Everything and All at Once (A SpongeBobian Approach to Art and Life) | Tina Landau | TEDxBroadway

Discover unlikely hero SpongeBob, the clever sea dweller who knows that a box is not just one thing, but many things, all at once. Tina Landau shares how this revelation helped shape her unique SpongeBob musical and got her thinking outside the "theater" box.
Tina Landau is a writer, director, and teacher whose work includes directing/conceiving "The Spongebob Musical" (which opened in Chicago ahead of its upcoming Broadway run), Tarell McCraney’s "Head of Passes" (The Public, upcoming at the Mark Taper Forum), "Wig Out!" (Vineyard Theatre) and "In the Red and Brown Water" (The Public), Bill Irwin/David Shiner’s "Old Hats" and Chuck Mee’s "Big Love" and "Iphigenia 2.0" (all Signature Theatre), Paula Vogel’s "A Civil War Christmas" (New York Theatre Workshop), and her musical "Floyd Collins" (also bookwriter/additional lyrics, Playwrights Horizons.) On Broadway, Tina directed Tracy Letts’ "Superior Donuts" and the revival of "Bells Are Ringing," and at Steppenwolf Theatre Company where she’s an ensemble member, numerous productions including "The Wheel," "Hot L Baltimore," "The Brother/Sister Plays," "The Tempest," "The Time of Your Life" (also Seattle Rep, ACT), "The Diary of Anne Frank," "The Cherry Orchard," "The Ballad of Little Jo," "Berlin Circle," and her own play "Space" (also Mark Taper Forum, the Public.) Tina has co-authored "The Viewpoints Book" with Anne Bogart and has taught regularly at such schools as Yale, Columbia, Harvard, and Northwestern. She’s currently at work on their follow-up book, "Viewpoints on Viewpoints."
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx