Opening Ceremony Podcast with Jess May
Podcast blurb
Welcome to ‘Opening Ceremony Podcast’ with me, your host, Jess May.
I'm on a mission to keep ceremonies alive! Join me to hear all about why!
In the UK people are giving up on ceremony and I believe it is making us sick.
I don’t want that for you and that is why we’re here.
Ceremonies remind you that you belong here, you’re precious and you’re never alone.
I hope that this podcast will do that too.
On my podcast we connect with Academics, Professionals, colleagues, friends & clients share their life events, passions, careers and the ceremonies associated with them.
Ceremonies hold power to create meaning and are a vital source of connection and belonging for human beings.
As cultures evolve, ceremonies do too, how we approach that shift matters, because even as they disappear and change shape, they continue to hold power for both good and bad.
I want to empower you to create ceremonies which honour your values and remind you that you and yours belong in this world.
Good ceremonies tell your own story and help you to find your own meaning by reflecting who you are, healing you and showing you how much you matter.
But they can also be used in damaging ways.
If you don’t claim that power and choose your own way of celebrating your life and telling your story, someone else will do it for you.
Even as they fall from fashion, they will continue to matter to us societally, historically, personally & culturally.
There is never a time in human history where people don’t use them somewhere in the world for myriad reasons.
Focusing on ceremony shows us the interconnected multitude of human lives throughout history and across cultures. Ceremonies help us to hear those voices, their differences and similarities and understand the world-views behind the ceremonies they create.
Jess May is an Award Winning Celebrant who started her career in 2013 creating hundreds of life changing ceremonies for every occasion.
Join the Opening Ceremony constellation to learn more about why ceremonies still play a central part in human and animal societies.
Opening Ceremony Podcast with Jess May
Drag Idol Semi-Finalist Celebrant Maria Hurtz talks Safe Spaces & Allyship in the Wedding industry
Martin Fox AKA Maria Hurtz is a Celebrant friend and genuinely wonderful person. Martin's Celebrant business is known to us as Proudfox Ceremonies and anyone who is anyone needs to know about it.
Martin is the first UK Celebrant to conduct ceremonies in his Drag persona as Maria Hurtz, he also conducts ceremonies as Martin.
Find him here: https://www.proudfoxceremonies.com/about/
Front and centre in Martin's practice is his commitment to creating Safe Spaces for all for weddings and he has explicitly created this statement for his business: which is, in part, what this episode is about.
Safe Space Statement
Every single one of us, is entitled to work or relax in a safe space*. A space free of discrimination or fear; a space, free of bullying and harassment of any kind.
We will work together honouring our differences and celebrating our strengths, individual qualities and contributions; upholding the values of trust, respect and confidentiality.
We will treat one another with equality, politeness and respect at all times and, if we are subjected to or witness discrimination*, bullying or harassment, we will speak out knowing that our voices will be heard and we will be taken seriously.
Together we can create a Safe Space.
(Martin Fox-Roberts – Adapted from EquityUk Safe Space Statement).
Here is Martin in his own words!
I’m proud to be a Drag Queen, ‘Maria Hurtz’, a Drag Idol Semi-Finalist and QX Magazine Awards Nominee for Best Drag Act and Best Comedy Act. So if you are looking for a Drag Themed or a Cabaret Themed ceremony, I can officiate your Wedding as Maria Hurtz!
I’m proud to be a fully qualified and registered NRCPD British Sign Language Interpreter! So I can officiate ceremonies for Deaf couples or CODAS (Children of Deaf Adults), in their first language, without them having to rely on using an Interpreter.
I can also provide British Sign Language Interpreting Services for your Ceremony. To find out more, please click here for www.martinfoxroberts.com
I was born and brought up in the North East.
Initially I trained as an Actor, but after some time I went on and set up my own business in Theatre Promotions and whilst working on a festival, I met my now husband Neil; who is a Deaf Actor.
In 2000 I moved to London and straight away started night school to learn British Sign Language, which is Neil’s first language and the first language we used at home.
In 2012 we had a Civil Ceremony, which was a magnificent day, and the highlight of my life. Throughout the many years we’ve been together, we’ve had some amazing times, learning from one another and sharing very special moments, but of course we have our arguments too, which, please note, I can never win: he has his say, but then when I try to make my point, he stands and simply closes his eyes!! Unable to see or hear me – he wins! That’s my secret to longevity, keep the peace and have your own quiet victories!
I continued to work in Theatre, as a Theatre Manager at Battersea Arts Centre and carried on with my sign language studies. In 2008 I qualified as a British Sign Language Interpreter, which is what I continue to do now too – and since 2013, every year I take great pride in volunteering my services in managing and co-ordinating the amazing team of BSL performance Interpreters for Pride In London.
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