Ted Swartz is a man whose life has been shaped by the intersection of theology and theater, humor, and alternative ways of viewing scripture, life, and what it means to be human. He's used his gifts to, in turn, shape that theology and lived experience in communities across North America with his humor, wit, and insight into the human condition. After 30 years of writing, acting, and touring, he began to visit that proverbial 'what's next' question. What's a white straight man in his 60's to give and do with a life of accrued social capital from so many years on the road?  What does one do with one's privilege? 

 

In an age defined by division, othering, and injustice, together with the decline of support for live theater and the arts, Ted began to speak with colleagues and friends about his legacy. The Center for Art, Humor & Soul is a result of following his questions and his heart, to open doors for important, and marginalized, voices to be heard - women, young people, queer, people of color. The Center exists to support the arts, and theater in particular, in a time of cultural unraveling, when the arts are most needed and to empower alternative voices to be heard.

 

Ted learned to make a living as an artist, as a cultural creative, as a believer in the importance of the arts. His new vision will extend the reach of the arts so that any community with the desire to bring a play to their region can do so. It extends the reach for other artists to also have the opportunity to develop their stories and be heard, and not lose their financial livelihood while doing so. 

 

The desire beneath this new venture is to advance lives lived with imagination, as co-creators in an expanding universe. To offer a place of belonging for artists who walk on the edges of norms. As one generation gives way to what is emerging in the next, this company is an incubator for creative work, combining storytelling, theater, laughter, faith, and justice.