RABBIT TRAILS: DISPATCHES FROM THE SHED

Mixing with saints and scholars, the sea and the sky, is good for the soul. Sending this out to update you on the my whereabouts, and why no one will see me on the road in the US from September to January.  Last Saturday, Sue and I, along with Sheryl and Jon Shenk began a month in Ireland, co-leading two 14-day spiritual pilgrimages.  We traveled the first week to Corrymeela Community, Northern Ireland’s oldest peace  and reconciliation organization and residential and retreat centre. On September 28th I’ll fly to Durham,  England to begin three months as an artist in residence at St John’s College at Durham University.  My responsibilities do not include teaching, rather I’m to be a part of the community, be available for conversations—to spend time thinking talking, dreaming about possible projects and direction. It’s a remarkable gift and I am grateful for the opportunity. From the school,…

by Phil Weaver-Stoesz “I don’t really know how to begin,” Michelle says, “Does anyone want to share any memories of Deanne?” Fourteen theatre creators are sitting in our first rehearsal. It’s 2008, I’m a first year at Goshen College, and a few weeks ago, my friend Deanne died. Many of her friends are in the room – we had acted with her, laughed with her, been irreverent with her. And now we are all sitting in a circle, on the first day of rehearsal, without her. Our show – The Saint Plays by Erik Ehn – includes a newly written piece that honors and remembers Deanne’s story – her electrifying energy and positivity. Deanne would have resonated with Ehn’s focus on Catholic saints and social justice, which led our director, Michelle Milne, to ask if he had a play about Deanne’s saint. “No,” he had said, “but I can write…

By Alison Brookins Exactly a year ago I first set foot in Harrisonburg, VA. I was an anxious little intern, unaware of the whirlwind of joyous creative energy about to be unleashed within myself and within Ted & Co. Now, after hours of mulling and writing in solitude, laughing and dreaming with Ted, I am back in town for production of the show I somehow managed to write over the past year, Discovery: A Comic Lament. It is an unusual honor to see one’s work picked up and made public. Writing is usually so intimate. It is born out of your body and mind working in concert; it is a wholly personal, private endeavor. And yet, if you want your writing to take on its own life, if you want it to grow, becoming more than you thought possible, it cannot stay private. It must be seen, heard, challenged, accepted,…

April 22, 2017: Steven Stauffer and I begin the 2017 Laughter Is Sacred Space Human Faces Tour in Tucson, AZ at Shalom Mennonite Fellowship, to an almost full house. I could feel, despite the loss of amplification, an audience leaning in to absorb the story I had to tell and give back their empathy and spirit. We were humbled again by people’s vulnerability regarding their stories of struggle and perseverance in the face of mental illness. In the talk-back, one of the questions was answered by a woman from the audience, “If you want to know what a church could do in regard to educating themselves about mental health and mental health, ask me…someone who is mentally ill. Don’t be afraid to ask someone who knows really well what a congregation might need to know.” Yes, wise words. It might get uncomfortable and messy when we ask for the truth,…

It’s an American idiom for a reason. Steven has been on the Laughter is Sacred Space: Human Faces tour with Ted for the month of September as photographer, driver, helper, and Nature Slim advice-giver, assisting the crew to survive the wilderness of the journey. His photographs are the highlight of this tour – opening space for faces and voices to be seen and heard, coming out of the darkness to humanize our struggle with mental health. By Steven Stauffer There are lots of things we could discuss about Ted. He’s a good talker, especially when he can use his hands. He’s nailed the “touch of grey” look, and he will adamantly defend his right to wear cargo shorts. He’s also mastered the ubiquitous sound effect that’s a bit like a “frrrrp”. You know the one. But I’d rather talk about his story-telling: the way he can take his life experience…