LaChanze, Daniel J. Watts, Brian Moreland, Stephanie Riggs and more to Take TEDxBroadway 2020 Virtual Stage
New York, NY -- TEDxBroadway organizers announced today the speakers who’ll be taking the TEDxBroadway virtual stage on Tuesday, November 17 at 1pm Eastern.
“If ever there was a time we needed to come together to share ideas and insights on what the best Broadway can be, it’s now,” says TEDxBroadway Co-Founder Jim McCarthy of Goldstar and Stellar. “We’re more keenly aware of the urgency of our mission than ever. This year’s speakers are exactly the voices we need to hear to steer the industry we love and embolden the entire Broadway ecosystem.”
The TEDxBroadway Class of 2020 includes:
Bruce Barish is the fourth-generation owner of Ernest Winzer Cleaners, the premier dry cleaner for Broadway’s costumes since 1908. Bruce graduated Pace University in January 1986 but has worked at Winzer cleaners since early in his childhood. In keeping with his grandfather's service philosophy, Bruce takes personal responsibility for seeing to it that Winzer always satisfies demands of its most discriminating customer. At the 72nd Annual Tony Awards, Bruce accepted an Excellence in the Theatre award on behalf of the family business.
David Gallo has designed over 30 Broadway productions, including Jitney (Tony nomination), Memphis, First Date, The Drowsy Chaperone (Tony award for Best Scenic Design of a Musical), Gem of the Ocean (Tony nomination), Radio Golf (Tony nomination), The Mountaintop, Reasons to be Pretty, Xanadu, Company, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and many others. He has won virtually every theater award he has been eligible for.
David creates groundbreaking scenic and media design for television, concerts, and live events. He was creative director for eight of Phish's mind-blowing rock and roll New Year's Eve extravaganzas at Madison Square Garden and the American Airlines Arena.
For television, David designed a major Sesame Street neighborhood update that was introduced in season 46. He won two Emmy awards for Outstanding Production Design over five seasons on the show. He also recently designed Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill for Netflix.
His designs for Blue Man Group have been seen by millions, and the Illusionarium dinner show he created for Norwegian Cruise Line was a pioneer in shipboard immersive entertainment. His work for Stage Entertainment, Disney, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, PBS, Atlantis, S2BN, and others is seen daily in a dozen cities worldwide.
Hassan Sayyed is the founder of Haus Urban, a natural line of skin and body care formulated for the professional performer. A former actor, his need for a bath soak turned into a realization that performers didn't have the knowledge or tools to keep their bodies and faces up to the daily rigors of a life lived on stage or on screen. What started as a simple gift for castmates has become a full range with a dedicated cult following of TV and Broadway performers, high-profile makeup artists, pro athletes and multi-platinum recording artists.
Additionally, Hassan has also spent the last decade as a social-first brand marketer with a specialty focus on CPG and lifestyle brands. With recent tenures at global powerhouse Publicis Groupe, IPG and Gary Vaynerchuk's VaynerMedia, he has developed bleeding edge marketing strategies and campaigns for brands like Chase, Google, YouTube, American Express, and Kellogg's.
LaChanze is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her Broadway credits include: A Christmas Carol, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, 2018 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical and 2018 Drama League nomination for Distinguished Performance), The Color Purple (2006 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical), Once on This Island (nominated for Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards), If/Then, Ragtime, Company, Uptown It’s Hot. She’s performed Off-Broadway in: The Secret Life of Bees (Atlantic Theatre), The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds her Chameleon Skin (Drama Desk nomination), Dessa Rose (OBIE Award), Inked Baby, Spunk, From The Mississippi Delta. In films she’s appeared in: Marishka Phillips’ upcoming film Melinda, The Help, Side Effects, Heartbreak Hotel, For Love or Money, Leap of Faith, My New Guns. And her TV work includes: “The Good Fight,” “The Night Of,” “Person of Interest,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “One Life to Live,” “Lucy,” “Sex and the City,” “Hercules,” “The Cosby Show,” “The Cosby Mysteries,” and “New York Undercover.” @mslachanze mslachanze.com
Becky Leifman is the Executive Director of CO/LAB Theater Group. She is also a Teaching Artist for CO/LAB, and is currently the Treasurer and a Steering Committee member for the Museum, Arts, and Culture Access Consortium. She has previously worked at The Keswell School as an instructor and also provided one-on-one support for two individuals with disabilities. Becky has a variety of professional experience at arts organizations; she founded Two Lights Theatre Company (Chicago) in 2007 and worked for The Acting Company and The Play Company in their respective development departments. She has independently consulted with SUMMERTIME Gallery, the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and multiple budding theater companies. Becky has produced shows, including Sarah Ruhl’s translation of Three Sisters, Ross Mueller’s Construction of the Human Heart and the Off-Broadway musical, Peter & I. Becky has a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University, and is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Brian Moreland is a creative lead commercial producer based in New York City. Brian is also one of five Black producers for Broadway, with a passion for universal stories, while blending marginalized people and topics with entertainment.
Previous Broadway credits include: The Lifespan of a Fact with Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones and Bobby Cannavale; Sea Wall/ A Life with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge; and The Sound Inside with Mary-Louise Parker, to name a few.
Upcoming Broadway shows include: American Buffalo with Sam Rockwell, Darren Criss and Laurence Fishburne; Keenan Scott II’s Thoughts of a Colored Man directed by Steve H. Broadnax III; and BLUE starring Emmy & Tony Winner Leslie Uggams and Emmy Winner Lynn Whitfield, directed by Tony Winner Phylicia Rashad!
Brian is an active member of the Broadway community. In addition to volunteering his time for the Theatre Development Fund, he is also a Trustee of the Board for Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids and proudly serves on the Board of Governors for The Broadway League.
A former Disney Imagineer and Refinery29/Vice Media Experiential Creative Director, Stephanie Riggs has been bridging storytelling and immersive technology for over two decades through ground-breaking projects across theatre, film, experiential and XR.
Her collaborations with international corporations (Instagram, Google, Netflix, Amazon), start-ups (InceptionVR, JauntVR, Lightframe.co), non-profits (IndieFlixFilms, The Nantucket Project), and academia (Yale Blended Reality Lab, NYU Future Reality Lab) have pushed the boundaries of technology and story. She explores learnings from these experiences in her acclaimed book, “The End of Storytelling”, and presents a powerful new paradigm for narratives in immersive technology. Passionate about inspiring diverse, interdisciplinary teams, Stephanie frequently mentors and speaks around the world.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama (Directing) and School of Computer Science (Human-Computer Interaction), she is the director of the New York Times Critics Pick documentary The Standbys, about Broadway understudies and standbys and produced the cult classic film Banshee Chapter with Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, The Boys in the Band [Broadway], The Glass Menagerie[Broadway]).
Daniel J. Watts, who recently starred as Ike in the hit Broadway musical TINA (Outer Critics Circle Award), has appeared in nine Broadway shows, including Hamilton, Memphis, and After Midnight. He received the Barrymore Award (Peoples Light) and the LA Ovation Award (Geffen Playhouse) for best featured actor for his portrayal of Sammy Davis, Jr. in Lights Out: Nat King Cole opposite Dulé Hill. TV credits include Season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Seasons 1 & 2 of The Last OG, Blindspot, & Vinyl.
Off-Broadway he has starred as the title character in Suzan-Lori Parks' Death of the Last Black Man in the Entire World AKA The Negro Book of the Dead (Signature Theatre) & Whorl Inside A Loop (2nd Stage).
A play-on-words, Daniel J. Watts’ THE JAM pays homage to Watts’ great-grandmother who, after making jam from scratch, would share with others what she was unable to consume herself. THE JAM is Watts’ continuation of that legacy, blending elements of stand-up comedy and compelling storytelling with his original spoken word, often set to music and/or dance.
His original work and musical collaborations are featured on Raphael Saadiq’s newest album “Jimmy Lee,” Tituss Burgess’ album “Saint Tituss”, Nick Blaemire’s album “Ampersand” and in the young adult anthology "How I Resist" edited by New York Times Best Seller Maureen Johnson for Wednesday Books/Macmillan. Watts has also served as an adjunct professor of NYU's Tisch New Studio. BFA Graduate Elon University Music Theatre Program. 2011 Young Alumnus Award Recipient.
Stephanie Ybarra began her tenure as Artistic Director of Baltimore Center Stage in 2018 after serving seven years as Director of Special Artistic Projects for The Public Theater in New York. Her career spans over two decades and includes roles at Dallas Children's Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Yale Repertory Theater, Two River Theater Company, and Playwrights Realm. Recent awards and honors include the 2018 Nation Builder Award from the National Black Caucus of State Legislators as well as being counted among the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts 2019 YBCA 100. She is on faculty at The Juilliard School and serves on the boards of The Make Believe Association and Citizen University. Stephanie holds an MFA from Yale School of Drama.
TEDxBroadway will also shine the spotlight on community organizations working tirelessly on behalf of so many including: Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, The Actors Fund, Be An Arts Hero and many more.
“Of course, we wish we could see everybody at New World Stages which has been our home for the last eight years,” adds Damian Bazadona, TEDxBroadway Co-founder and President of Situation. “Having to make this an online event, we’re embracing the opportunity to welcome a global audience. We’re trying to break down every barrier to help expand the conversation and engage a wider array of people. We’re not limited by seating capacity this year and we’re offering three ticket price options -- all to make sure that those who want to be involved can be.”
A general admission ticket for the event is $40. TEDxBroadway Organizers invite those who are able to purchase a $100 ticket to help subsidize others in our community who’d like to attend but are significantly impacted by the shutdown. Those who are impacted can register for the free ticket lottery. All tickets to TEDxBroadway 2020 are available here.
TEDxBroadway will livestream exclusively on Stellar,
The TEDxBroadway Leadership Board includes:
Oshoke Abalu, Zachary Baer, Arvind Ethan David, Mark Fisher, Felicia Fitzpatrick, Osh Ghanimah, Laura Heywood, Jim Joseph, Patricia Ione Lloyd, Rachelle Pereira, Eva Price, Jillian Robbins, Emily Simoness, Katie Sweeney, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Natasha Tsakos, Alton Fitzgerald White, and Kyle Wright.