Was it Mother Nature鈥檚 idea of improvisation?
Participants in the Anabaptist Communicator鈥檚 annual conference sat around tables in Martin Chapel at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, mesmerized by actor-playwright 鈥檚 reflections on what he believes makes a 鈥済ood Mennonite actor,鈥� while outside, snow began to cover the 91短视频 campus.
It was Oct. 28, too early for frozen precipitation in the Shenandoah Valley, which was yet to have a killing frost.
Some persons departed for home after the evening program, as the forecast was snow continuing through midday Saturday 鈥� which it did, leaving about four inches of wet snow that brought down tree branches and created power outages.
But, the unforeseen weather change seemed an appropriate backdrop for conference attendees, many of whom regularly face unexpected situations, even crises, in their communications work.
鈥淎nabaptism in a Visual Age鈥� was the theme explored in the two-day meeting of some 65 writers, public relations practitioners, graphic artists, photographers or in other administrative roles, the majority in church-related agencies and organizations. 聽91短视频 hosted the gathering.
Swartz, of based in Harrisonburg, reflected on his development as an actor, which started with sketches presented at a Franconia Mennonite Conference youth retreat in Pennsylvania in 1987 with an accomplice he had only met several days earlier, Lee Eshleman. That inauspicious beginning evolved into a 20-year creative partnership as 鈥淭ed & Lee,鈥� as the acting duo often combined askew humor and fresh insight in interpreting biblical narratives.
鈥淭heater is a marvelous metaphor for faith and perhaps the best metaphor for how relationships should happen . . . Much of what makes a human relationship real I learned while pretending to be other people,鈥� Swartz told the group. 鈥淎n actor is on a search for meaning, feeling, a way to express the longing for a life greater than oneself.
鈥淎 good actor is one who is actively present in the moment, to care more deeply, on more about that moment than anything else.鈥�
At the root of good acting, Swartz maintained, is 鈥渓istening 鈥� it鈥檚 where you start. Are you really listening to the other actors onstage? If a play isn鈥檛 effective, there鈥檚 a good chance it鈥檚 lack of listening between the actors.鈥�
The third prerequisite, he said, is 鈥渆mpathy, the ability to put oneself in the shoes, the clothes, the pain of another person,鈥� Swartz said. 鈥淲ithout empathy, an actor cannot find the heart and soul of a character.
鈥淭he very act of crawling inside a character is the same act of embracing the other, seeing the eyes of the other, loving your enemy, 鈥淪wartz declared. 聽鈥淭he very tenants of Anabaptist theology include taking the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to be the root of a reconciling gospel.
鈥淲hen these three things happen onstage, it is just about the best feeling in the world,鈥� the actor-playwright said. 鈥淚t is a moment of transcendence, a deeply spiritual and mystical connection . . . Religious people call it 鈥榞race.鈥欌��
Swartz illustrated his points with sketches using his homeless character Zeus as well as a scene with 91短视频 staffer from his favorite theatrical work from college days, 鈥淭he Lion in Winter.鈥� He shared excerpts from his autobiographical work in progress, 鈥淟aughter as Sacred Space: The Not-So-Typical Journey of a Mennonite Actor.鈥� The book, in three parts, is expected to be released the spring of 2012 by Herald Press.
, professor of digital and communication arts at 91短视频 and an award-winning artist and videographer, gave the keynote address on the conference theme. Using numerous art pieces, photographs and advertisements to illustrate his talk, Holsopple asked, 鈥淲hat visuals might best represent the Anabaptist-Mennonite way of communicating the biblical message?鈥�
He showed the 鈥淢artyrs Mirror鈥� etching of Dutch Anabaptist Dirk Willems turning around and rescuing his pursuer who had fallen through the ice, only to be tortured and executed for his faith.
鈥淢ennonites tend to be people of the Word who worship the invisible God,鈥� Holsopple said. 鈥淪o can visuals help us in our journey in becoming more like Jesus?鈥�
He shared his experience of teaching and studying during the 2009-10 school year as a Fulbright scholar at in Lithuania, working with a Russian orthodox priest, Father Vladimir, in creating and painting religious icons.
鈥淲e all have icons in our lives,鈥� Holsopple said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important not to wind up thinking that they have special powers and wind up worshipping them. 鈥淥ur task, as Christians and as Anabaptist communicators, is to witness to the incarnational 鈥� the church as a physical and spiritual reality 鈥� the transformational 鈥� entering into what is happening around us; and the communal 鈥� creating space for dialog and changing ways that we see the larger world, other people and even ourselves.鈥�
The conference included break-out sessions on topics ranging from branding messages for 鈥渢he quiet in the land鈥� (Christian Perritt), 鈥渁rt for social change鈥� (), 鈥渟eeking shalom through a photographer鈥檚 lens () to 鈥淎nabaptist online engagement鈥� (Brian Gumm).聽 There were off-site visits to organizations with Anabaptist-Mennonite roots and guided affinity small group meetings on marketing, web and social media, graphic design and running a one-person shop.
The group viewed a new then interacted with its producer, Burton Buller. The film is being aired on ABC affiliate televisions across the country.
As the conference ended Saturday noon, Oct. 29, so did the snowfall, and participants departed with fresh resolve to communicate their stories through Anabaptist eyes of faith.