Ted Swartz - Laughter is Sacred Space: The Not-So-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor
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- Book:Laughter is Sacred Space: The Not-So-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor
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Laughter is Sacred Space: The Not-So-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor: summary, description and annotation
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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 artists life and mind combines side-splitting reminiscences, heart-rending accounts of loss, and touching stories of restored faith and love. Swartzs engaging humor blends with his own stories of triumph and tragedy, and helps readers understand their own sense of place and how theyre 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 Spaceis even funnier thanMennonite in a Little Black Dressan 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 cant laugh then the devil has already won.Laughterreminds us that we know the end of the storyand in the end we see life conquer death and love triumph over hatred.
Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and lover of Jesus
About the author
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Ted Swartz: author's other books
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With the same offbeat lightness and poignant turns that mark his onstage work, Ted Swartz opens the curtain on his own life. Classic Ted.
Carolyn Yoder, author of The Little Book of Trauma Healing
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
Laughter Is Sacred Space will make you laugh, over and over again! But thats not allit will captivate you on its spiral journey and will challenge you to think about your own stories of formation.
Joanna Shenk, editor of Widening the Circle: Experiments in Christian Discipleship
Ted opens our minds to expansive ways of sharing the good news. Robust faith does not obliterate the pathos of life and death, nor does it eliminate the struggles that constitute our humanity. And Ted reminds us that we can laugh through our tears.
Loren Swartzendruber, president, Eastern Mennonite University
Ted speaks of himself as a comic actor, and he is, but he is also a profound preacher. His faithfulness and persistence are compelling. Ted is a modern day icon, pointing people to God with a smile and a chuckle.
June Alliman Yoder, professor emerita of communication and preaching, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
An individual on stage can help us laugh, cry, find new meaning in old favorites, or surprise us with new insights. In Laughter Is Sacred Space we are invited to chuckle, shed tears, revisit familiar favorites, and make new discoveries.
Beth Sollenberger, district executive minister, Church of the Brethren
Ted Swartzwho is funny in the headwrites funny about art and artists; about love and laughing; about meat cutting, stage kissing, pratfalls and playwrights.
Jim Hancock, content designer and proprietor, The Tiny Company Called Me
In writing about his own lifes drama, Ted Swartz has opened up his heart and allowed us in to a sacred, healing spacehis and, ultimately, ours.
Crystal Zinkiewicz, senior editor, Abingdon Youth
First Discarded Subtitle
Mennonite Middle ChildI Dont Expect Much
Second Discarded Subtitle
A History of Passive-Aggressive BehaviorIf You Dont Buy This Book,
I Wont Talk to You
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data
Swartz, Ted.
Laughter is sacred space : the not-so-typical journey of a Mennonite actor / Ted Swartz.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8361-9559-0 (hardcover)ISBN 978-0-8361-9653-5 (pbk.) 1. Swartz, Ted. 2. ActorsUnited StatesBiography. 3. Dramatists, American20th centuryBiography. I. Title.
PN2287.S93A3 2012
791.43028092--dc23
[B]
2012020456
LAUGHTER IS SACRED SPACE
Copyright 2012 by Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22802
Released simultaneously in Canada by Herald Press,
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6H7. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012020456
International Standard Book Number: 978-0-8361-9559-0
Printed in United States of America.
Cover and interior design by Merrill R. Miller.
Illustrations by Lee Eshleman. Used by permission courtesy of Reagan Eshleman.
Cover and interior photos provided by the author except as follows: Jim Bishop, pp. 92, 164; Lowell Brown, cover and pp. 266, 273 bottom, 279; Dale Gehman, p. 143; Wayne Gehman, pp. 16, 30, 144, 152, 156, 175, 258; Richard Kauffman, p. 87; Jeff Raught, back cover and p. 234; Steven Stauffer, pp. 271 top, 272 top; John Styer, pp. 272 mid-right and bottom, 273 top; Howard Zehr, pp. 193, 271 bottom, 272 mid-left.
All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright owners.
To order or request information, please call 1-800-245-7894 in the U.S. or 1-800-631-6535 in Canada. Or visit www.HeraldPress.com.
16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Sue,
who has stood next to me for so long,
through so much,
with grace and strength.
T HOUSANDS OF US have seen Ted Swartz performsolo, with his colleague Lee, or with others.
Weve laughed, gasped, winced, and maybe even cried as he ushered us from the sublime, promptly and unceremoniously, to the ridiculous. Or vice versa.
When weve seen actors and comedians onstage (not to mention preachers in-pulpit) weve all wondered what their lives were really like offstage. Is their private persona anything like their public one? (As Ted says, You cannot fall into the habit of believing in your own public persona, becausebelieve meyour wife sure doesnt.) So we wonder, when the spotlight flicks off, do the actors transform from clowns to grouches? From exhibitionists to recluses? From beauties to beasts, or artists to jerks?
Tabloids and TV shows sometimes try to raid the privacy of public persons and steal a peak into their personal lives. The result is that public people guard their privacy even more carefully.
Only rarely does an actor or other public figure step off the stage and simply open up as a fellow human being. Thats why the book you have in front of you right now is so valuable, so important.
For many years I was a fan of Teds, sitting in the back row (my favorite place when Im 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 Teds friendliness shining through. The person Ive gotten to know offstage is honestly reflected in these pages.
Teds honesty is the kind that requires courage. Youll uncover some frank and hard stuff here, much of it left floating in between the lines so you can feel it if you want to, or avoid it if you dont. In that space, theres loss and conflict, and dry spells and sadness. Theres depression and death and grief and loss.
And its all sandwiched between thick slices of whole-wheat laughter. Sometimes its highbrow, witty laughter. Sometimes lets just say that Ted isnt above getting a laugh from slapstick, malapropisms, and old-fashioned sillinessdown to the level of passing gas or spilling coffee on a sensitive body part.
Somewhere in there, between the sublime and ridiculous, theres a whole nother thing: the profound and poignant. And if youre reading with any degree of consciousness, youll find a strong dose of that. For example, youll encounter a hugan onstage hug that becomes immeasurably significant a few days later, along with the line that precedes it.
And youll feel moments of anger and hope and downright resilience, too.
If youve got some unhealed wounds, ungrieved losses, or even uncounted blessings (and who doesnt?), reading these pages will be like a good night at the theater. Turning the last page will be like walking across the parking lot after the final curtain and getting in your car.
You wont want to start the car or turn on the radio. Youll just want to sit for a while and let what youve experienced settle in.
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