Randall Stuart:
Celebrant & Steward
(One of the Many Earthlings For Peace)
Randall Stuart has lived a life in The Arts, with a focus on creating large-scale presentations of tales that speak to peace and compassion. His parallel journey has been to walk the path of a celebrant, facilitator, and speaker: a steward of events both spiritual and civic. From his early days as an emcee and spokesperson for Peace communities, to his stewardship of various memorials, nuptials and gatherings, Randall has worked to create the spaces where the themes of peace, reason, and dignity may flourish...and with a circle of like-minded colleagues, the ongoing work has included the promoting of a healthy and sustainable world: working to untangle the nuclear knot, the rights of the death & dying and hospice communities,
and the strength in programs of compassion and mercy. Randall advocates for all of the possible shades of Peace. |
Mr. Stuart counts his time as a young person during the Ecology Now movement of the 1970’s as the spark (ignited by his remarkable educator mother Janice Martin) as one piece of the equation that brought him to a place of spirituality. The other was professionally training in the Theatre at a young age. The combination of these concurrent elements lead to his sense of community and ensemble, and an understanding of how essential it is to believe that we are all Earthlings: and as such, should treat each other very kindly indeed.
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Of the spiritual, civic, nuptial and memorial events that Randall has facilitated as a nondenominational reverend, locations include San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Haas Lilienthal House, The Geary Theatre, The Presidio Chapel, The Bohemian Grove (yep), as well as at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, in the states of Oregon, Washington, Colorado, North Carolina, Rhode Island, New York, and on the sacred lands of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. In 2006 Reverend Randall created and facilitated a unique all-inclusive nuptial at Burkhill Castle in Dundee, Scotland.
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Randall's life has had him bouncing from West Coast to East Coast for half a century, and that suits him well. He has worked with a focused perseverance in the anti-nuclear/pro-peace movement, while also devoting himself to the efforts of cancer cures; and, relatedly, to the worldwide crisis of the HIV Pandemic: both at the bedsides of the grieving, and as a producer of large-scale benefit events for the funding of a cure, among them Macy's Passport for UCSF Health Research and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Daedalus Project.
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Rev. Stuart's participation in ceremonies includes performing marriages for couples of various beliefs, traditions and combinations, as well as baby-welcoming gatherings and memorials for dear-ones-passed. In the 2010’s he conceived-of, built, and shepherded the work of Cerimon House: A Sanctuary for the Humanities. In the 2020’s his journey has taken him back in time, to the Hudson River of his ancestors: there to weave a series of epic tales.
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Slide Show - CEREMONIES |
When Theatre Becomes SpiritualOf the many theatrical works that Randall has been part of in his 50 year career, the ones that resonate deeply in regards to his work as a reverend (and stand as literature/scripture unto themselves), include:
The Lysistrata Project (Bay Area Theatre Critics Award), The Inkwell Communiques, Bury The Dead, The Color of Justice, The Woman of Troy, Inherit The Wind, Assassins, All The Way Home, Heartbreak House, Under Milk Wood, and the several miracle/romance plays of Shakespeare. Mr. Stuart is featured in two documentary films: Alien Boy, The Life and Death of James Chasse, as a witness to an infamous execution of justice, and The Arms Race Within which chronicles the work of the Puget Sound Agape Peace Community. |