Laughter is Sacred Space: The Not-So-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor

by Ted Swartz

Overview

Ted Swartz and his Ted & Company TheaterWorks team are known for blending Bible stories with comedy and poignancy, and pushing the envelope on issues of faith and social justice. But who is Ted Swartz?

Follow along in this engaging memoir as Swartz finds his way as a middle child in an eastern Pennsylvania traditional Mennonite home to his early work in the family butcher shop. Journey with Ted through the decision of uprooting his young family to attend seminary and then embracing life as a writer and actor. Get a glimpse into the friendship that led to the formation of the popular acting duo Ted & Lee.

This uniquely honest backstage tour of an artist's life and mind combines side-splitting reminiscences, heart-rending accounts of loss, and touching stories of restored faith and love. Swartz's engaging humor blends with his own stories of triumph and tragedy, and helps readers understand their own sense of place and how they're shaped by those around them.

Read the forward by Bryan Mclaren under the "Excerpt" tab and see what is already being said about the book under the "Quotes" tab!

"Laughter Is Sacred Space is even funnier than Mennonite in a Little Black Dress—an authentic and profound snapshot of what it means to grow up and live Mennonite."
—Howard Zehr, professor of restorative justice, Eastern Mennonite University

"Ted Swartz is a gift. He unveils some of the most tragic pain and injustice of our world . . . but he knows that if we can't laugh then the devil has already won. Laughter reminds us that we know the end of the story—and in the end we see life conquer death and love triumph over hatred."
—Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and lover of Jesus

About the author
Purchase Ted and Company scripts and DVDs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780836196917
Publisher:	MennoMedia
Publication date:	09/14/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Ted Swartz is a playwright and actor who has been mucking around in the worlds of the sacred and profane for more than 20 years. Ted fell in love with acting and theater on his way to a traditional pastorate in the Mennonite church, a denomination not usually thought of as a hotbed of theatrical opportunities. Coupling theater and seminary education, Ted became a theologian of a different sort. He discovered that at the intersection of humor and biblical story we often find new or different under¬standings of scripture. Ted's love of acting, comedy, and collaboration with creative partner Lee Eshleman took him to performances in 45 states in the U.S., Canada, as well as shows in Kenya and Japan. Ted & Lee became known for a quirky and gently askew view of life, building a loyal following. Despite the tragic loss of Lee to suicide in 2007, Ted continued the search for the intersection of comedy and faith, grief and loss, deepening that exploration. He is the creator or co-creator of over a dozen plays, and continues to perform and write across the U.S. and abroad. Born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Ted is a 1989 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University and 1992 grad of Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Ted now lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Along with writing and acting, his loves include his wife, Sue; three sons, Eliot, Ian, and Derek; daughters-in-law, Katrina, Hannah, and Chelsea; and newest addition, granddaughter Mona Quinn. He and Sue are members of Community Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Read an Excerpt

Download FREE sample chapter here!

Foreword
by Brian McLaren

Thousands of us have seen Ted Swartz perform—solo, with his colleague Lee, or with others.

We’ve laughed, gasped, winced, and maybe even cried as heushered us from the sublime, promptly and unceremoniously, tothe ridiculous. Or vice versa.

When we’ve seen actors and comedians onstage (not to mentionpreachers in-pulpit) we’ve all wondered what their lives werereally like offstage. Is their private persona anything like their publicone? (As Ted says, “You cannot fall into the habit of believingin your own public persona, because—believe me—your wifesure doesn’t.”) So we wonder, when the spotlight flicks off, do theactors transform from clowns to grouches? From exhibitionists torecluses? From beauties to beasts, or artists to jerks?

Tabloids and TV shows sometimes try to raid the privacy ofpublic personas and steal a peak into their personal lives. Theresult is that public people guard their privacy even more carefully.

Only rarely does an actor or other public figure step off thestage and simply open up as a fellow human being. That’s why thebook you have in front of you right now is so valuable, so important.

For many years I was a fan of Ted’s, sitting in the back row (myfavorite place when I’m not on stage myself ), smiling and laughing,admiring from a distance. Then some years ago, I had the privilege of getting to know Ted as a friend.

As I read his story, I felt Ted’s friendliness shining through. Theperson I’ve gotten to know offstage is honestly reflected in thesepages.

Ted’s honesty is the kind that requires courage. You’ll uncoversome frank and hard stuff here, much of it left floating in betweenthe lines so you can feel it if you want to, or avoid it if you don’t.In that space, there’s loss and conflict, and dry spells and sadness.There’s depression and death and grief and loss.

And it’s all sandwiched between thick slices of whole-wheatlaughter. Sometimes it’s highbrow, witty laughter. Sometimes . . . let’sjust say that Ted isn’t above getting a laugh from slapstick, malapropisms,and old-fashioned silliness—down to the level of passinggas or spilling coffee on a sensitive body part.

Somewhere in there, between the sublime and ridiculous,there’s “a whole ’nother thing”: the profound and poignant. And ifyou’re reading with any degree of consciousness, you’ll find a strongdose of that. For example, you’ll encounter a hug—an onstage hugthat becomes immeasurably significant a few days later, along withthe line that precedes it.

And you’ll feel moments of anger and hope and downrightresilience, too.

If you’ve got some unhealed wounds, ungrieved losses, or evenuncounted blessings (and who doesn’t?), reading these pages willbe like a good night at the theater. Turning the last page will be likewalking across the parking lot after the final curtain and getting inyour car.

You won’t want to start the car or turn on the radio. You’ll justwant to sit for a while and let what you’ve experienced settle in.

A theologian friend recently hit me with a wild proposition:the secular is the domain of the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit was hoveringover the surface of the waters in creation," he said, "long beforethere were any religions or temples or denominations. That’swhy all of creation—what we call ‘the secular’—isn’t profane. It’ssacred."

Ted knows that. The sacred secular of laughter, tears, joy, pain,tragedy, comedy . . . it’s all the stage on which the Spirit plays.

And where we do, too.

—Brian McLaren,
Author of Naked Spirituality and A New Kind of Christianity

What People are Saying About This

Endorsement

"Like practically half the Christian world, I saw Ted & Lee perform and thought they were smart and hilarious. Much later, because he was so vulnerable, I got a chance to jump into Ted's head and swim around with all his jokes and jibes and doubts and fears. Because he was so honest, I learned a lot about both Ted and myself, and I ended up closer to God. In the pages of this book, Ted is vulnerable and honest again, only this time on purpose. If you jump in, I promise you'll be glad you did."
—Bart Campolo, neighborhood minister and Middle East peace activist

"This avant-garde memoir is alive with merriment and anguish, anger and tenderness, the profane . . . and the profound. From the prologue to the denouement, I laughed out loud and wept . . . sometimes simultaneously, which is the hallmark of a truly sacred story."
—Karla Yaconelli, philanthropist and founding board member of the Wild Goose Festival

"Ted erases the line between the profane and the sacred. Hilariously holy!"
—Joseph and Suzanne Stabile, founders of Life in the Trinity Ministry

"Ted's storytelling is, as expected, beautiful, tragic, and funny. Laughter Is Sacred Space is a gift."
—Tony Jones , theologian and author of The New Christians

"Told with humor and heart and an absence of sentimentality, Laughter is as delightful as it is moving. Highly recommended."
—Steve Pederson, retired director of drama, Willow Creek Community Church

"Dramatic gift is native to Ted Swartz and he has made good on it in the service of truth-by-humor. This combination of gift and experience makes for a powerful, compelling story."
—George R. Brunk III, emeritus dean and professor of New Testament, Eastern Mennonite Seminary

"In writing about his own life's drama, Ted Swartz has opened up his heart and allowed us in to a sacred, healing space—his and, ultimately, ours."
—Crystal Zinkiewicz, senior editor, Abingdon Youth