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

Swartz, Ted

4.04

158 ratings by Goodreads

9780836195590: Laughter is Sacred Space: The Not-So-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0836195590 ISBN 13: 9780836195590

Publisher: Herald Press, 2012

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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.

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About the Author:

In 1992 Ted graduated from seminary and began a ministry that took him, not to a pulpit in a congregation, but to audiences across the U.S. and beyond. The first 20 years of this work included the creation of Ted & Lee TheaterWorks with Lee Eshleman and development of plays such as Armadillo Shorts, Fish-Eyes, Creation Chronicles, Live at Jacob's Ladder and DoveTale.
Since Lee's death in May, 2007, Ted has been writing and performing new plays with a number of other artists. Ted lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Along with writing and acting, his loves include his wife, Sue, three sons, Eliot, Ian, and Derek — and new daughter-in-laws, Katrina and Hannah; oh, and baseball.

Review:

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 knows that if we can't laugh then the devil has already won...In the end we see life conquer death and love triumph over hatred.
-Shane Claiborne, author, activist, and lover of Jesus

This avant-garde memoir is alive with merriment and anguish, anger and tenderness, the profane...and the profound. 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

There's a humor and non-threatening vulnerability in these pages which gives us permission to be vulnerable.
-Mike Patin, Catholic speaker and trainer

Like practically half the Christian world, I saw Ted & Lee perform and thought they were smart and hilarious. 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

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