A couple months ago, Ted & Jeff had the privilege of providing the entertainment for a celebration at newhope church, in Durham, North Carolina. Every year the church celebrates its volunteers with a bash, and we got to perform for them at this year's event. It was truly an honor for us to be there with this church, and even more humbling were the words from their pastor, Benji Kelley, on his blog.

Ted, Pastor Kelley, & JeffHere's what Pastor Kelley said about the event:

"If you are a pastor out there, or a senior leader in the business world, let me tell you about Ted & Company TheatreWorks. I usually don't do these kinds of endorsements but these guys are REALLY good!

Last month, we honored all of the volunteers of newhope church! Plain and simple - without our volunteers our church is nothing. So, we like to throw ginormous parties for these folks at least once a year!

We hosted a special evening at the church whereby all the staff wore black clothes with white serving aprons! We were able to serve hundreds and hundreds of newhope volunteers. We went all out! We provided fancy-smancy deserts, a chillaxin jazz band, and the entertainment was provided by Ted and Jeff of Ted and Company.

What I admired most about these two men was the way in which they took humor and theology and the Bible and seamlessly wove it all together to the glory and honor of Christ. They gave our volunteers, and our staff I might add, the gift of humor and inspiration. If you are looking for good hearted, meaningful and wholesome Christian entertainment, without all the cheesiness that often accompanies such an endeavor, then I highly recommend Ted and Company.

So there you have it, my rare endorsement/commercial post... :-)"

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We are grateful to Pastor Kelley (and all the volunteers of newhope church) for the opportunity to perform for all of you, and we look forward to doing it again soon!

PS - we thought their celebration of the volunteers was a great idea! If you want to do the same thing in your church or ministry, let us know...we'd love to join in the party!

A couple weeks ago, Ted performed his one-man show, The Big Story, in Goshen, Indiana. This also happens to be where his youngest son, Derek, goes to school. So it was a treat for everyone in the audience when Derek helped to introduce Ted before the performance.

Over looking an Amish cornfield—ok, the field’s not Amish, the farmer’s Amish… Anyway, Jeff and Cindy Raught live in Talmage, PA—a town (I don’t think you can even call it a town) in Lancaster County, PA. That’s Lancaster—emphasis on first syllable—swallowed quickly—“langkister.” Talmage does have a post office but with very limited hours—don’t even think about picking up your mail after 4:00. Lois is apt to be cross. (Cross—that’s Pennsylvania Dutch for P.O.’ed.) The area is amazing for bike riding—the rolling hills, lack of traffic, local smells, and calmness that is evoked by a slower paced life in the Amish community is intoxicating. It’s almost a cliché to talk about it, but it just seems different to ride there.

Indy at Jeff & Cindy'sI’ve spent many days at Jeff’s house writing and rehearsing. Years ago they turned their garage into a recording studio and rehearsal space—with Jeff ‘s grand piano as a centerpiece. Much of the finish work for Tattered and Worn was done in that space, as well as Just Give ‘Em the News. In the summer of ‘08 I spent a week there. Ed, their youngest son, was home from college and working evenings, so he slept in longer than Jeff and me. When he did get up, I would shout to Jeff—“Look Father, young Ed has arisen!” It seemed funny to us, and so he will always be to me “Young Ed.” He calls me Uncle Ted.

I met Jeff in winter of ’05, but I knew his street well. I hadn’t been there in over 20 years, though. My grandparents, Titus and Florence Wert, lived in the house three doors down from where Jeff lives now. We visited that street many times as a kid. Sunday afternoons: my dad asleep in the rocker, Mom talking to my grandmother, shouting at my grandfather (hearing aids back then weren't what they are now!), my brother and I in the basement looking at every National Geographic magazine ever published—all in neat rows on shelves. No TV, no sports, not a lot of room to throw baseball…and now I get to go back to Talmage…pretty cool.

The last 2 performances of DoveTale, the Christmas play Lee Eshleman, Ingrid De Sanctis, and I wrote in 1997, were performed on December 22 and 23 in Harrisonburg, VA. The shows were emotional, fun, and tinged with a little sadness. Ingrid wrote the following piece for the program. Thanks to all who made DoveTale a part of your Christmas over the last 13 years. ~Ted

“One of the things I love best about acting is crawling inside a character; her thoughts, feelings, point of view. Every character has taught me something about life, myself, others. I love that. For 11 years I have crawled inside Mary playing her in DoveTale. Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The first year, well, I was terrified to play Mary. Absolutely terrified. I was certain no one would believe me as Mary. They would see Ingrid and I would never be the one God would choose. And this is where I have started with Mary every single season for 11 years. But I had to find a way to understand her and play her and I did.

Funny thing about Mary all these years—she always stayed the same age. I didn’t. I played Mary from my thirties now into my forties! Is that possible? I played Mary when I was happy, teaching at Clemson, teaching at EMU, working at Willow Creek. I played Mary when I was in the best and the worst times in my life. I played Mary when my heart was broken, my heart was full. I played Mary when I was full of questions, full of answers, frustrated, lonely, alone.

I played Mary with two of my favorite guys Ted and Lee and then, again, with two of my favorite guys, Trent and Ted. I played Mary when I missed Lee so much I thought my heart would break in the middle of the performance. I played Mary when I wondered if I ever would hold a baby of my own, when I wondered what was next. I played Mary when I felt God holding me and other times when I couldn’t find God at all.

The line that always gets me is in the first scene when Mary says to Gabriel, “You’ve made a mistake. I’m not the one. “ And I think of Mary. This young, simple woman. This impossible moment in her life. An angel shows up and announces the most impossible miracle. A baby. God’s baby boy. For her to raise. Wow. And then Gabriel’s response. “You are not alone. God is on your side of the street.” I have learned so much from playing Mary. Especially about this God who picks us humans when we are SO silly, so undependable, so vulnerable.

I will miss Mary. Crawling inside her. Saying those lines. I’ll miss Ted’s first line when he sees Mary: “You look great.” (We all need to hear that at least once a year). I’ll miss Gabriel’s line: “You’re not alone.” I’ll miss the very end when I look at Gabriel and say; “Thank you.” 
 Thank you. Ted. Lee. Trent. Thank you every single audience who sang Silent Night to us. You.

Thank you. For sharing this very special performance with us. As we say goodbye to this precious journey of DoveTale I feel so grateful. I knew one day I would get too old to be Mary. I do believe something—there is a Mary in all of us. Male. Female. 29 years old. 60 years old. 15 years old. A Mary in all of us. A miracle possibility exists in our lifetimes, I believe. If it is only to know that God is really on our side of the street.

If you are reading this I hope you have felt a moment of being tapped. On the shoulder. For something miraculous. Maybe not to bring the son of God into the world but there must be something.….....Ingrid, aka Mary

(If you missed DoveTale, you can still check it out on DVD, including interviews with Ted, Ingrid, and Lee.)