

2012:

“20 Years Past” – Ken Davenport
“The Originality of Show Content” – Jordan Roth



Rating: 6/10

These TED Talks are probably still worth a watch if you’ve already seen all of the ones above. There are still some good nuggets of info or entertainment in the following, but they aren’t quite amazing enough to recommend super highly.

2018:

“Where Are the Grownups?” and “Huddled Masses” – Shaina Taub
“Rumi, Zen, Jazz Hands: My Musical Theater Journey” – David Yazbek
“A Rooney Rule for Broadway” – Jim Joseph
“Change the World: Tell The Untold Story” – Ron Simons
“The Agony & Ecstasy of Fundraising” – Karen Brooks Hopkins

2017:

“Leave White Space & Ignite the Imaginations of Many” – Lance Weiler
“How Feedback from a Jerk Co-Worker Could Revolutionize Performance” – Rachelle Pereira
“Anyone Can Be an Artist” – Lester Vrtiak
“You Don’t Need to Be a “Grown Up” to Tackle Diversity” – Ella Martin
“Kids and Adults, Making Art Together as Equal Partners” – Gus Rogerson

2016:

“Juggling & Broadway Trivia” – Marcus Monroe
“Scalia and Ginsburg on Broadway” – Derrick Wang
“Embrace Your Failures” – Kelly Leonard
“Suspension of Disbelief” – Essam Abadir
“The Intersection of Art and Technology” – Miral Kotb

2015:

“3D Printing: Why the Impact Will be Bigger Than You Think” – Kacie Hultgreen
“My (Not Quite) Successful Pursuit of Robert Deniro” – Phoebe Robinson
“Making Data Mean More Through Storytelling” – Ben Wellington
“We Are the Voiceless” – Daniel J Watts
“Attention: The New Currency” – Sree Sreenivasan
“When Your Festival is Older Than Your Customers…” – Kevin Lyman
“Big Data and the Connected Arts” – Elliott Masie
“Find Your Knish: the Transformation of Governor’s Island” – Leslie Koch

2014:

“On Songwriting” – Bobby Lopez
“The Human Pretzel” – Todd Robbins
“Connecting Artists and Fans” – Dan Gurney
“Performance” – Freestyle Love Supreme
“Where Arts and Science Meet” – Ainissa Ramirez
“Projection use for the Stage” – David Torpey

2013:

“MS 343 Year Two” – Vincent Gassetto
“Hospitality on Broadway” – Susan Reilly Salgado, PhD
“Entrepreneurship” – Zachary Schmahl
“Ethnography” – Ellen Isaacs

2012:

“Audience Development” – Vincent Gassetto



All other Theatre TED Talks:

I’m not here to bring down any TED speakers, which is why I’m not going to specifically mark talks with a rating of five or less. The people who are chosen to speak at TED or TEDxBroadway are absolutely fantastic. They are at the top of their game, and we can learn a LOT from each and every one of them. But the sole purpose of this list is to save you time and suggest TED Talks that you should watch. So these ones might just be skippable for time saving reasons.

2018:

“Broadway for All Sings ‘Freedom’ By Beyoncé (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)” – Broadway for All
“The Fun Business” – Staci Slaughter

2017:

“How Community Activism Is Pest Control” – Caroline Bragdon

2016:

“Move to Make Change” – Lindsey Coop
“The Four Cs” – Donald Schupak
“Genius is Created Through Collaboration” – Erin Lavik

2015:

“@BroadwaygirlNYC Reveals Her Identity” – Laura Heywood
“Climate Change and the Challenge of Long-Term Thinking” – Adam Sobel
“Booze and Bathrooms: Making Live Experiences Fit Modern Taste” – Kirsten Sabia

2014:

“Song a Day” – Jonathan Mann
“Talent Incubator” – Yao Huang
“Crowdfunding” – David Drake
“Performance” – Lea DeLaria

2013:

“Marketing to the Unmarketable” – Adam Thurman
“Playwright” – Kristoffer Diaz
“Theatre as a Catalyst for Change” – Daryl Roth
“The Power of the Physical Space” – Erin Hoover
“Cultural Trends” – Patricia Martin
“Public Support of the Arts” – Seth Pinksy
“Your Virtual Self” – Josh Harris

2012:

“The Future of Social Networking” – Steve Gullans
“Winning the Talent War” – Damian Bazadona
“Will Theatre Tell the Stories of Our Medical Future?” – Juan Enriquez
“Don’t Be the Turkey” – Greg Mosher
“Entertainment Marketing and Research” – Joseph Craig
“Predicting the Future” – Kara Larson
“Customer Service” – Frank Eliason
“Dynamic Pricing” – Barry Kahn

 


 

So there it is! The work-in-progress list of my favorite theatre TED Talks, ranked from best to worst. Are you all into watching TED Talks related to theatre? Which ones are your favorite? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below! And if you’re into this sort of thing, you might also like checking things off of your very own Thespian’s Bucket List!

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